Francisco Arcellana • Worked as manager of International
News Service and the editor of This
Contribution:
He was conferred a doctorate in
humane letters, honoris causa, by the
University of the Philippines in 1989
After his work “trilogy of the turtles”
was published from the paper Literary
Apprentice, he was invited to join the
UP Writers Club by Manuel Arguilla (a
prominent campus literary figure)
Worked in the Herald Midweek as a
columnist with his weekly article titled
“Art and Life” (later retitled “Life and
Letters”)
Worked in Philcross, the publication of
Philippine Red Cross
Francisco Arcellanais a writer, poet,
essayist, critic, journalist and teacher, is
one of the most important progenitors
of the modern Filipino short story in
English. He pioneered the development
of the short story as a lyrical prose-
poetic form. For Arcellana, the pride of
fiction is “that it is able to render truth,
that is able to present reality”. • He is
the fourth of 18 children of Jose
Arcellana y Cabaneiro and
EpifanioQuino.
Educational Background
"Write the story that only you can write."
BIOGRAPHY
• Selected Stories (1962)
• Poetry and Politics: The State of
Original Writing in English in the Philippines
Today (1977)
• The Francisco Arcellana Sampler
(1990)
Week
• Faculty of UP Department of English
and Comparative Literature
• Adviser of Philippine Collegian
• Director of UP Creative Writing Center
• Awarded by Rockefeller Foundation as
a fellow in creative writing, 1956- 1957,
at the University of Iowa and Breadloaf
Writers' Conference
• Some of his works have been
translated into Tagalog, Malaysian,
Italian, German and Russian, and many
have been anthologized
Full name: Zacarias Eugene Francisco Quino
Arcellana
Occupation: Filipino writer, poet, essayist, critic,
journalist and teacher
Birth place: Frank V. Sta. Cruz, Manila
Birth order: 4th of 18 children
Parents: Jose Arcellana y Cabaneiro (father),
Epifanio Quino (mother)
Family: Emerenciana Yuvienco (wife) with 6
children
Sources:
Francisco "Franz" Arcellana
He is considered an important progenitor of the
modern Filipino short story in English. Arcellana
pioneered the development of the short story
as a lyrical prose-poetic form within Filipino
literature. His works are now often taught in
tertiary-level-syllabi in the Philippines.
First story he has written: “The Man
Who Could Be Poe”
 “Death is a Factory” and “Lina” (both
included in Jose Garcia Villa's honor roll)
Mats
Wing of Madness
The Flowers of May
The Other Woman
I Wait For You
To Touch You
Prayer
Francisco Arcellana
He was proclaimed National Artist in
Literature in 1990
His short story “The Flowers of May”
won second prize in 1951 Don Carlos
Palanca Memorial Award for Literature
Another short story, “Wing of
Madness,” placed second in the
Philippines Free Press literary contest in
1953
Ideas/Notes
Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas
for English fiction from the Unyon ng
mga Manunulat sa Pilipino (UMPIL) in
1988
Received the first award in art criticism
from the Art Association of the
Philippines in 1954, the Patnubay ng
Sining at Kalinangan award from the
city government of Manila in 1981
Wing of Madness
(6 September 1916 - 1 August 2002)
Ideas
- In the evening, Mr. Angeles arrived and
join his family for dinner.
- After the supper, he approached the
bundle of mats and asked Alfonso, his
youngest son, for scissors.
- He gave the first mat to his wife and
then proceeded on giving each child
their mats.
- The mats have their names on them
and an appropriate device representing
their personality or characteristic. Mr.
Angeles said that they will not use the
mats until they reach a milestone in
their life.
Famous works
- His passion in writing triggered when he
was in high school in Manila West High
School (later Torres High School) where
he became a staff member in Torres
Torch (school organ/paper).
