philippines and philippine literature in english

Philippines and Philippine Literature in English

Did you know…?

• The Philippines is the only country in the world whose flag is hoisted upside down when the country is at war.

• The Philippines is the world’s largest supplier of nurses

• “boonies” or “boondocks” is based on bundok

• In the Philippines, it is considered rude to open gifts immediately after they are given.

The Jeepney

“King of the Road”

Proudly Pinoy

Proudly Pinoy

Pearl of Lao Tzu or Pearl of Allah

The world’s largest pearl

Proudly Pinoy

The Yo-yo

a hunting weapon; name means “come back” in Ilocano

Proudly Pinoy

Reticulated Python (Python reticulatus)

Word’s longest snake

Did you know..?

Erythromycin, an antibiotic, was invented by Dr. Abelardo Aguilar.

Did you know..?

Philippines is world’s texting capital.

(and world’s selfie capital too!)

Did you know..?

Santelmo or St. Elmo’s Fire, an urban legend, is really an electrical field.

There has also been sighting in the Alps and Himalayas.

Did you know..?

Aswang

A mythical female vampire-like figure in Filipino folklore who eats unborn children has been the subject of at least one American horror film and was featured in an episode of the CW television hit Supernatural called “Fresh Meat."

.

Did you know..?

Cory Aquino was the first Filipina to be featured in Time Magazine.

Her favorite color is red, not yellow.

Philippine Literature

• Literature associated with the Philippines

• Written in Spanish, English, Filipino or in any other indigenous language

• Includes the legends of prehistory and colonial legacy of the Philippines

• Some of the most notable literature is written during Spanish period

Philippine Literature in English

• Started with the coming of the Americans

• 1900: English as medium of instruction in public schools

• American soldiers – first teachers

• August 1901: Thomasites arrived (500 American teachers, on board USAT Thomas)

• 1908: primary and intermediate grades were using English

Note: Thomasites formalized and strengthened Philippine education

Period of Re-Orientation (1900-1910)

Not much literary work were produced because writers were still adjusting to:

• the idea of democracy

• the new phraseology of the English language

• standards of the English literary style

Period of Re-Orientation (1900-1910) : Periodicals

El Renacimiento

• Founded in Manila by Rafael Palma in 1901

Philippine Free Press

• Established in Manila by R. McCollough Dick and D. Theo Rogers

Period of Re-Orientation (1900-1910) :Poetry

1907: Sursum Corda, written by Justo Juliano, was published in El Renacimiento

- First work to be published in English

- means “lift up your hearts” or “hearts lifted”

1909: My Mother and Air Castles, by Jan F. Salazar were also published

To My Lady In Laoag, by Proceso Sebastian

Period of Imitation (1910 – 1925)

• 1919: the UP College Folio published the literary compositions of the first Filipino writers in English. They were the pioneers in short story writing.

• Filipino writers imitated heavily American and British models which resulted in a stilted, artificial and unnatural style, lacking vitality and spontaneity.

• Short stories, novels and essays in English came to exist in this period.

• Writers of this folio included Fernando Maramag (the best editorial writer of this period) Juan F. Salazar, Jose M. Hernandez, Vicente del Fierro, and Francisco M. Africa and Victoriano Yamzon. They pioneered in English poetry.


Essay

Noted essayists: Carlos P. Romulo, Jorge C. Bocobo, Mauro Mendez, and Vicente Hilario

- truly scholarly characterized by sobriety, substance and structure. They excelled in the serious essay, especially the editorial type.

Informal Essay

Ignacio Manlapaz, Godefredo Rivera, Federico Mangahas, Francisco B. Icasiano, Salvador P. Lopez, Jose Lansang and Amando G. Dayrit

-introduced the informal essay, criticism and the journalistic column. They spiced their work with humor, wit and satire.


Novel

Zoilo Galang

• Author of A Child of Sorrow

• First novel in English

• Published 1921

Period of Imitation (1910 – 1925) :

Short Stories

Paz Marquez Benitez

- Author of Dead Stars, stood out as a model of perfection in character delineation, local color, plot and message. Other short stories published during this time were but poor imitations of their foreign models.

- Published in 1920s


Philippine Collegian – replaced the UP College Folio

Newspapers and periodicals also saw print during this time like the Bulletin, the Philippines Herald (1920), the Philippine Review, the Independent, Rising Philippines and Citizens, and the Philippine Education Magazine 1924.

Period of Self-Discovery and Growth (1925-1941)

• Filipino writers had acquired the mastery of English writing

• competently wrote on a lot of subjects although the old-time favorites of love and youth persisted

• Poetry produced during this time was original, spontaneous, competently written and even socially conscious.

Period of Self-Discovery and Growth (1925-1941)Poetry

Noteworthy names in this field include Marcelo de Gracia Concepcion, Jose Garcia Villa, Angela Manalang Gloria, Abelardo Subido, Trinidad Tarrosa Subido and Rafael Zulueta da Costa.

