 Philippine literature withstood time and periods and has

evolved through generations. For every period that

passed, different genres appeared, and these literary
works rooted from all regions reflecting their culture,
society and lifestyle.
 VISAYAN LITERATURE
 Post colonial

 The early stages of Filipino Literature consist of the Pre-

Spanish period, the Spanish period and the Propaganda
and Revolutionary Periods. In the Pre-Spanish period,
literature was in oral form as technology of printing
wasn’t available yet. Works such as epics, legends,
folklore, salawikain, bugtong, sawikain, songs such as
the Oyayi or Hele are passed on from generations to
generations and they are still well-known up to this day
as they are being taught in schools.
 Spanish era

 Philippine Literature changed during the Spanish Period. It was centered

on Christian faith. Pre-Spanish literary types continued to develop;
however, there was a gradual shift of interest from nature and natural
phenomena to the lives of the saints, hymns, miracles and invocations
based on the teachings of the Catholic Church. The works during this time
are imitative of the Spanish theme, forms, and traditions. The corrido, awit,
dalit, cenaculo, moro-moro, duplo and karagatan, and zarzuela are
reflective of the said characteristics. Religious matters were in prose as
novenas and prayer books, biographies of the saints, tales and novels. The
Filipinos were able to retain their native traditions and poems in the field of
poetry reflected as lyrical folksongs and riddles. Events such as the
exposure of the Filipinos to Europe’s liberal idealism, the opening of the
Suez Canal, the Spanish Revolution in 1868, and the martyrdom of
Gomburza led to Filipino nationalism. This gave birth to two movements
during this time – the Propaganda movement and the Revolutionary
movement. The Propaganda movement was reformatory in objective and
its members are college students mostly based in Spain.
 Prominent authors during Spanish era
1900-1942 THE AMERICAN PERIOD
The Philippines had a great leap in Education and Culture.
The use of English alongside Filipino was practiced. The
Philippines Public School system was introduced. Free
public instruction was given to the Filipinos. The
literature during the American period was considered as
imitative of American model. Instead of asking the
students to write originals, students ended up following
the form of American poets.
1941-1945 THE JAPANESE PERIOD AND
1946- 1985 THE REPUBLIC

The Japanese Period and the Republic .

The Philippine literature came into a halt. The use of the

English language was forbidden, and the use of the
Filipino language was mandated under the Japanese rule.
For some this was a problem, but to most writers, it was
a blessing in disguise. Almost all news papers were
stopped except for some. Filipino literature was given a
break during this period. Many wrote plays, poems, short
stories, etc. Topics and themes were often about life in
the provinces.
AUTHORS AND FORMS
LITERATURE OF THE PHILIPPINES
TODAY
 21st century literature per se, is anything that was written
and published in the year 2000s. It is a bit too early to give
a definite and elaborate description of the 21st century
literature in the Philippines and the world. It is possible,
however, to approach contemporary literature as a reaction
to and dialogue with existing forms of expressive culture.
As we engage in technology more and more, we create
and discover more existing forms of expressive culture as
well. We have a wide range of resources through the
internet and this gave opportunities to people, especially
the youth, to begin writing and expressing their thoughts,
ideas, and feelings. A perfect example would be WattPad.
It became popular to the Filipino youth in 2006.
AUTHORS AND FORMS
 Creative nonfiction

It’s a rich mix of flavors, ideas, and techniques, some of

which are newly invented and others as old as writing
itself. Creative nonfiction can be an essay, a journal
article, a research paper, a memoir, or a poem; it can be
personal or not, or it can be all of these.
Some of the creative nonfiction in the Philippines are:
 
“The Cardinal’s Sins, the General’s Cross, the Martyr’s
Testimony, and Other Affirmations” by Gregorio C.
Brillantes

“Manananggal Terrorizes Manila and Other Stories” by

Jessica Zafra

“SapayKoma” by Jhoanna Lynn Cruz

Hyper poetry
Hypertext poetry and hypertext fiction are new genres of
literature that use the computer screen as medium, rather than
the printed page. The literary works rely on the qualities
unique to a digital environment, such as linked World Wide
Web pages or effects such as sound and movement. Hypertext
“poetry” can consist of words, although not necessarily
organized into lines and stanzas, as well as, sounds, visual
images, movement or other special effects. Although the
poem may be dazzling with sounds, perhaps of a lawnmower,
while the words “mowing,” “stop,” “Sunday,” and “morning”
float across your computer screen in pseudo-three-
dimensional letters, one will have been hard pressed to
identify the use of any formal poetics.
 Mobile phone text tula

 A cell phone novel, or mobile phone novel is a literary work

originally written on a cellular phone via text messaging.
This type of literature originated in Japan, where it has
become a popular literary genre. However, its popularity has
also spread to other countries internationally, especially to
China, United States, Germany, and South Africa. Chapters
usually consist of about 70-100 words each due to character
limitations on cell phones.
 Chick lit

This is genre fiction, which “consists of heroin-centered

narratives that focus on the trials and tribulations of their
individual protagonists”. The genre often addresses issues of
modern womanhood – from romantic relationships to female
friendships to matters in the workplace – in humorous and
lighthearted ways.
Some of the chick lit in the Philippines are:
 
Spotlight New Adult by Mina V. Esguerra
Tall Story by Candy Gourlay
All’s Fair in Blog and War by Chrissie Peria
SPECULATIVE FICTION

It covers all stories from fantasy to science fiction to

slipstream to magic realism to urban fantasy — so on
and so forth. In other words (or in other worlds), it
encompasses all the stories that are removed from the
reality that we are currently living in. As the introduction
states, “speculative fiction is a type of story that deals
with observations of the human condition but offers the
experience through a different lens…and challenges us
to see what tomorrow could be like or what the mythic
past of our imagination actually is.’’
Some of the speculative fiction in the Philippines are:
 
Smaller and Smaller Circles by FH Batacan
Sink by Isabel Yap
The Secret Origin of Spin-Man by Andrew Drilon
Flash fiction
 
Flash fiction goes by many names, including microfiction,
microstories, short-shorts, short short stories, very short
stories, sudden fiction, postcard fiction and nanofiction.
While it can be difficult to pinpoint an exact definition of
flash fiction based on word count, consideration of
several of its features can help provide clarity, like its
brevity, length, background and purpose.
Some of the flash fiction in the Philippines are:
 
100 Kislap, by Abdon M. Balde Jr.
Karapote: AntolohiaDagiti 13 a Nasuerte A Sarita, by Ariel
S. Tabag
Blog
 
A blog (shortening of “weblog”) is an online journal or
informational website displaying information in the
reverse chronological order, with latest posts appearing
first. It is a platform where a writer or even a group of
writers share their views on an individual subject.
Graphic novels
 
The ‘graphic novel’ has existed as an art form arguably from
the time our species learned how to paint. However, the
term has only been in use since the 1960’s, and though it’s
often a hotly debated issue, it’s generally accepted that a
graphic novel is a longer work or collection of works
presented in ‘comics’ style.
Some of the graphic novels in the Philippines are:
 
The Mythology Class (Nautilus comics) by Arnold Arre
Light (Anino comics) by Rob Cham
Sixty Six (Anino comics) by Russell Molina
Maktan 1521 by TepaiPascual
Literature continues to change with society and although
we are in the 21st century and are binded with
technology, authors are still trying to address absolute
human questions in new ways and therefore, reconcile
them with the ever-changing technology that surrounds
us; hence, the birth of the different 21st century literary
genres.