Mesándel Virtusio Arguelles teaches literature and creative writing at De La Salle University in Manila. His interests encompass contemporary art, conceptual writing, film and video, installation, found objects, and text-based experimentation. English translations by Kristine Ong Muslim of his poems have appeared or are forthcoming in numerous publications, including Asymptote, Words Without Borders, Copper Nickel, and Poetry London. In 2018, he collaborated with various writer-musicians to produce Namamatay ang mga Nagmamahal, a seventeen-track CD album of his poems set to music; he also exhibited his first solo show, Antares, at Nomina Nuda in Los Baños, Laguna. The recipient of several national awards and writing fellowships, Arguelles has written more than twenty books, including most recently Ang Aming Lungkot ay Amin (Librong Lira, 2023).