Topic:

Representative Text
and Authors from
the Regions
In this module you will learn about the different
representative texts and authors from the
regions.
After going through this module, you are
expected:
1. identify and define the different canonical
authors of the regions and their work;
2. describe canonical authors from Region VI; and
3. find and profile Binalaybay author/s in your
locality.
The Philippines is rich with talent and wit. It
shows in every field of life- commerce,
technology, arts and of course literature. In
this lesson, you will be meeting 10 of the
brightest canonical writers in the
Philippines. You will be learning about their
life, their passions and their masterpieces
that propelled them to becoming national
artists.
 Gearing Up to Start
Every country has a collection of books,
selections, narratives, and other texts considered
to be very important and influential that it
permeates society on many levels, and have
without a doubt shaped everyone's view of life
and the world. This collection refers to the
Literary Canon of the country.
 Gearing Up to Start
Remember that in the course of your education, or
generally your life, you have been asked to read any
poem, novel, essay or any other type of text. It is
because these texts were decided to be canonized by
your teacher or by a certain individual expert in
Philippine Literature. There are also situations when you
just feel compelled to read other texts. These canons,
then are understood as valued lists and are ingrained in
our educational systems, becoming unavoidable.
 Gearing Up to Start

In this lesson, you will be

meeting some of the Philippines'
Canonical Writers and their
works that which belong to the
Philippine Literary Canon.
REPRESENTATIVE WRITERS,
THEIR LIFE AND WORKS
NICK JOAQUIN
National Artist for Literature (1976)
•He is a Filipino novelist, playwright, poet,
essayist and biographer whose works
present the Filipino's diverse heritage.
•Joaquin was awarded a scholarship by the
Dominican monastery in Hong Kong after his
publication of the essay "La Naval de
Manila" in the year 1943.
•He was also known as a historian of Spain's
short "Golden Age" in the Philippines.
Famous Works:
1. The Woman Who Had Two Navels
2. The Portrait of the Artist as Filipino
3. My Manila: A History for the Young
4. The Ballad of the Five Battles
5. Almanac for Manileño
JOSE GARCIA VILLA
National Artist for Literature (1973)
• He is considered as one of the finest contemporary
poet.
• He introduced reversed consonance rhyme
scheme, and comma poems that made full use of
the punctuation mark in an innovative way.
• He used the penname Doveglion (Dove, Eagle and
Lion) and was explored by E.E. Cummings in a
poem he wrote for Villa entitled Doveglion,
Adventures in Value.
• Villa is also known for the tartiness of his tongue.
Famous Works:
1. Footnote to Youth
2. Many Voices
3. Poems in Praise of Love: The
Best Love Poems of Jose Garcia
Villa
4. Poems 55
ALEJANDRO ROCES
National Artist for Literature (2003)
• Roces is a short story writer and an essayist,
considered as the country's best writer of comic short
stories.
• He always focused on the neglected aspects of the
Filipino cultural heritage.
• He led the campaign to change the country's
Independence Day from July 4 to June 12; caused the
change of language from English to Filipino in the
country's stamps, currency and passports
• Various international magazines had published his
work.
Famous Works:
1. My Brother's Peculiar Chicken
2. We Filipinos are Mild Drinkers
3. Of Cocks and Kites
4. Fiesta
5. Something to Crow About
NESTOR VICENTE MAGDALI (N.V.M.)
GONZALES
National Artist for Literature (1997)
• He is a fictionist, essayist, poet and teacher,
articulated Filipino spirit in rural and urban
landscapes.
• He won the First Commonwealth Literary Contest in
1940, received the Republic Cultural Heritage Award
in 1960 and the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining in 1990.
• He became U.P.'s International-Writer-In-Residence
and a member of the Board of Advisers of the U.P.
Creative Writing Center. In 1987, U.P. conferred on
him the Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa, its
highest academic recognition.
Famous Works:
1. Seven Hills Away
2. The Winds of April
3. Children of the Ash-Covered
Loam and Other Stories
4. The Bamboo Dancers
LUALHATI BAUTISTA
Carlos Palanca Memorial Awardee (1980,
1983 and 1984)
• She is one of the leading Filipino female
novelists in the history of contemporary
Philippine literature.
• She is known for her unique style, honest
realism and courageous exploration of women's
issues. Her compelling female protagonists
confront difficult situations at home and in the
workplace with uncommon grit and strength.
• In 1999, she won a FAMAS Award for her best
story entitled "Bata Bata Pa'no Ka Ginawa?"
Famous Works:
1. Bata Bata Pa'no Ka Ginawa?
2. Gapo
3. Dekada '70
FRANCISCO ARCELLANA
National Artist for Literature (1990)
• He is a writer, poet, essayist, critic, journalist
and teacher, one of the most important
forerunners of modern Filipino short story in
English
• For him, the pride of fiction is "that it is able to
render truth, that is able to present reality".
• As a brilliant craftsman, his works became
indispensable in educational institutions
across the country.
Famous Works:
1. Frankie
2. The Flowers of May
3. Death in a Factory
4. A Clown Remembers
F. SIONIL JOSE
National Artist for Literature (2001)
• He is a writer, a publisher, lecturer on cultural issues
and the founder of the Philippine chapter of the
international organization PEN.
• His writings deal with consistent backing of Filipino's
dream for national sovereignty and social justice.
• He was bestowed the CCP Centennial Honors for the
Arts in 1999; the Outstanding Fulbrighters Award for
Literature in 1988; and the Ramon Magsaysay Award
for Journalism, Literature and Creative
Communication Arts in 1980.
Famous Works:
1. The Pretenders
2. Tree
3. My Brother, My Executioner
4. Mass
5. Poon
EDITH L. TIEMPO
National Artist for Literature (1999)
•She is one of the best Filipino writers in
English whose works are characterized by
style, substance, craftsmanship and insight.
•She and her husband founded the Siliman
National Writers Workshop in Dumaguete
City and produced some of the country's
best writers.
•Her language was marked as descriptive but
unburdened by scrupulous detailing.
Famous Works:
1. A Blade of Fern
2. The Native Coast
3. The Alien Corn
4. The Charmer's Box and Other
Poems
VALERIANO HERNANDEZ-PEÑA
Father of the Tagalog Novel
•He was a Filipino novelist considered to be
the Father of the Tagalog Novel (Ama ng
Nobelang Tagalog), a distinction given to
him for his "Kasaysayan ng Magkaibigang si
Nena at Neneng".
•In the year 1900, he joined the staff of "Ang
Kaluwagan" which was replaced by Kapatid
ng Bayan, founded by Pascual Poblete.
Famous Works:
1. Kasaysayan ng Magkaibigang
si Nena at Neneng
2. Mag-inang Mahirap
3. Hatol ng Panahon
CARLOS P. ROMULO
National Artist for Literature (1982)
• He was an educator, a university president,
diplomat, journalist and a soldier.
• He was known as the first Asian president of
the United Nations General Assembly, and
became Philippine ambassador to Washington
D.C.
• He was the only Asian to win America's
coveted Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for a series
of articles predicting the outbreak of WWII.
Famous Works:
1.Forty Years: A Third World
Soldier at the UN
2. The Philippine Presidents
3. I Walked with Heroes
4. The United