21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

Precolonial literature of the Philippines

The precolonial literature includes all literature produced before the Spanish colonization like chants, proverbs, songs, and folk
narratives. These were all passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth.

Philippine folk narratives are varied and distinct. They depict the people’s livelihood, customs, and traditions.

1. Folktale – This is passed down from generation to generation, and it becomes part of a tradition of a community.
2. Fable – This features animal characters or inanimate objects that behave like people.
3. Legend – This is presented as history but is unlikely to be true.
4. Myth – This is told to explain a belief, a practice, or a natural phenomenon.
5. Epic – This narrative poem celebrates the adventures and achievements of a hero.

Spanish Colonial Period (1952-1898)

Philippine Literature during the Spanish Occupation

The Spanish missionaries taught the gospel through the native language, so they hired natives to translate Spanish
religious instructional materials. Eventually, the natives became fluent in Spanish and became known as ladinos.

Also, the native drama called the komedya or moro-mora was popular. It depicted the war between Christians and
Muslims, wherein the former always won. The poet Jose de la Cruz (1746-1829) was master of such art form.

Francisco Baltazar (1788-1862), the master of traditional Tagalog poetry, became well-known for his work Florante at Laura
(1838-1861), the most famous metrical romance of the country.

Pedro Paterno (1857-1911) wrote Sampaguita y poesias varias (1880), the first poetry collection in Spanish by a Filipino; and the
novel in Spanish Ninay (1885), considered to be the first Filipino novel.

Jose Rizal (1861-1896), a prominent ilustrado and the country’s national hero, is famous for the novels Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo. These novels portray the corruption and abuse of the Spanish officials and the clergy.

Andres Bonifacio (1863-1897), the founder of the Katipunan, wrote the poem “ Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Bayan.” This poem
appeared in the Kalayaan, the official newspaper of the Katipunan, in March 1896.

Leona Florentino(1849-1884), known as the “mother of Philippine women’s literature”, was a poet in both Ilocano and Spanish.
Twenty of her poems were preserved and exhibited in Europe. The poems were included in the Encyclopedia International des
Oeuvres des Femme in 1889.

American Occupation (1898-1940)

 Established a civil government in 1901 by the U.S.
 Introduction of free public education was introduced. Also, English was the medium of instruction
 Signing by President Roosevelt in 1934 bill making the Philippines a commonwealth.
 Manuel L. Quezon was elected president in May 4, 1935.
Literary Works Produced

The production of literary works in English is the direct result of the American colonization of the Philippines. The first
collection of poetry in English is Filipino Poetry (1924), edited by Rodolfo Dato. The short story “Dead Stars”(1925) by Paz Marquez
Benitez is considered as the first Filipino modern short story in English. A Child of Sorrow (1921) by Zoilo M. Galang is the first
Filipino novel in English. The novel His Native Soil (1940) by Juan C. Laya won first prize in the First Commonwealth Literary Awards
in 1940. The poet, and later, National Artist for Literature , Jose Garcia Villa used free verse and espoused the dictum, “Art for art’s
sake” to the chagrin of other writers more concerned with the utilitarian aspect of literature.

Filipino writers in English during the apprenticeship period (1900-1930) imitated American writing. The poet Fernando
Maramag writes in the Romantic tradition in his sonnet “Moonlight on Manila Bay”(1912). Filipino fictionist copied Sherwood
Anderson, William Saroyan, and Ernest Hemingway. Jose Garcia Villa used the Anderson pattern. Manuel Arguilla and N.V.M.
Gonzalez were influenced by Anderson and Hemingway. Francisco Arcellana was influenced by Saroyan.

Japanese Occupation (1941-1945)

 On December 8, 1941, the Japanese attacked Manila.
 On January 2, 1942, Japanese occupied Manila. They set up a Council of State in the country and started propaganda to remold
the Filipinos.
Literary Works Produced
During the occupation, publications were censored by the military. Also, Tagalog was declared an official language
together with Nihonggo). In effect, Philippine literature in English came to a halt. Some Filipino writers then turned to writing
in Filipino.
 The Tagalog short story reached its maturity during the period. The best works were compiled by the Liwayway magazine
editors in Ang Pinakamabuting Maikling Kathang Pilipino ng 1943, which came out in 1944. It is a collection of stories that won
a contest sponsored by the Japanese. The top four stories were “Lupang Tinubuan” by Narciso G. Reyes, “ Uhaw ang Tigang
na Lupa” by Liwayway Arceo, “Nayon at Dagat-dagatan” by N.V.M Gonzalez, and “Suyuan sa Tubigan” by Macario Pineda.

