A male writer writing about manhood and masculinity might find himself in two unstable positions: one where he remains an authority in the male-dominated historical, cultural, and political spheres, and second where he inverts his own articulations. But there is complexity in this consciousness of locating one’s position of being, for in trying to move from or towards who man is implied to be—as father,  brother, athlete, professional, action star, hero, or boy—he may find his self in the center.

"Lahat ng Nag-aangas ay Inaagnas" is a selection of poems in Filipino that attempts to capture manhood within the variety of violence its image has caused. By way of writing about actual experiences of places, people, and phenomena, performing these works in public spaces, and documenting these iterations, Tiausas uses the masculine action of assertion of presence to capture man’s own image in particular points in time and space, thereby locating the persona of his poetry (and consequently himself) as man. As an act of centering, he contemplates on angas, a declaration of presence, and its demand to be embodied and performed; and agnas, an inevitable consumption, dominating the dominator. Tiausas' poetry turned performance turned institutional critique turned autocritique narrate this distortion involved in finding a way to articulate masculinity, to contribute to the discernment of this image.

In this persistent attempt, he hopes to bring about manhood that, in the end, is capable of ending itself. By being conscious of his being and his ending, Tiausas releases himself of at least man’s symbolic weight, finding place amongst reality and imagined realities with, within, and without him.

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John Alexis Balaguer