Lesson 5 Acknowledge Reality and Transform

Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio: is a patriot and mother who used theater to teach values
April 4, 1930 – December 29, 2020
● National Artist for Theater
● Founder of Teatrong Mulat ng Pilipinas
● University of the Philippines (UP) professor emeritus
● Born on April 4, 1930, in Binondo, Manila
● The Filipina artist was a well-known playwright and theater director for children’s theater.
● In 1959, Lapeña-Bonifacio helped build the Speech and Drama Department at the University of the
Philippines in Diliman, where she taught theater history and speech subjects.

In 2010, she was honored with the title “Mother of Philippine Puppetry” by UP’s Department of Speech
Communication and Theatre Arts for her efforts in promoting Philippine stories and Asian puppetry and
eventually creating a Philippine puppet tradition.

Before she became a National Artist for Theater in October 2018, Lapeña-Bonifacio had written 44 plays,
136 short stories, and 26 books, mostly for children and young adults. Some of her notable plays were
Abadeja: Ang Ating Sinderela (Abadeja: Our Own Cinderella), Papet Pasyon (Puppet Passion), and Sita
& Rama: Papet Ramayana.

Her titles:
-Grand Dame of Southeast Asian Children’s Theatre
-In-charge of Philippine Children’s Theatre
-Mother of Philippine Puppetry
-National Artist for Theatre
-Lifetime achievement awardee

Lesson 6 Build Up Wisdom Within

What is creative nonfiction?

It is simple, succinct, and accurate as a literary genre.

“true stories well told.”

It is “a branch of writing which uses literary techniques

usually associated with fiction or poetry to give life to
real persons, places, or events” (Nordquist, 2015)

also sometimes called literary non-fiction or

narrative non-fiction

it is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and

techniques to create factually accurate narratives.
Creative non-fiction

Creative non-fiction contrasts with other nonfiction, such as

technical writing or journalism, which is also rooted in accurate
fact but is not primarily written in service to its craft.

As a genre, creative non-fiction is still relatively young and is only

beginning to be scrutinized with the same critical analysis given to
fiction and poetry.

Other names of creative non-fiction:

Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction, narrative nonfiction, literary journalism or
verfabula)

Elements of Creative Non-fiction

1. Personal presence
-writer is present and directly involved in specific scenes

2. Self-discovery or self-motivation
-self-realization of strength and weaknesses

3. Flexibility of form
-must see content and perspective of the writer

4. Veracity
-truthfulness and accuracy

5. Literary approaches
-refers to the models in which the writer presents the topic or conveys an idea.
-ex. feminism, formalism

Hidalgo is the author of several

autobiographical travel books, novels, and books of literary criticism focusing on women's
literature She has also edited literary anthologies and pioneered creative nonfiction in the
country. She received her Bachelor's degree in Philosophy (1964), magna cum laude, and
Master of Arts degree in Literature (1967) meritissimus from the University of Santo
Tomas. She later received a doctorate in comparative literature from the University of the
Philippines, Diliman, in 1993.

Dr. Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo

- Writer- in magazine and newspapers at age 15
- Editor
- Teacher
- received several awards from prestigious award-giving bodies such as Gawad Balagtas, Manila
Critics Circle, and Palanca Award.
Personal Memoir
-tends to discuss past events that are more striking or life-changing. “The memoir interprets,
analyzes, and seeks deeper meaning beneath the surface experience of particular events”
(Purdue University, 2010, para. 4).
-It tackles the meaning and importance of these events

Lesson 7: See the World Through a Different Lens

Speculative Fiction
According to Dean Francis Alfar (2012), speculative fiction is a type of story that deals with
observations of the human condition but offers the experience through a different lens, which
could either be through a crystal ball glowing with eldritch glamour, through a cascade of
information, riding tachyons in the cold void of space, or from a dying man of horrific causes in a
house of shadows.

-can teach, entertain, or provoke thoughts. It is a story that can speak to us as people and as
readers and challenge us to see what tomorrow could be like or what the mythic past of our
imagination actually is (Alfar & Alfar, 2013)
-answers “what if”
-helps describe what one is talking about
-encompasses the types of stories classified under the banners of fantasy, science fiction, horror,
magical realism, and surrealism.

Speculative fiction is a broad category of fiction that includes genres with elements that do not
exist in reality, recorded history, nature, or the present universe and covers a wide range of
themes in the context of the supernatural, futuristic, and many other imaginative topics.

Nikki Alfar
- received two Palanca Awards, one National Book Award, and a citation in the International
Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror.
-She is a contributing fiction writer for the US-based e-zine Our Own Voice and a core member of
the LitCritters Writing (founding member) and Literary Criticism Group. -co-edits the annual
anthology series Philippine Speculative Fiction
-Nikki Alfar learned to write at the age of two
-over three decades later, she’s been a flight attendant, a bank manager, a magazine editor, an
office administrator, a radio newscaster, and, currently, a marketing and corporate copywriter.
-Along the way, she’s somehow managed to earn two Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for
Literature, one Manila Critics’ Circle National Book Award, a citation in the global Year’s Best
Fantasy & Horror, and recognition as a ‘Filipina writer of note’, according to the Ateneo Library of
Women’s Writings.