This paper charts the history, influence, and contemporary practice of Balagtasan, a poetic performance tradition that pays homage to the “Filipino Shakespeare,” Francisco Balagtas (born, 1788), predating what is known as “fliptop” or the Filipino rap battle. For 95 years, Balagtasan has debated and explored the social and political terrain and, in so doing, broadened awareness and deeper discussion of important Filipino issues. The authors also consider the impact of competitive jousting between pairs of poets as a grassroots form that has built community throughout an archipelago of 7,107 islands, speaking from rural and urban centres of population across the expanse of water and sky through elegant cultural engagement in Tagalog, the Philippine language.

中文翻译：

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Balagtasan超越Balagtas：辩论诗歌，菲律宾传统

本文绘制了Balagtasan的历史，影响和当代实践，Balagtasan是一种诗意的表演传统，向“菲律宾莎士比亚”，Francisco Balagtas（生于1788年）致敬，早于所谓的“ fliptop”或菲律宾说唱之战。九十五年来，Balagtasan一直在辩论和探索社会和政治领域，并以此扩大对重要菲律宾问题的认识和更深入的讨论。作者还认为，成对的诗人之间的竞争对决的影响是草根形式，它在整个7,107个岛屿的群岛中建立了社区，通过塔加拉族语中高雅的文化参与，从水和天空的广阔农村和城市人口中心来讲，菲律宾语言。