Philippine literature in English

Philippine literature in English has its roots in the ef-forts of the United States, then engaged in a war with Fil-ipino nationalist forces at the end of the 19th century.By 1901, public education was institutionalized in thePhilippines, with English serving as the medium of in-struction. That year, around 600 educators in the S.S.Thomas (the "Thomasites") were tasked to replace thesoldiers who had been serving as the first teachers. Out-side the academe, the wide availability of reading mate-rials, such as books and newspapers in English, helpedFilipinos assimilate the language quickly. Today, 78.53%of the population can understand or speak English (seeList of countries by English-speaking population).

1 The Commonwealth Period

The founding of Silliman University by Presbyterian mis-sionaries and the Philippine Normal School (PNS) in1901 and theUniversity of the Philippines (U.P.) in 1908,as well as of English newspapers like the Daily Bulletin1900, The Cablenews 1902, and the Philippines Free Press1905, helped boost English usage. The first ten years ofthe century witnessed the first verse and prose efforts ofFilipinos in student publications such as The Filipino Stu-dents Magazine first issue, 1905, a short-lived quarterlypublished in Berkeley, California, by Filipino pensiona-dos (or government scholars); theU.P. College Folio (firstissue, 1910); The Coconut of the Manila High School(first issue, 1912); and The Torch of the PNS (first issue,1913).However, the beginnings of anything resembling a profes-sional market for writing in English would not be realizeduntil the 1920s with the founding of other newspapersand magazines like the Philippines Herald in 1920, thePhilippine Education Magazine in 1924 (renamed Philip-pine Magazine in 1928), and later the Manila Tribune,theGraphic, Womans Outlook, andWomans Home Jour-nal. The publications helped introduce the reading pub-lic to the works of Paz Marquez Benitez, Jose GarciaVilla, Loreto Paras, and Casiano Calalang, among oth-ers. Cash incentives were given to writers in 1921 whenthe Free Press started to pay for published contributionsand awarded P1,000 for the best stories. The organiza-tion in 1925 of the Philippine Writers Association andin 1927 of the University of the Philippines NationalWriters Workshop, which put out the Literary Appren-tice, also helped encourage literary production. In 1939,the Philippine Writers League was put up by politically

conscious writers, intensifying their debate with those inthe art for arts sake school of Villa.Among the significant publications of this fertile periodwere:

Filipino Poetry (1924) by Rodolfo Dato;

English-German Anthology of Filipino Poets (1934)by Pablo Laslo;

Jose Garcia Villas Many Voices (1939) and Poemsof Doveglion (1941);

Poems (1940) by Angela Manalang-Gloria;

Chorus for America: Six Philippine Poets (1942) byCarlos Bulosan;

Zoilo Galangs A Child of Sorrow (1921), the firstFilipino novel in English, and Box of Ashes andOther Stories (1925), the first collection of storiesin book form;

Villas Footnote to Youth: Tales of the Philippinesand Others (1933);

The Wound and the Scar (1937) by Arturo Rotor,a collection of stories;

Winds of April (1940) by N. V. M. Gonzalez;

His Native Soil (1941) by Juan C. Laya;

Manuel Arguillas How My Brother Leon BroughtHome a Wife and Other Stories (1941);

Galangs Life and Success (1921), the first volumeof essays in English; and

the influential Literature and Society (1940) bySalvador P. Lpez.

Dramatic writing took a backseat due to the popularityof Filipino vaudeville (bodabil) and Tagalog movies, al-though it was kept alive by the playwright Wilfredo Ma.Guerrero.

