Paper Trail of FREEDOM
Paper Trail of FREEDOM is preparing for its reissue and release in May 2025! You can pre-order your copy now in the button below.
Paper Trail of FREEDOM is a graphic and poetic memoir of a diasporic Filipino’s experiences of love & loss, and their reckoning with the rousing call to build a new world from their ancestors’ dreams. In "Twin Tongues," a child finds themself at the crossroads of assimilation and resistance, as they make a new home in a society & culture that continues to colonize their homeland. They come of age and understand more deeply the exploitative & genocidal machinations of the American imperialist core against its undocumented families & outsourced laborers, renewing and deepening their purpose in “Until Unity is Woven.” And in "San Francisco to Salupongan," the once child returns to the Philippines as an adult, only to find sacred ancestral lands plundered with brutal force. Amid the forests and across the rivers, they are greeted by a thunderous march from many walks of life, converging to defend their home. This debut publication by poet jxtheo, in collaboration with visual artist Malaya Tuyay, strives to inspire and embolden a new generation of readers to become freedom fighters for the planet & the people. It is a tribute to all loved ones who live in spirit, and an adoration for the living journey of kinship, love, purpose & revolution.
By purchasing this independently-published 128-page full-color graphic poetry book, you are supporting a community organizer, poet and educator who does their best to hold strong in what is probably the most expensive city in the world – San Francisco, CA. You are supporting their livelihood, their capacity to publish historically marginalized works, and their continued environmental & social justice work in service of others. You are aiding their ambition to become a full-time author & artist, and to complete more artistic works such as journals, novels, screenplays, songs & more poetry books through their independent production & publisher Versus Odds. You are funding their preparations for the Paper Trail of FREEDOM poetry & music album, as well as a new music album with their hip-hop & rock band Boondock Squad.
Thank you for your interest. Your support is heartwarming and greatly cherished <3
Watch the replay of our epic Paper Trail of FREEDOM online book release event in 2020
In a time of crisis and physical isolation during the covid-19 quarantine, our community was able to overcome many challenges by staying connected with each other. The online book release of Paper Trail of FREEDOM on June 29, 2020 was truly special as artists Ruby Ibarra, Joi Barrios, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Calina Lawrence & Elisabeth Rodriguez blessed the mic with poet jxtheo to create one thread of stories and solidarity. This evening was hosted by the profilic storyteller and historian Kirby Araullo, with brilliant mixes and scratches by DJ DonDon. The amazing illustrator behind Paper Trail of FREEDOM, Malaya Tuyay, was live painting a beautiful auctioned piece to raise funds for the organization For the Gworls. Amihan Redondiez was also present as a supporter and the designer of this event’s flyer. This event was part of the 2020 United States of Asian-America Festival: Finding Kinship, by the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center. What an honor to have such powerful warriors and sweet spirits comprise our community. Thank you, all of our kapwa <3
