Live literature in the Philippines: an ethnographic study of #RomanceClass and reading as performance

Live literature – events where literature is the dominant art form presented or performed – is a highly visible form of contemporary book culture. In this article, we examine the live reading events organised by #RomanceClass in the Philippines as a case study, using a digital ethnography method which draws on fieldnotes, interviews, social media content, a decibel reader, and a bingo card; and grapple with some of the methodological challenges of researching post-digital literary events. By doing so, we seek not only to explore these fascinating live reading events as specific local phenomena, but also the ways in which the characteristics of a given genre world shape the phenomenology of live literature events more broadly. Ultimately, we conclude that live literature events are shaped by the genre worlds from which they arise. In the case of #RomanceClass, the distinctive aspects of the live readings result from the close sociality of the community and their emphasis on kilig, a Filipino term for an affective, romantic excitement. More broadly, we conclude that there are complex connections between books, their production and consumption, and bookish live events, and call for further integration of publishing and performance studies.