2 The Post-war period

During the Japanese occupation, when Tagalog was fa-vored by the Japanese military authority, writing in En-glish was consigned to limbo, since most of the English

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine-American_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine-American_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippineshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomasiteshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipino_peoplehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_English-speaking_populationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silliman_Universityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbyterianhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Normal_Schoolhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_the_Philippineshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Garcia_Villahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Garcia_Villahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Garcia_Villahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Manalang-Gloriahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Bulosanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoilo_Galanghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Child_of_Sorrowhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._V._M._Gonzalezhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Arguillahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_P._L%C3%B3pezhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_occupation_of_the_Philippineshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tagalog_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Japanese_Army

2 4 CONTEMPORARY WRITERS

writers were forced to write in Tagalog or joined in theunderground and wrote English stories based on the bat-tles to serve as propaganda pieces in boosting the moraleof the guerrillas. It picked up after the war, however,with a fervor and drive for excellence that continue tothis day. Stevan Javellanas Without Seeing the Dawn(1947), the first postwar novel in English, was publishedin the United States. In 1946, the Barangay WritersProject was founded to help publish books in English..Against a background marked by political unrest and gov-ernment battles with Hukbalahap guerrillas, writers inEnglish in the postwar period honed their sense of craftand techniques. Among the writers who came into theirown during this time were, among many others:

Carlos Bulosan

Linda Ty Casper

Gilda Cordero-Fernando

Amador Daguio

Ricaredo Serrano

N. V. M. Gonzalez

Sinai C. Hamada

Alejandrino Hufana

Dominador Ilio

Nick Joaquin

F. Sionil Jos

Virginia Moreno

Peter Solis Nery

Vicente Rivera Jr.

Alejandro R. Roces

Bienvenido Santos

Abelardo and Tarrosa Subido

Edilberto K. Tiempo

Kerima Polotan Tuvera

Manuel A. Viray

Raul Rafael R. Ingles

Oscar de Zuiga

Fresh from studies in American universities, usually asFulbright or Rockefeller scholars, a number of these writ-ers introduced New Criticism to the country and appliedits tenets in literature classes and writing workshops. Inthis way were born the Silliman National Writers Work-shop.

3 Literary awards and competi-tions

In 1940, the first Commonwealth Literary Awards weregiven by President Manuel L. Quezon to Salvador P.Lopez for Literature and Society (essay), Manuel Ar-guilla for How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wifeand Other Stories (short story), R. Zulueta da Costa forLike the Molave (poetry), and Juan C. Laya for His Na-tive Soil (novel).Government recognition of literary merit came in theform of the Republic Cultural Heritage Awards (1960),the Pro Patria Awards for Literature (1961), and theNational Artist Awards (1973). Only the last of thesethree awards survives today. Writers in English who havereceived the National Artist award include: Jose Gar-cia Villa (1973), Nick Joaquin (1976), Carlos P. Romulo(1982), Francisco Arcellana (1990), N. V. M. Gonzalez,Rolando Tinio (1997), Edith L. Tiempo, (2000), F. SionilJos (2003), and Bienvenido Lumbera (2006).A select group of local writers have also received theinternational Magsaysay Award, namely, F. Sionil Jos,Nick Joaquin and Bienvenido Lumbera.

4 Contemporary Writers

Despite the lack of a professional writers market, poetryand fiction in English continue to thrive and be writtenwith sophistication and insight. Among the fictionists ofrecent years are:

Dean Francis Alfar

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Linda Ty Casper

Ian Casocot

Erwin Castillo

Jose Dalisay, Jr.

Buenaventura S. Medina Jr.

Antonio Enriquez

Eric Gamalinda

Vicente Garcia Groyon

Amadis Ma. Guerrero

F. Sionil Jos

Luis Joaquin Katigbak

Ma. Francezca Kwe

Angelo Rodriguez Lacuesta

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevan_Javellanahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hukbalahaphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Bulosanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Ty_Casperhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilda_Cordero-Fernandohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amador_Daguiohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._V._M._Gonzalezhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alejandrino_Hufanahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Joaquinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._Sionil_Jos%C3%A9https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Solis_Neryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alejandro_R._Roceshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bienvenido_Santoshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edilberto_K._Tiempohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerima_Polotan_Tuverahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulbrighthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockefeller_Foundationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Criticismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silliman_National_Writers_Workshophttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silliman_National_Writers_Workshophttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_L._Quezonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Arguillahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Arguillahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Zulueta_da_Costahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Artist_of_the_Philippineshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Garcia_Villahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Garcia_Villahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_P._Romulohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Arcellanahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._V._M._Gonzalezhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_L._Tiempohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bienvenido_Lumberahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magsaysay_Awardhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._Sionil_Jos%C3%A9https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Joaquinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bienvenido_Lumberahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Francis_Alfarhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecilia_Manguerra_Brainardhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Ty_Casperhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Casocothttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Dalisay,_Jr.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buenaventura_S._Medina_Jr.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._Sionil_Jos%C3%A9

