21st Century
THOMASITES
- The 600 American Teachers who arrived in the
Philippines in 1901 to teach Filipinos the English
Language.
- They heralded the spread of the American
language and the literature that would spring
from it.
SCHOOLS THE AMERICA HELP TO ESTABLISH
*The Philippine College of Commerce (1904),
(Polytechnic University of the Philippines)
*Colegio Filipino (1900) (National University)
*Philippine Normal College
*The UP Writer's Club, established in 1927,
continues to produce excellent literature to the
present day.
*Outlets like "Philippine Magazine" and "College
Folio", currently "Philippine Collegian", allowed
Filipino writers to express themselves creatively
in the new language.
*The University of Santo Tomas began publishing
literary works in English in the "The Varsitarian"
in 1928, while the Ateneo de Manila had "The
Ateneo Monthly" (1922), "The Guidon" (1926),
and "Wings" (1931-1932).
Collections of poems in English
"Never Mind and Other Poems" by Procopio
Solidum (1928)
"Filipino Poetry", a Rodolfo Dato-edited
anthology (1924)
"Azucena" by Marcelo de Gracia Concepcion
(1925).
The first collection of poems in book form was
"Reminisces", by Lorenzo Paredes.
(1921)
Emergence of romanticism
Works like "My Wife's Hands" by Conrado
Ramirez (1931)
"Day on the Farm" by Luis Dato (1934)
"Soledad" by Angela Manalang-Gloria (1935)
Vernacular language poetry
Patricio Mariano and Valeriano Hernandez Pena
wrote sketches (dagli in Tagalog) that had a
nationalistic flavor.
JOSE GARCIA VILLA (1940)
*One of the chief figures of modernism.
*Published "Have Come, Am Here" (1942) and
"Have Come, Am Here; Volume Two"
(1949).
*Made a clear statement about innovation, about
toying with the standards of English grammar and
syntax. Because of this, he went on to influence
generations of Filipino Poets to push the English
language to its limits in their works.
*In 1940, Rafael Zulueta de Costa won the
Commonwealth Literary Contest with his,
"Like the Molave and Other Poems". His poems
established free verse within the Philippine poetic
tradition.
AKO ANG DAIGDIG (1940)
*Published by Alejandro G. Abadilla
*Another trendsetting poem of the Philippine's
modernist strain.
*It is a testament to the blossoming of literature
in the vernacular languages (Tagalog and Bisaya)
at the same time that Philippine Literature in
English was booming.
*It talks about the freedom of every one of us to
build their own world with their own voice.
Novels written in the local language:
"Banaag at Sikat" by Lope K Santos (1906)
"Anino ng Kahapon" by Franscisco Laksamana
(1906)
"Pinaglahuan" by Faustino Aguilar (1907)
"Ama" by Lazaro Francisco (1927)
The First Philippine novel in English was "A Child
of Sorrow" by Zoilo Galang
(1921). Two decades later, Juan C. Laya won first
prize in the Commonwealth Literary Awards with
his novel "His Native Soil".
DEAD STARS
*Published in 1952 and written by Paz Marquez
Benitez
*The first successful Philippine Short Story in
English
STEALER OF HEARTS
*Published in 1927 and written by Jose Villa
Panganiban
*The first collection of Philippine Short Stories
DEOGRACIAS A. ROSARIO
*Father of the Tagalog Short Story
*Author of "Greta Garbo"
Two notable collections of vernacular short
stories were "Mga Kwentong Ginto", edited by
Alejandro G. Abadilla and Clodualdo Del Mundo
(1936) and "50 Kwentong Ginto ng 50 Batikang
Kuwentista", edited by Pedrito Reyes.
A MODERN FILIPINO
*First Filipino Play in English written by Araullo
and Castillejo
*It was published in 1915 and believed as where
the drama started bloomin in the Philippines
CARLOS P. ROMULO
*became the President of The United Nations
General Assembly
*Author of "Sons for Sale", "The Ghost", and
many more.
JORGE BOCOBO
*Author of "The Radiant Symbol"
*He published four plays including "Puring's
Choices", and "The New Leader"
VIDAL TAN
*He wrote Rizal-inspired plays like "The Husband
of Mrs. Cruz"
*The play "The Husband of Mrs. Cruz was a
political play.
WILFREDO MA. GUERRERO
*Highly prolific writer to whom over 100 plays are
credited
*He helped the Philippine Theater scene reach
new heights.