Postwar and Contemporary Period (1941-1945)

Postwar and contemporary literature includes all literary works written and published in the Philippines from 1946.

Essential Features of contemporary/Modern Period Literature

Before the Declaration of Martial Law

 Literature was used as an expression of defiant emotion to urge for social reforms.
 Philippine writing in the vernacular became popular.

Rebirth of Freedom (1946-1960)

 English had been mastered by the Filipino writers through their academic training.
 The political condition of the country in the 60’s led to the rise of student activism.

Rise of Nationalism and Student Activism (1970-1972)

 Campus newspapers played an important role in attacking the ills of the society and politics
 It was an age of realism for Philippine theater

Period of New Society (1970-1972)

 The period of Martial Law begun in 1972 and was officially lifted in 1981
 Bilingual Education was initiated by the Board of National Education.

Third Republic (1981-1985)

 Recurrence of activism with assassination of Senator Ninoy Aquino.

 The legendary EDSA Revolution or “People Power”.

Literary Works

Examples:
 Some works written in the postwar and contemporary period are:
 May Day Eve by Nick Joaquin
 Waywaya by F. Sionil Jose
 We Filipinos Are Mild Drinkers by Alejandro Roces
 The Return by Edith L. Tiempo
 History and Philippine Culture by Horacio de la Costa
 Without Seeing the Dawn by Stevan Javellana

Explanation:

Nick Joaquin, a National Artist for Literature awardee, wrote articles under the name of Quijano de Manila. His short story “May
Day Eve”, published in 1947, is about love in a patriarchal society. It also made use of magic realism.

F. Sionil Jose, one of the most widely read Filipino writers in English, wrote the short story “Waywaya”, which is about pre-
Hispanic society and the people’s struggle for moral order.

Alejandro Roces, a Filipino author, essayist, and dramatist, wrote the short story “We Filipinos Are Mild Drinkers”. This story
focuses on the drinking habits and culture of Filipinos and Americans.

Edith L. Tiempo’s poem “The Return” is a sentimental piece that talks about life in old age.

Horacio de la Costa wrote the essay “History and Philippine Culture”, which emphasizes the importance of understanding and
presenting a nation’s culture.

Stevan Javellana wrote the first postwar Filipino novel in English, Without Seeing the Dawn. This novel narrates what people
experienced during World War II.
Jose Garcia Villa

 Jose Garcia Villa was a Filipino literary critic, poet, painter, and short story writer. He was born on August 5, 1908 in Manila.
 He gained both local and international recognition for his works. He was named as the National Artist for Literature in
1973, and he was also a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship.
 During his college years, he wrote Man Songs, a collection of controversial poems that was considered too bold by the
University of the Philippines and became the ground for his suspension from the said institution.
 Some of his well-known literary works are "Mir-i-nisa" (won in the Philippines Free Press in 1929), and "Footnote to Youth"
(published in 1933).

Jose Garcia Villa as a Poet

 As a poet, Jose Garcia Villa is known for introducing the reversed consonance rhyme scheme. According to Villa, in this
method, the last sounded consonants of the last syllable, or the last principal consonant of a word, are reversed for the
corresponding rhyme. Thus, a rhyme for light would be words such as tile, tall, tale, etc.
 He is also known for his comma poems, where he employed a comma after every word.
 He used the pseudonym Doveglion, which is derived from dove, eagle, lion.
 He died on July 7, 1997.

Example:
One of Jose Garcia Villa's well-known works is "Footnote to Youth."

