Almira Astudillo Gilles—The Fire Beneath: Tales of Gold
VIEW EVENT DETAILSA new historical novel by Filipino American author Almira Astudillo Gilles
Inspired by the discovery of the Surigao gold treasures, many of which are featured in Asia Society's current exhibition, this exciting new novel, The Fire Beneath: Tales of Gold tells the gripping story of a poor bulldozer operator who unearths a golden treasure trove during a construction project. In this powerful and insightful new novel, award-winning Filipino American author, Almira Astudillo Gilles pushes beyond the anticipated tribulations that would inevitably follow unexpected good fortune, as she digs deeper into the contrasts which are unearthed by this extraordinary find: discovery and concealment, greed and generosity, secularization and spirituality.
Almira Astudillo Gilles is in conversation with Florina H. Capistrano-Baker, Consulting Curator, Ayala Museum and, co-curator of the exhibition, Philippine Gold: Treasures of Forgotten Kingdoms
Followed by a book-sale and signing.
Winner of the Philippine Presidential Award 2012 for Literature
Almira Astudillo Gilles was born and raised in the Philippines. A research associate in anthropology at the Field Museum Chicago and the National Museum Philippines, she holds a PhD in Social Science, an MA in Comparative Political Systems, and an MA in Labor Relations. She has published in many genres and received the Philippine Presidential Award for her writing in 2012. Her first novel, The Fire Beneath: Tales of Gold (Carayan Press, San Francisco: 2012) was inspired by the discovery of the largest collection of gold artifacts in the Philippines and was a finalist for the Chicago Book of the Year Award. In addition to writing, she handles operations for a silkworm startup in the Philippines. Current projects include “Art and Anthropology: Portrait of the Object as Filipino” and a science book for young readers, Hotspot, Cool Country: Biodiversity in the Philippines, to be published by the National Museum Philippines.
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The exhibition Philippine Gold: Treasures of Forgotten Kingdoms is on view through January 3, 2016, for more information click here.
Can’t make it to this program? Tune in to AsiaSociety.org/Live at 6:30pm ET for a free live video webcast. Viewers are encouraged to submit questions to [email protected] or via Twitter by using the hashtag #AsiaSocietyLIVE