- Entered University of the Philippines as
pre-medicine student
- In 1939, graduated with degree of
bachelor of philosophy
 Went to medical school
 First story he has written: “The Man
Who Could Be Poe”
 Full name: Zacarias Eugene Francisco
Quino Arcellana or Francisco "Franz"
Arcellana
 Occupation: Filipino writer, poet,
essayist, critic, journalist and teacher
 Birth place: Frank V. Sta. Cruz, Manila
 Birth order: 4th of 18 children
 Parents: Jose Arcellana y Cabaneiro
(father)
 Epifanio Quino (mother)
 Family: Emerenciana Yuvienco (wife)
with 6 children
 Mats
Awards
- The Flowers of May
Educational background
- He was conferred a doctorate in
humane letters, honoris causa, by the
University of the Philippines in 1989
- After his work “trilogy of the turtles”
was published from the paper Literary
Apprentice, he was invited to join the
UP Writers Club by Manuel Arguilla (a
prominent campus literary figure)
- Worked in the Herald Midweek as a
columnist with his weekly article titled
 “Art and Life” (later retitled “Life and
Letters”)
- Worked in Philcross, the publication of
Philippine Red Cross
- Worked as manager of International
News Service and the editor of This
Week
- Faculty of UP Department of English
and Comparative Literature
- Adviser of Philippine Collegian
- Director of UP Creative Writing Center
- Awarded by Rockefeller Foundation as a
fellow in creative writing, 1956- 1957,
at the University of Iowa and Breadloaf
Writers' Conference
- Some of his works have been translated
into Tagalog, Malaysian, Italian, German
and Russian, and many have been
anthologized
Ideas
- “Death is a Factory” and “Lina” (both
included in Jose Garcia Villa's honor roll)
Francisco Arcellana
By: Rosemarie Licayan
Biography
AutoBiography
Francisco Arcellanais a writer, poet, essayist,
critic, journalist and teacher, is one of the most
important progenitors of the modern Filipino
short story in English. He pioneered the
development of the short story as a lyrical
prose-poetic form. For Arcellana, the pride of
fiction is “that it is able to render truth, that is
able to present reality”. • He is the fourth of 18
children of Jose Arcellana y Cabaneiro and
EpifanioQuino.
Subtopic
Wife of Francisco Arcellana
Emerenciana (Emy) Yuvienco Arcellana 88 years
old passed away on 21 December. She has six
children, one of whom, Juaniyo is an essayist,
poet and fictionist.
Subtopic 2
He received his first schooling in Tondo. The
idea of writing occurred to him at the Tondo
Intermediate School but it was at the Manila
West High School (later Torres High School) that
he took up writing actively as staff member of
The Torres Torch, the school organ.
• In 1932 Arcellana entered the University of
the Philippines (UP) as a pre-medicine student
and graduated in 1939 with a bachelor of
philosophy in degree. In his junior year, mainly
because of the publication of his “trilogy of the
turtles” in the Literary Apprentice, Arcellana
was invited to join the UP Writers Club by
Manuel Arguilla – who at that time was already
a campus literary figure. In 1934, he edited and
published Expression, a quarterly of
experimental writing. It caught the attention of
Jose Garcia Villa who started a correspondence
with Arcellana. It also spawned the Veronicans,
a group of 13 pre-WWII who rebelled against
traditional forms and themes in Philippine
literature.
Achievements
• Arcellana went on to medical school after
receiving his bachelor's degree while holding
jobs in Herald Midweek Magazine, where his
weekly column “Art and Life” (later retitled “Life
and Letters”) appeared, and in Philcross, the
publication of the Philippine Red Cross. The war
stopped his schooling. After the war, he
continued working in media and publishing and
began a career in the academe. He was
manager of the International News Service and
the editor of This Week. He joined the UP
Department of English and Comparative
Literature and served as adviser of the
Philippine Collegian and director of the UP
Creative Writing Center, 1979- 1982. Under a
Rockefeller Foundation grant he became a
fellow in creative writing, 1956- 1957, at the
University of Iowa and Breadloaf Writers'
Conference.
Famous Published Books
Works
• In 1932 Arcellana published his first
story. “The Man Who Could Be Poe” in Graphic
while still a student at Torres High School. The
following year two of his short stories, “Death is
a Factory” and “Lina,” were included in Jose
Garcia Villa's honor roll. During the 1930's,
which he calls his most productive period, he
wrote his most significant stories including,
“Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal” cited in 1938
by Villa as the year's best. He also began writing
poetry at this time, many of them appearing in
Philippine Collegian, Graphic and Herald
Midweek Magazine. Some of his works have
been translated into Tagalog, Malaysian, Italian,
German and Russian, and many have been
anthologized. He also edited the Philippine PEN
Anthology of Short Stories, 1962, and Fifteen
Stories: Story Masters 5, 1973. Arcellana credits
Erskine Caldwell and Whit Burnett as influences.