Carlos P. Romulo

 Carlos P. Romulo was a Filipino diplomat, statesman, journalist, and soldier. He was born on January 14, 1898 in
Intramuros, Manila and grew up in Camiling, Tarlac.
 He was the first Filipino journalist who was awarded with the Pulitzer Prize in Journalism. He was also the first Asian who
served as the president of the United Nations General Assembly.
 "I am a Filipino" is one of the many essays written by Carlos P. Romulo. It was published in The Philippines Herald in August
1941.
 He also wrote the book entitled I Saw the Fall of the Philippines, in which he narrated his personal experiences as an aide-
de-camp to General Douglas MacArthur in Corregidor. This book was followed by a sequel, I See the Philippines Rise, a
journalistic account of the Philippine War in 1944.
 Among his other famous literary works are Mother America: A Living Story of Democracy, a discussion of his political ideals
about American democracy in the Philippines, and I Walked with Heroes, his autobiography.
 He was conferred as National Artist for Literature in 1982.
 He died on December 15, 1985.

Learn about it!

About the Essay I am a Filipino

 I am a Filipino is one of the valuable contributions of Carlos P. Romulo to Philippine literature. Analyzing it would help one
understand what he thinks of the Filipino and what it means to be one.
 In the essay, the author speaks of the pride and dignity of the Filipino race, which is something he wants the future
generation to uphold and cultivate.
 The essay also explains the Filipino identity as a product of the fusion of Western culture (Spanish and American) and
Eastern culture (Japanese occupation and Malayan roots).
 Carlos P. Romulo stresses that the fight for freedom sprung up from one’s pride of being a Filipino. He takes pride in the
bravery and sacrifices of the heroes who fought for freedom like Lapu-Lapu , Diego Silang, Jose Rizal , Gregorio del Pilar,
Antonio Luna, and Manuel L. Quezon.
 He also emphasizes the beauty of the Philippines as blessed with bountiful natural resources and colorful history and
culture.

Summary

Carlos P. Romulo is a profound writer who wrote the essay I am a Filipino, which is one of the great contributions to Philippine
literature not only because it shows one’s love for his country and freedom but also of being proud as a Filipino.

Francisco Arcellana

 Francisco Arcellana is a Filipino teacher and a contemporary writer. He is one of the prominent Filipino fictionists in
English.
 He is known for innovating and exploring new literary forms and experimenting with different techniques in short story
writing.
  He was a member of the group The Veronicans, which was composed of influential Filipino writers who aimed to use
sensible literature in order to create a greater impact on the Philippines.
 He was also the first director of the University of the Philippines Creative Writing Center.
 In 1990, he was awarded as the National Artist for Literature.

Example:
Francisco Arcellana's "The Mats."

Summary

Francisco Arcellana is a Filipino fictionist who demonstrated his craftsmanship in writing great literary pieces such as "The
Mats," a story that highlights Filipino family values and pictures an interesting character coping with the death of loved ones. In
this short story, he uses writing techniques such as emphasizing the characters’ actions and dialogues to reveal their inner
motives and emotions.

N.V.M. Gonzalez

 Nestor Vicente Madali Gonzalez is an award-winning Filipino poet, essayist, fictionist, journalist, editor, and teacher of
creative writing.
 He is the first president of the Philippine Writers’ Association.
 He is also honored as one of the great Filipino writers who advanced literary traditions and culture.
 He was a recipient of the following awards: The Republic Cultural Heritage Award, the Jose Rizal Pro-Patria Award, the
Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature, and the National Artist Award for Literature in 1997.
 Some of his published works are Seven Hills Away (1947), Children of the Ash-Covered Loam and Other Stories (1954),
and The Bamboo Dancers (1949), which appeared in Russian translation in 1965 and 1974.
 Seven Hills Away is a collection of short stories that sketch the daily lives of the Filipino kaingeros in his hometown
province, Mindoro.
 The Bamboo Dancers is a diasporic novel that features the challenges faced by Filipinos in America.

Explanation:
The use of words such as kaingin, hilot, Nanay, and Tatay is part of N.V.M. Gonzalez's writing style, as even his other works
showcase terms that are unique to the setting of the story. Analyzing a story will help readers see details such as this that will
give them ideas regarding the writer's contributions to Philippine literature.

 N.V.M. Gonzalez is known as a local colorist writer. Local color is a literary technique that features the unique regional
traditions of people and emphasizes the ordinary events in their lives. This is used by N.V.M Gonzalez to present the
sociocultural dimensions of Filipino families and farmers in the provinces. In "Children of the Ash-Covered Loam," words
that show local color include kaingin, hilot, Nanay, and Tatay.