They turned our not only love poems but patriotic, religious, descriptive and reflective poems as well. They wrote in free verse, in odes and sonnets and in other types.


Jose Garcia Villa

- author of Footnote to Youth, published in 1933 and Mir-in-isa

- known as the Comma Poet

- used the penname Doveglion (derived from dove, eagle, lion)

- He was awarded the National Artist of the Philippines title for literature in 1973

Period of Self-Discovery and Growth (1925-1941)Short StoryProbably because of the incentives provided by publications like the Philippine Free Press, The Graphic, The Philippine Magazine and college publications like the UP Literary Apprentice, poetry and the short story flourished during these times.

1930-1940 - the Golden Era of Filipino writing in English

Characteristics: There were still remnants of Spanish influence in the use of expressions that were florid, sentimental, exaggerated and bombastic. The influence of the Western culture also was already evident.

Period of Self-Discovery and Growth (1925-1941)Essay

Essays during this period improved with the years in quality and quantity, in content, subject and style.

a. Political, social reflective essays: Federico Mangahas, Salvador P. Lopez, Pura S. Castrence, Vicente Albano Pacis, Ariston Estrada and Jose A. Lansang.

b. Critical essays were espoused by Salvador P. Lopez, I.V. Mallari, Ignacio Manlapaz, Jose Garcia Villa, Arturo B. Rotor, and Leopoldo Y. Yabes. An example of this is Maximo V. Soliven’s THEY CALLED IT BROTHERHOOD.

c. Personal or Familiar essays were written by F.B. Icasiano (Mang Kiko), Alfredo E. Litiatco, Solomon V. Arnaldo, Amando G. Dayrit and Consuelo Gar (Catuca).


Salvador P. Lopez

Author of LITERATURE AND SOCIETY (1940)

a collection of critical reflections and serious essays and which won first prize in the Commonwealth Literary Contest of 1940.

Camilo Osias

Author of THE FILIPINO WAY OF LIFE (1940)

a series of essays on the Filipino way of life as drawn from history, folkways, philosophy and psychology of the Philippines

Period of Self-Discovery and Growth (1925-1941)1941: F.B. Icasiano (Mang Kiko) was reprints of the best of Icasiano’s essays in the Sunday Times Magazine under the column From My Nipa Hut. It is an essay of the common “tao” and is written with humor and sympathy.

August 16, 1941: Carlos P. Romulo had an editorial printed in the Philippines Herald. Entitled I AM A FILIPINO, it was reprinted in his book MY BROTHER AMERICANS in 1945 in New York by Doubleday & Co.

Other essayist include Ignacio Manlapaz, Vicente Albano Pacis, I.V. Mallari, Jose M. Fernandez, Leopoldo Y. Yabes, Isidro L. Ritizos, Pura Santillan.

The Philippine Writer’s League put out a collection of essays called Literature Under the Commonwealth. Amando G. Dayrit with his column Good Morning Judge led others like Leon Ma. Guerrero, Salvador P. Lopez, Vicente Albano Pacis, Jose A. Lansang and Federico Mangahas.


Biography 1925-1941

1935: I.P. Caballero and Marcelo de Gracia Concepcion wrote about QUEZON.

1938: THE GREAT MALAYAN won a prize in the national contest sponsored by the Commonwealth of the Philippines. This was written by Carlos Quirino, the most famous biographer of the period. He also wrote Quezon, the Man of Destiny.

1940: I.V. Mallari’s The Birth of Discontent revealed the sensitive touch of a writer who in simple language was able to reveal his profound thoughts and feelings.

History

Not much about history has been written by Filipino writers.

1937, with regard to literary history, we can cite Teofilo del Castillo’s The Brief History of the Philippine Islands.


PUBLICATIONS

The Philippine Free Press provided the first incentives to Filipino writers in English by offering prizes to worthwhile contributions. Other publications followed suit.

THE DRAMA (1925-1941)

Drama during this period did not reach the heights attained by the novel or the short story. The UP provided the incentives when they introduced playwriting as a course and established the UP Little Theater.

The Japanese Occupation (1941-1945)

• Writings that came out were journalistic in nature

• Writers felt suppressed

• Spirit of nationalism seeped into the works but not much was produced during this time.

• Majority of the writers waited for a better climate to publish their works.