*His masterpieces included "Condemned", and
"Women Are Extraordinary"
ZOILO GALANG
*Pioneer of fiction writing in the Philippines
*He broke new grounds for essay writing
*He published "Life and Success" (1921), the First
Philippine Book of Essays in English
MANUEL A. VIRAY
*Among the most notable critics
*A poet and fictionist
*Provided his own criticism in his "Roll of Honor"
SALVADOR P. LOPEZ
*Published "Literature and Society" in 1940, an
essay collection
*He argued that literary writers have a role to
play in social development.
"ART FOR ART'S SAKE" MOVEMENT
*Pioneered by Jose Garcia Villa
*It is stark contrast to the idea of Lopez of
writer's social responsibility
CONDEMED
*A hallmark literary piece that may be considered
a legacy of American influence.
The play reflects how the Americans helped
fortify the Philippine drama scene.
CHARACTERS:
Pablo Gonzalez
Cristina (His fiancé)
Angela Gonzalez (his mother)
Father Lim (prison chaplain)
Warden
SETTING:
Prison waiting room
JAPANESE
The Japanese colonization lasted for only 3 years,
from 1942-1945.
Customs from the Japanese Era that are still
Practised Today
*Taking off shoes when entering someone's
house
*Hospitability and politeness
*Use of honorifics
*Religious adherence
*Hardwork and industriousness
Excellent practitioners of short fiction in the
vernacular:
*Clemente Alejandria (Bicolano)
*Benjamen Pascual (llocano)
*Nicolasa Ponte-Perfecto (Bicolano)
OLiwayway Arceo (Tagalog)
*Lorenzo Dilag Fajardo (Ilonggo)
[Macario Pineda (Tagalog)
DRosario Tuason-Baluyut (Pampango)
[Abe S. Gonzales (Ilonggo)
[Genoveva Edroza-Matute (Tagalog)
1946
*marked the publication of "America is in the
Heart". In this novel, Carlos Bulosan gave a
brutally frank account of Filipino immigrants'
plight in the United States.
*a year later, Stevan Javellana's novel "Without
Seeing the Dawn" came out.
Javellana's work exposed uncomfortable social
realities, first time about the Japanese
occupation.
1960
*continued to produce remarkable writers of
fiction including F. Sionil Jose, Kerima Polaton-
Tuvera, Ophelia Alcantara-Dimalanta, Aida
Rivera-Ford, and Gilda Cordero-Fernando.
Post-war Period
- NVM Gonzales, a teacher in the University of the
Philippines and the University of Santo Tomas.
Gonzales was prolific having authored works like
"Children of the Ash-Covered Loam" (1954) and
'Look, Stranger, on this Island Now" (1963).
1964
* "Mga Agos sa Disyerto" came out in 1964. In
this project, writers like Rogelio Sicat, Efren
Abueg, and Edgardo Reyes brought their own
touch of modernism.
VERNACULAR NOVELS
"Timawa" by Agustin Fabian (1953)
“Maganda Pa ang Daigdig" by Lazaro Francisco
(1955)
"Pagkamulat ni Magdallena" by Alejandro G.
Abadilla (1958)
"Mga Ibong Mandaragit" by Amado V. Hernandez
(1960)
"Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag" by Edgardo Reyes
(1967)
1950
- The Palanca Awards were instituted to recognize
the finest literary writers of the country.
1950's
-Marked the "Peak Modernism" in the Philippine
history.
-Proponents included
T.D. Agcaolili ("Dog in a room you just left", 1953)
American New Criticism
-a poetic movement that emphasized uniqueness
of voice and organic unity.
SILIMAN WRITERS WORKSHOP
-Returned from the US with a wealth of
education.
-Was established by Edilberto and Edith Tiempo
in 1961.
-Based in Dumaguete, this workshop invited up-
and-coming writers.
VERNACULAR POETRY
-is a literature written in the vernacular
(Katutubong Wika).
-the speech of the "common people".
Manlilikha: Mga Piling Tula 1961-1967
-an anti-commercialism anthology.
Ateneo de Manila University
-one of the institutions that kept the Philippine
literary tradition prosperous.
-writers based in this university started the bagay
movement.
Bagay Movement
-sought to check the abstracting tendencies of
traditional poets.
Palanca Award for Poetry
-In 1964, the first Palanca Award for Poetry was
given to Carlos Angeles. He was recognized for his
"A Stun of Jewels which was published the year
before.
Fernando Poe Sr.