Edith L. Tiempo

 Edith L. Tiempo was a Filipino writer in English. She was a poet, fiction writer, and literary critic.
 She was known for using intricate and witty representations to portray significant human experiences.
 Some of her well known poems are "The Return," a poem that describes the characteristics of old age, "Lament for the
Littlest Fellow," a poem that presents a metaphor to describe the plight of a submissive wife under her domineering
husband, and "Bonsai," a poem that gives a look at how tangible objects could be keepers of memories and emotions.
 As a fictionist, she was known for her moral profoundness. One of her remarkable short stories, "The Black Monkey," won
third prize in the Carlos Palanca Memorial Award. "The Black Monkey," which is set during the time when guerrillas were
fighting against the Japanese during World War II, narrates the tormenting encounter of a woman with a monkey.
 She also wrote the novel A Blade of Fern, which depicts the problems of Filipino miners of Nibucal in southern Philippines.
 She was awarded as the National Artist for Literature in 1999.
 She founded with her husband the Silliman University National Writers Workshop, which produced great young writers of
her time.

Analyzing the literary work of a writer would help in determining what her contributions are to literature.

Example:
Below is an excerpt of Edith L. Tiempo's poem "The Return."

The Return

If the dead years could shake their skinny legs and run
As once he had circled this house in thirty counts,
he would go thru this door among those old friends and they would not shun
Him and the tales he would tell, tales that would
bear more than the spare
Testimony of willed wit and his grey hairs.

And he would live in the whispers and locked heads.

Wheeling around and around turning back was where he started:
The turn to the pasture, a swift streak under a boy’s running;
The swing, up a few times and he had all the earth he wanted;
The tower trees, and not so tall as he had
imagined;
The rocking chair on the porch, you pushed it and it started rocking,
Rocking, and abruptly stopped. He, too, stopped in the doorway, chagrined.
He would go among them but he would not tell, he could be smart,
He, an old man cracking the bones of his embarrassment apart.

Explanation:
Old age is the subject of the given poem. This poem describes the life of an old man who loved to travel in his youth. The
phrases dead years, skinny legs, and thirty countsdenote the physical weakness and isolation that the old man feels. The old man
wants to visit his friends to bond with them and share to them his travel stories and experiences. Hopelessly, he sees only the
things associated with old age: irritability and illness, rocking chair, pasture, and the tower tree.

The themes or messages of the poem are:

 Time is irreversible, and memories can only be remembered and cherished.

 Old people face physical weakness and emotional challenges such as feelings of isolation, sadness, and frustration.
 Old age is an inevitable period in human growth and development.

Author’s Style
Edith L. Tiempo used a very contemplative style in writing the poem "The Return." The theme and the subject of the poem are
very serious. Her narrative tone and vivid visual imagery allow readers to think deeply about old age and evoke emotions of
nostalgia and sadness from the old man’s perspective.

Edith L. Tiempo is one of the foremost Filipino contemporary writers in English who is known for her style and substance. Her
language is considered descriptive but without scrupulous detailing. Her literary works are hailed for their artistic representation
of significant human experiences.

F. Sionil Jose

 Francisco Sionil Jose, widely known as F. Sionil Jose, was born on December 3, 1924 in Rosales, Pangasinan.
 His life and most of his works are influenced by Dr. Jose P. Rizal.
 He edited various literary and journalistic publications, and he founded the Philippine PEN, an organization of poets,
playwrights, and novelists.
 He opened Solidaridad Publishing House in 1965. A year after, he founded Solidarity, a magazine that produces content
mainly focused on "current affairs, ideas, and the arts."
 He was a recipient of numerous awards. Some of which are the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and
Creative Communications in 1980, the Pablo Neruda Centennial Award in 2004, and the Officer in the French Order of
Arts and Letters in 2014.
 He was conferred as National Artist for Literature in 2001.

F. Sionil Jose's Literary Works

 F. Sionil Jose’s are generally written in English and are translated to more than twenty languages and produced
worldwide.
 Among his most celebrated works is the Rosales Saga. It is a series of novels that are set from the Spanish colonial
period to the proclamation of Martial Law in the 1970s. This saga includes the following novels: Po-on, Tree, The
Pretenders, Mass,and My Brother, My Executioner.
 He has also written several short stories, including the notable "The God Stealer". It is a story about the friendship of
Philip Latak, an Ifugao, and Sam Christie, an American who wanted to buy a bulol, a sculpture of an Ifugao god. The story
depicts the relationship and truths about the colonizer and the colony.
 Waywaya: Eleven Filipino Short Stories is a compilation of short stories about pre-Hispanic Philippine society.
 In 2004, he published the children’s book The Molave and Other Children’s Stories.