The Japanese Occupation (1941-1945)

Carlos P. Romulo

- co-founder of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines, a general in the US Army and the Philippine Army

- Won the Pulitzer Prize for his bestsellers “I Saw The Fall Of The Philippines”, “I See The Philippines Rise” and “My Brother Americans”

- was nominated for Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 “for his contribution in international cooperation, in particular on questions on undeveloped areas, and as president for UN’s 4th General Assembly"

- named one of the Philippines' National Artists in Literature (1982)

Rebirth of Freedom (1945 – to present)

• Longer pieces were being written by writers during this period

• Many writers in English were recognized abroad


Kerima Polotan Tuvera

- pseudonym Patricia S. Torres

- Author of The Hand of the Enemy, a novel, which win the Stonehill Award

- penned the only officially approved biography of the First Lady Imelda Marcos, Imelda Romualdez Marcos: a biography of the First Lady of the Philippines

Stevan Javellana

- An Ilonggo literary gem

- Author of Without Seeing the Dawn, a novel, which tells the grim experiences of Filipinos, in general, and the Ilonggos, in particular, during World War II

- Without Seeing the Dawn, also known as The Lost Ones, is his only novel

- Also known as Esteban Javellana


Literary Awards in the Philippines

Palanca Awards or Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature

The Manila Standard called it the "Pulitzer Prize" of the Philippines in prestige.

entries to the Palanca competition have to be previously unpublished pieces in their manuscript form.

The Palanca Awards, organized by the Carlos PalancaFoundation, is one of the Philippines' longest-running awards programs

The Palanca Awards was established in 1950 to inspire and recognize Filipino writers, including poets, playwrights and screenwriters, and writers for children.

Literary Awards in the Philippines

Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas

The Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas is a prestigious award given by the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL). The award is given to literary works of different genres.

Literary works may be any of the following: fiction, essays, poetry, criticism, drama, or screenplay. Works may be written in English, Filipino, Cebuano, Tagalog, Ilokano and Hiligaynon.

FOOTNOTE TO YOUTH by Jose Garcia Villa

Setting: in a rural area, with ricefields, simple living

Characters:

• Dodong – the main character; a farmer and a farmer’s son

- 17 years old, “had pimples on his face, the down on his upper lip was dark – these meant he was no longer a boy.” “He felt insolent and big at the thought of being a man although he was by nature low in stature”. He thinks he can do anything.

- in love and wanted to marry Teang

• Teang – “had small, brown face and small black eyes and straight glossy hair”

• Mother / Inay – mother of Dodong

-“walks with slow careful steps”; does all the housework alone

• Father / Tatay – father of Dodong; suffering from a diseased tooth, constantly sucking at it

• Lucio – another suitor of Teang, 6 years older than Dodong; married but childless

• Blas – Dodong’s eldest child among 7; wanted to marry, at 18, Tona

• Tona – the love interest of Blas

FOOTNOTE TO YOUTH by Jose Garcia Villa

Theme:

In life, sometimes history repeats itself. It may appear in a different form or manifestation but somehow it bears the same consequence. Life has vicarious lessons. One must not make decisions in haste, out of impulse, in a spur of a moment – especially when it comes to serious matters like marriage.

Elders (like parents) should guide the children properly, not letting them do whatever they want to do all the time nor not letting them do anything most of the time. They should impart the proper lessons and teachings to their children rather than letting the children go ahead on their plans blindly.

If you can stop something from happening again the second time, then do something about it.

LIKE THE MOLAVE by Rafael Zulueta de Costa

I. Not yet, Rizal, not yet. Sleep not in peace: There are a thousand waters to be spanned; There are a thousand mountains to be crossed; There are a thousand crosses to be borne. Our shoulders are not strong;

our sinews are grown flaccid with dependence,

smug with ease under another’s wing.

Rest not in peace; Not yet, Rizal, not yet.

The land has need of young blood-and,

what younger than your own, Forever spilled in the great name of freedom, Forever oblate on the altar of the free?

Not you alone, Rizal.

O souls and spirits of the martyred brave, arise! Arise and scour the land!

Shed once again your willing blood!

Infuse the vibrant red Into our thin anaemic veins;

Until we pick up your Promethean tools and, strong, Out of the depthless matrix of your of your faith In us, and on the silent cliffs of freedom, We carve for all time your marmoreal dream! Until our people, seeing, are become Like the molave, firm, resilent, staunch, Rising on the hillside, unafraid, Strong in its own fibre, yes, like the molave!

LIKE THE MOLAVE by Rafael Zulueta de Costa

II. The youth of the land is a proud and noble appellation, The youth of the land is a panoramic poem, The youth of the land is a book of paradoxes, The youth of the land is a pat on one’s back, The youth of the land is a huge canvas of spectral colors, The youth of the land is an epic tragedy-comedy, The youth of the land is a crashing symphony, The youth of the land is a child grown old in tears, The youth of the land is an old man laughing through a perpetual infancy; A bastard child of a thousand dreams, masquerading and dancing, The youth of the land.

III. We, the Filipinos of today, are soft, Easy-going, parasitic, frivolous, Inconstant, indolent, inefficient.

Would you have me sugarcoat you?

I would be happier to shower praise upon My countrymen…but let us be realists… Let us strip ourselves

Youth of the land, you are a bitter pill to swallow.

This is a testament of the youth borne on the four pacific winds; This is a parable of seed four ways sown in stone; This is a chip not only on the President’s shoulder: The nation of our fathers shivers with longing expectation.

Shall we, sons and daughters, brother youths of the land, Walk up new and forever knock the flirting chip off? Or will the nation of our fathers be forever and forever Lighting candles in the wind?