-A UP students, he was a key figure.
-A Filipino Actor and Film Director during the
early era of cinema in the Philippines.
-He both acted and directed Wilfredo Ma.
Guerrero's "Condemned"
The Metropolitan Theater
-became an avenue for directors to prove their
abilities.
Other outlets for directors:
*The Life Theater (Gerardo de Leon)
*The Avenue Theater (Lamberto Avellana)
Field of the Essay
-a number of writers published their works in
various periodicals.
This Week Magazine
-Francisco Arcellana ran a column entitled
"Through a Glass Darkly"
-Featured the essays of Pura Santillan-Castrence,
Amador Daguio, and Estrella D.
Alfon.
Yay Panlilio-Marking
-had her own column ("Where a Country Begins")
in the Weekly Women's Magazine.
-In 1962, she published a number of essays that
appeared in this column.
Carmen Guerrero-Nakpil
-was a highly respected name among the
essayists during that time.
-she ran a column named "My Humble Opinion"
for 12 years in the Manila Chronicle.
Socio-Political Factors
-influenced the works of post-war writers, but the
next episode of the Philippines political history
would unfold yet another episode in the legacy of
our literature.
During the Marcos regime the literary texts that
our writers produced has been shaped, both
vernacular works and english texts abounded.
The 1987 constitution identified that the Filipino
and English as a two official languages of the
country.
Amado V. Hernandez
*was named National Artist for literature
*published "Bayang Malaya" in 1970
*"Bayang Malaya" recalls the Japanese
occupation through the eyes of proletariat
characters like Tanggol, Tala, and Lantay.
Néstor Vicente Madali "N.V.M" González
* Filipino novelist, short story writer, essayist and,
poet. Conferred as the National Artist of the
Philippines for Literature in 1997.
Ruben Cuevas
- he published "Prometheus Unbound" an anti-
Marcos poem that inexplicably found its way in a
magazine supporting the dictorship.
Emmanuel S. Torres
- published three books of poetry across four
decades, came up with the sociopolitical "Shapes
of Silence" in 1972 (the year martial law was
declared)
The dictatorship recognized the power of
literature to open the minds of the Filipinos.
Publication like "Philippines Free Press" &
"Philippine Graphic" were shutdown
consequently. Even so, our writers create a
underground literature movement ( in the form
of pamphlets and anthologies) to continue
express the voice of dissatisfaction.
The social themes of Philippine fiction heightened
in 1970s (still due to the happening of martial law
era)
Wilfredo Nolledo
- he create the novel "But for the Lovers", it
recalled the Japanese colonization
Sigwa
- an fiction anthology published in 1972
- it features the stories of Fanny Garcia, Epifanio
San Juan Jr., and Ricardo Lee
- "Sigwa" cried foul against social injustice
Jun Cruz Reyes
- he created the compilation "Utos ng Hari at Iba
pang Kuwento (1981)"
- he distinguished his writing by adopting the
street slang - the language of the (abused)
masses
Despite the government's censorship of
literature, there were outlets for protest fiction
that endured. Among these outlets were
"Kamao", "Dare to Struggle, Dare to win", and
"Ulos".
All-time greats in the novel genre during this
period included
*The Praying Man" (1982) by NVM Gonzalez,
*"Great Philippine Jungle Energy Cafe" (1987) by
Alfred Yuson,
*"Planet Waves" (1989) by Eric Gamalinda,
*"Bamboo in the Wind" (1990) by Asundon Grajo
Uranza,
*"Dog Eaters" (1990) by Jessica Hagedorn,
*"The Honey, The Locusts" (1992) by Lina Espina-
Moore, and
*"Killing Time in a Warm Place" (1992) by Jose Y.
Dalisay Jr.
Palanca Awards
- it continue to brings the best of our country
finest writers.
- it led to the discovery of future generations of
literary giants.
Manila Critics Circle
- tendered accolade upon literary texts in English,
Filipino, and other local languanges.
Puto-Bumbong, Bibingka, Salabat, atbp.
by: Doreen Fernandez
-she reminisces about the most nostalgic parts of
her childhood experiences of Christmas in the
Philippines
-"misa de gallo" or"simbang gabi"
* Pampanga: putong fusong and panara
*cebu: potomaya, suman bodbod, biko, and
bibingka
*laoag: tupig, patupat/tinapet
Chinese, Spanish, and American influences
-historical colonizers on the culture of the
Philippines up to this day symbolically through
Christmas food