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Pinoy translator Christian Jil Benitez and Pinoy writer-director Alvin Yapan

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Josh Mercado

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758333899263image0 (2).jpeg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Pinoy translator Christian Jil Benitez and Pinoy writer-director Alvin Yapan"/>Pinoy translator Christian Jil Benitez and Pinoy writer-director Alvin Yapan</div>The English PEN, in partnership with the Booker Prize Foundation, recently announced that Alvin Yapan&#x27;s historical novel &quot;Time of the Eye,&quot; translated by Christian Jil Benitez from the original Filipino novel &quot;Ang Sandali ng mga Mata,&quot; has been chosen as one of six winners of the prestigious PEN Presents x International Booker Prize translation grant.According to the English PEN website, PEN Presents supports and showcases sample translations, financing the sometimes unpaid process of preparing samples and providing UK publishers with access to titles from underrepresented languages and regions.While the International Booker Prize is the world&#x27;s most influential award for translated fiction, and it is given annually to the best work of fiction translated into English and published in the United Kingdom and/or Ireland.The book&#x27;s author, Yapan, and translator, Benitez, both expressed their appreciation for their book&#x27;s selection as the recipient of the esteemed translation grant.&quot;Time of the Eye&quot; was selected from a competitive shortlist of 12 projects and 13 translators from diverse languages and areas, and was published in Filipino by Ateneo de Manila University Press in 2006. This is a historic recognition as it is the first time the PEN Presents x International Booker Prize program has supported works originally published in Filipino, Cebuano, Malay, Martinique, and the Philippines.Set in the Bicol region, &quot;Time of the Eye&quot; is a sweeping historical novel that culminates with the EDSA Revolution. It has been described as &quot;a hauntingly lyrical depiction of sixty years of personal and historical saga in the Philippines.&quot;The novel follows the Nueva family for 60 years, delving into the complex web of events that have molded Philippine history. The novel skillfully weaves together the stories of three characters from different generations: Selya, Nene, and Boboy, as seen through the eyes of Esteban, a local folk healer.“The story culminates in a two-chapter narrative of one of the main characters, Nene, participating in the People Power EDSA Revolution. She joins the mob that entered Malacañang during the mass protest,” Yapan, a writer and director known for “Sangkatauhan Sangkahayupan,&quot; “Sambahin ang Katawan,” “Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa,” and “Ang Panggagahasa kay Fe,” told ABS-CBN News.The novel has already won critical accolades, including the Juan C. Laya Prize for Best Novel and the National Book Award for Best Novel in a Vernacular Language from the Manila Critics Circle and the National Book Development Board. The Loyola Schools - Ateneo de Manila University also recognized it with the Outstanding Scholarly Work Award in 2008.Meanwhile, Benitez, a Filipino scholar, poet, and translator known for “eTropic,” “Kritika Kultura,” and “Here Was Once The Sea,” believes it is only appropriate to translate Yapan&#x27;s &quot;Time of the Eye&quot; now, as it fits into the growing tapestry of Southeast Asian novels that span history while remaining grounded in specific cultural contexts, such as Eka Kurniawan&#x27;s &quot;Beauty is a Wound&quot; (2015) and Veeraporn Nitiprapha&#x27;s &quot;Memories of the Memories of the Black Rose Cat&quot; (2020).Furthermore, the novel presents itself as a significant counterweight to the prevalent separation of &quot;folklore&quot; and &quot;history&quot; in Eurowestern terminology, viewing both as inextricably linked in Philippine reality. Benitez&#x27;s translation of Yapan&#x27;s work focuses on capturing the melody and cultural nuances of the original Filipino.Among this year&#x27;s PEN Presents x International Booker Prize winners was John Bengan&#x27;s Cebuano translation of R. Joseph Dazo&#x27;s “The Man With a Thousand Names.”

Alvin Yapan’s acclaimed novel ‘Time of the Eye,’ translated into English by Christian Jil Benitez, has been selected as one of six winners of the PEN Presents x International Booker Prize grant — marking a milestone for Filipino literature on the global stage.

Alvin Yapan’s acclaimed novel ‘Time of the Eye,’ translated into English by Christian Jil Benitez, has been selected as one of six winners of the PEN Presents x International Booker Prize grant — marking a milestone for Filipino literature on the global stage.

Alvin Yapan’s sweeping historical novel gets translation grant

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Alvin Yapan’s sweeping historical novel gets translation grant

Josh Mercado

Published Sep 20, 2025 04:00 PM PHT

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Ang Sandali ng mga Mata

Alvin Yapan

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PEN Presents

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