Virgilio S. Almario
Virgilio S. Almario, popularly known by his pen name Rio Alma, is a Filipino artist known for his poetry and literary criticism. He
was proclaimed National Artist for Literature in 2003.
Almario, together with poets Rogelio Mangahas and Lamberto E. Antonio, pioneered the second modernist movement in Filipino
poetry. In his own words, he defines modernist poetry as sparing, suggestive, and restrained in emotion; its vocabulary and subject
are immersed in the now. Among his poetry collections are Makinasyon at Ilang Tula (1968), his very first collection; Peregrinasyon
at Iba Pang Tula (1970), which won first prize in poetry in the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards; Doktrinang Anakpawis(1979); Mga
Retrato at Rekwerdo (1984); and Muli Sa Kandungan ng Lupa (1994).

Almario performed significant deeds in the field of Philippine literature. He founded the Galian sa Arte at Tula (GAT) with the
other poets Teo Antonio and Mike Bigornia in 1970; and the Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika, at Anyo (LIRA), an organization of
poets who write in Filipino, in 1985. From 1986 to 1992, he served as chairman of the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas
(UMPIL), considered to be the biggest umbrella organization of writers. From 1998 to 2001, he served as executive director of
the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). In 2013 he became the chairman of the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino
(KWF).

Virgilio S. Almario, or Rio Alma, is a Filipino artist known for his works of modernist poetry and literary criticism on Filipino
poetry, which are valuable contributions to Philippine literature.

Alejandro R. Roces as a Filipino Writer

 Alejandro R. Roces was a Filipino literary writer. He was born on July 13, 1924.
 He was a playwright, an essayist, and a short story writer. He was also a columnist at the Philippine Star, the Manila
Times, and the Manila Chronicle.
 Alejandro R. Roces was known for his short story "We Filipinos Are Mild Drinkers," a story about an American soldier in
the Philippines who brags about his drinking habits, but becomes overly drunk after drinking lambanog offered by a
Filipino farmer.
 From 1961 to 1965, he served as the Secretary of Education under the regime of former president Diosdado Macapagal.
He has also served as chairman of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) in 2001.
 Alejandro R. Roces was conferred as National Artist for Literature in 2003.
 He died on May 23, 2011.

Bienvenido S. Lumbera

Personal Life

 Lumbera, who was called Beny when he was a young boy, was born in Lipa, Batangas on April 11, 1932. His parents had
passed away before he turned five.
 Beny and his older sister were raised by Eusebia Teru, their paternal grandmother.
 When Eusebia died, Beny came to live with his godparents, Enrique and Amanda Lumbera.
 Beny showed natural aptitude for English. In sixth grade, his writing impressed his teacher so much that she once asked
him, in an accusatory tone, if he did write his composition himself. In his third year in high school, his teacher gave him
difficult works of literature to read.
 Lumbera took a degree in journalism at the University of Santo Tomas in 1950 and graduated cum laude in 1954. A year
before his graduation, his first published work, the poem “Frigid Moon,” appeared in the Sunday magazine of the Manila
Chronicle.
 On a full scholarship granted by the Fulbright Committee, Lumbera obtained his masters and doctorate degrees at
Indiana University.

 Lumbera is a strong advocate of the Filipino language. According to him, the gap between the well-educated Filipinos
and the majority cannot be bridged until Filipino becomes their true lingua franca.
 Lumbera has received numerous awards for his work. The most notable ones were the Special Prize from the Palanca
Awards for his poetry collection Sunog sa Lipa at Iba Pang Tula in 1975, the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism,
Literature, and Creative Communication Arts in 1993, and the Philippine Centennial Literary Prize for Drama in 1998.
 Lumbera received the title of National Artist for Literature in 2006.

Summary

Bienvenido S. Lumbera is a poet, critic, and librettist. He has made valuable contributions in the development of Philippine
literature especially in the vernacular language. He has published works in English and Filipino and received numerous awards
including the National Artist for Literature title in 2006.