3

Susan Lara

Jaime An Lim

Issh Gajo

Carmelo S.J. Juinio

Rosario Cruz Lucero

Renato Madrid

Jesus Q. Cruz

Resil Mojares

Timothy Montes

Peter Solis Nery

Wilfredo Nolledo

Charlson Ong

Ninotchka Rosca

Menchu Aquino Sarmiento

Lakambini Sitoy

Katrina Tuvera

Alfred A. Yuson

Jessica Zafra

Poets include:

Jolico Cuadra

Luis Francia

Gemino Abad

Alexis Abola

Merlie Alunan

Cirilo Bautista

Salvador Bernal

Hilario Francia

Jos Wendell Capili

Elsa Coscoluella

Ricardo de Ungria

Lourd Ernest De Veyra

Ophelia Alcantara Dimalanta

Simeon Dumdum, Jr.

Federico Licsi Espino Jr.

Marjorie Evasco

J. Neil C. Garcia

Ramil Digal Gulle

Ma. Luisa Igloria

Mookie Katigbak

Marne Kilates

Emmanuel Lacaba

Paolo Manalo

Peter Solis Nery

Danton Remoto

Angelo Suarez

Ramon Sunico

Juaniyo Arcellana

Anthony Tan

Joel Toledo

Emmanuel Torres

Naya Valdellon

Edwin Cordevilla

Clovis Nazareno

5 See also Literature of the Philippines

Philippine literature in Spanish

Philippine Literature in Filipino and/or otherPhilippine languages

Philippine English

List of countries where English is an official lan-guage

List of countries by English-speaking population

6 References DeUngria, RicardoM. Philippine Literature in En-glish

Quindoza-Santiago, Dr. Lilia. Philippine Litera-ture during the American Period Retrieved August26, 2005.

Enriquez, Amee R. The Writers Life : The ChickWho Writes Chick Lit Patron Ida Yap, InteractiveReading- Responding to and Writing about Philip-pine Literature

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaime_An_Limhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resil_Mojareshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Solis_Neryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_A._Yusonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jolico_Cuadrahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemino_Abadhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirilo_Bautistahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Wendell_Capilihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lourd_de_Veyrahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophelia_Alcantara_Dimalantahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeon_Dumdum,_Jr.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjorie_Evascohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Neil_C._Garciahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma._Luisa_Igloriahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paolo_Manalohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Solis_Neryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danton_Remotohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature_of_the_Philippineshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_literature_in_Spanishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Literature_in_Filipinohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_languageshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Englishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_where_English_is_an_official_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_where_English_is_an_official_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_English-speaking_populationhttp://www.ncca.gov.ph/about_cultarts/comarticles.php?artcl_Id=135http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about_cultarts/comarticles.php?artcl_Id=135http://www.ncca.gov.ph/culture&arts/cularts/arts/literary/literary-american.htmhttp://www.ncca.gov.ph/culture&arts/cularts/arts/literary/literary-american.htmhttp://news.inq7.net/sunday/index.php?index=2&story_id=20287&col=98http://news.inq7.net/sunday/index.php?index=2&story_id=20287&col=98

4 7 EXTERNAL LINKS

7 External links Summit Books home page

Linh Dinh interviewing Marianne Villanueva about*contemporary Philippine poetry

http://www.summitmedia.com.ph/books/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linh_Dinhhttp://poeticinvention.blogspot.com/2007/02/talking-with-marianne-villanueva.html

5

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The Commonwealth PeriodThe Post-war periodLiterary awards and competitionsContemporary WritersSee alsoReferencesExternal linksText and image sources, contributors, and licensesTextImagesContent license