From 1928 to 1939, 14 of his short stories were
included in Jose Garcia Villa's honor roll. His
short story “The Flowers of May” won second
prize in 1951 Don Carlos Palanca Memorial
Award for Literature. Another short story,
“Wing of Madness,” placed second in the
Philippines Free Press literary contest in 1953,
He also received the first award in art criticism
from the Art Association of the Philippines in
1954, the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan
award from the city government of Manila in
1981, and the Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni
Balagtas for English fiction from the Unyon ng
mgaManunulatsa Pilipino (UMPIL) in 1988. He
was conferred a doctorate in humane letters,
honoriscausa, by the UP in 1989. He was
proclaimed National Artist in Literature in 1990
– L.R. Lacuesta and R.C. Lucero
Two major collections of his works are:
Selected Stories, 1962
content are The mats. The flowers of May. The
yellow shawl. Divide by two. By F. Arcellana.--
Vision indivisible, by L. Casper, Fiction, Book, 54
pages 18 cm.]
The Francisco Arcellana Sampler, 1990.
Francisco Arcellana Poems
Poems
 The Other Woman
 I Wait For You
 To Touch You
 Prayer
The Mats
The story entitled “The Mats” was
written by Francisco Arcellana, one of the
admirable literary Filipino artists. The story talks
about a typical Filipino family culture, that
portrays the close family relationship, respect
for the elders and remembering the family
members who passed away. The story begins
with the homecoming of Mr. Angeles who came
from Mariveles. He wrote a letter for his family
about the real weaver artist who make a
marvelous mats. Apparently, he would bring
home his family some mats from this mat
weaver.
Knowing that the rest of the family
members will receive their own personalized
sleeping mats, they became excited about the
news. It was not just an ordinary mat that they
would receive but a personalized mat with their
names and a color depending on their
birthstone. I can sense here, how much joy the
kids felt when they heard the news. Giving gifts
is part of our tradition when some come back
home. This shows how much Mr. Angeles love
his family.
 The mat plays an important role to
Emelia and Mr. Angeles, for Nana Emelia
received a mat by her mother when she got
married to Mr. Angeles. It shows in this story
that Filipinos are naturally sentimental. Filipinos
always treasure the things we received from
our special someone, family, friends, etc. It
shows how Filipinos care for that certain thing
they received from others.
beautiful flowers of May, of May in the
churches of Manila and in the old walled city.
The narrator thinks of his sister Victoria who
died in May. The narrator speaks of the great
depth of pain of his father, his morher's perhaps
futile attempt to comfort his father over the
loss. He speaks of many dead from his family.
The story is very well set in place but the
concerns are universal.

Finally, Mr. Angeles arrived and the kids
were excited to received their personalized
sleeping mats. Mr. Angeles distributed the mats
to his children as he calls the names that’s on
the mat. Now they were all done but there are
three mats left. Those mats were for their kids
who passed away. This only show that even
though they’re dead they remain in the heart of
their father. So, the story taught us that we
should not forget our loved ones no matter how
many years had passed. The sleeping mats used
as an outlet to pay as a tribute to his three kids
who were not with them anymore.
This is a beautiful heartbreaking story.
There cannot be much worse a thing than for a
beloved child to pass in youth. Faith offers the
consolation of an early entry into heaven and
perhaps an eventual reunion but this can be
cold or even a mocking comfort.
"The Flowers of May" is about how life
can be turned into a charnel house,a great city
into a dark necropolis. This is a world class short
story.

Flower of May
I believe that Francisco Arcellana is
really a talented man. He became an inspiration
specially to those people whose passion is https://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-
writing. I also believe that he is an awesome arts/culture-profile/national-artists-of-the-
writer cause he receive a lot of awards and his philippines/francisco-arcellana/
works will really touch the hearts of the readers
and I am one of them. I read his work which is
"The Flowers Of May" -this story won first prize
at Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Award in 1951.
It is all about a family who are mourning for the
death of their daughter, Victoria. In the end,
they will realize the the value of life even if the
one you dear will be taken away from you.

My Conclussion
"The Flowers of May" is almost a
Filipino version of "The Dead" by James Joyce.
There were no memories of snow covered
countryside in the consciousness of many
Filipinos in 1951 but there are memories of the