09/02/2026
Our first encounter with Cesar Ruiz Aquino’s work was through a friend who, at the time, was attending the Silliman Writers Workshop and introduced his writing to us. We were immediately hooked. We felt at home with his work, because these are exactly the kinds of texts we gravitate toward—the kind that are serious in their being unserious, playful yet precise, intimate but never indulgent. These are poems that make you sigh and swoon, and then, almost quietly, ask you to think. Cesar’s writing carries a rare balance of wit and ache, tenderness and intelligence; it is language that feels lived-in, reflective, and deeply aware of time, memory, and the self.
A few years ago, we finally got the courage to express our admiration online and sent him a message asking if he would be interested in releasing a book under Pawn Press. Luckily for us, he said yes. That book became Z for Short. Z for Short is, in many ways, Sir Sawi’s crowning glory—part long poem, part meditation, part autobiographical novel in disguise. It is a book that resists easy classification, which is often the mark of work that truly matters. We were proud not only to publish it, but to be among its first readers. We launched it during the pandemic, online, via Zoom, and in the spirit of Pawn Press—where we do only limited runs—we released just fifty copies.
Last year, we messaged him again to ask if he would be interested in a second run of Z for Short. He told us he wasn’t, because the book had another destiny: a larger publication was going to officially pick it up. And we couldn’t have been happier. It was finally going to receive the wider spotlight it deserved. But while Z for Short moved on to its next life, Sir Sawi told us he had another body of work he wanted to release—an omnibus of his poetry, from his earliest writings to his more recent ones—and he wanted Pawn Press to publish it. Naturally, we gave a resounding yes.
This new collection, Shadow of the Wind, is not only Sir Sawi’s life work; it is his work in multiple forms and reincarnations—written, published, republished, and rewritten across different periods of his life. As readers, we know that environment, circumstance, and even age shape how we encounter a text. As Italo Calvino once wrote, “A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.” You may have read Sir Sawi in your twenties, as we did—but we urge you to read him again at a different moment in your life. Maybe in your forties, as we are now. You will find that the poems have changed, because you have changed.
So ladies and gentlemen, we are honored to present to you Cesar Ruiz Aquino’s poetry collection, Shadow of the Wind—a book that invites rereading, reflection, and return.
PP
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You can now avail physical copies of 'Shadow of the Wind' at these locations:
Lost Books Cebu
GF, CAO Mercado Bldg, Osmeña Blvd, Capitol Site, Cebu City
Libraria Books
58 E J. Blanco Dr, Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental
Silliman University Creative Writing Center
Dumaguete City
or send us a message.
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📸 (c) LibrAria Books, taken during the book launch
