MODULE 4

Trivia

Did you know that?

The about poem is written by one of the canonical writers in the Phil
ippines. She is Edith L. Tiempo (1999) is a Filipino writer in English. She
is a poet, fictionist, teacher, and a literary critic. She is the only fe male
national artist in literature. 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 Na
tional Artist for Literature in 1999.

Let’s learn more…

This time friends, let’s deepen our
understanding about canonical writers and
their contributions to Philippine Literature. Let’s
absorb everything about them because they
contributed to the literature that we have now!
Let’s know more about them! Let’s go!

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Keeping Track

Canonical Filipino Writers and their Contributions

Filipinos are passionate when it comes to literature. Many

Filipinos are able to show their artistry especially in terms of literature. In
addition, here are the Filipino writers and their contributions to literature
specifically the development of national literature.

◊ “one of the first contemporary poets regardless of race or lan guage”

◊ Known for introducing the reversed consonance rhyme scheme in
poetry. According to Villa, in this method, the last sounded conso
nants of the last syllable, or the last principal consonant of a word,
are reversed for the corresponding rhyme. (e. g. light – tile, tall, tale,
etc.)
◊ Dove, Eagle, and Lion (Doveglion)
◊ He was born on August 5, 1908 in Manila.
◊ He was named as the National Artist for Literature in 1973. ◊ He
gained both local and international recognition for his works. ◊ A
recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship.
◊ During his college years, he wrote Man Songs, a collection of con
troversial 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).
◊ He is also known for his comma poems, where he employed a com ma
after every word.
◊ He died on July 7, 1997.

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◊ Born on September 13, 1903 in Hogonoy Bulacan
◊ a.k.a. Amante Hernani, Herminia dela Riva, Julio Abril ◊
Poet, playwright, novelist
◊ Philippine National Artist 1973
◊ Committed artist “Writer’s function is to act as the conscience of society
and to affirm the greatness of the human spirit in the face of inequity
and oppression.”
◊ Labor leader
◊ Began his writing career, as a journalist and later editor of various pre
World War II Tagalog newspapers, like Watawat, Pagkakaisa,
Makabayan, Sampaguita and Mabuhay Extra
◊ He was imprisoned in 1951 for alleged subversive activities. ◊ After being
imprisoned for 5 years, he returned to journalistic practice, a columnist for
Taliba (1962-1967), editor, Ang Masa, until his death, 1970.
◊ Wrote Mga Ibong Mandaragit while in prison, first Filipino socio political
novel that exposes the ills of the society as evident in the agrarian
problems of the 50’s
◊ Also wrote Bayang Malaya, Isang Dipang Langit, Luha ng Buwaya, Amado
V. Hernandez: Tudla at Tudling: Katipunan ng mga Nalatha lang Tula”
(1921-1970), Langaw sa Isang Basong Gatas, Magkabilang Mukha ng
Isang Bagol.
◊ Died on May 24, 1970
◊ His famous literary Work is Luha ng Buwaya.

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◊ Born on May 4, 1917, Paco, Manila

◊ Poet, fictionist, essayist, biographer, playwright
◊ Pen name: Quijano de Manila
◊ Philippine National Artist 1976
◊ “Before 1521, we could have been anything and everything not Filipi no;
after 1565, we can be nothing but Filipino.” –Culture and History,
1988
◊ Regarded by many as the most distinguished Filipino writer in Eng lish
writing
◊ Starting as a proofreader for the Philippines Free Press, Joaquin rose to
contributing editor and essayist
◊ Bienvenido Lumbera writes that his significance in Philippine litera ture
involves his exploration of the Philippine colonial past under Spain and his
probing into psychology of social changes (Doña Je ronima, Candido’s
Apocalypse and The Order of Melchizedek)
◊ Wrote The Woman Who had Two Navel, (1961) which examines his
country’s various heritages
◊ A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino (1966), a celebrated play, attempts to
reconcile historical events with dynamic change
◊ Manila, My Manila: A History for the Young (1990) non-fiction, The
Ballad of the Five Battles (1981) a poetry, Rizal in Saga, Almanac for
Manileños, Cave and Shadows (1983) occurs in the period of martial
law under Ferdinand Marcos
◊ Died on April 29, 2004

◊ Born on January 14, 1898 in Intramuros, Manila and grew up in

Camiling, Tarlac.
◊ He was conferred as National Artist for Literature in 1982. ◊
Wrote 18 books
◊ First Asian who served as the president of the United Nations Gen eral
Assembly.

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◊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.
◊ followed by, I See the Philippines Rise, (a sequel to I Saw the Fall of the
Philippines) a journalistic account of the Philippine War in 1944. ◊ Mother
America: A Living Story of Democracy, a discussion of his political ideals
about American democracy in the Philippines, ◊ I Walked with Heroes, his
autobiography.
◊ He died on December 15, 1985.

◊ Writer, poet, essayist, critic, journalist, teacher

◊ A Filipino teacher and a contemporary writer
◊ One of the prominent Filipino fictionists in English
◊ Poignant short stories
◊ The Flowers of May, The Mats, How to Read
◊ The Flowers of May, The Mats, Christmas Gift were adapted as
screenplays.
◊ Pioneer the development of the short story as lyrical prose-poetic form
◊ Pride of fiction is that it is able to render truth, that is able to present
reality.
◊ Some of his well-known literary works are the short stories Frankie, The
Man Who would be Poe, Death in a Factory, A Clown Remembers,
Lina
◊ Known for innovating and exploring new literary forms and
experimenting with different techniques in short story writing. ◊ A member
of the group The Veronicans, which was composed of influential Filipino
writers who aimed to use sensible literature in or der to create a greater
impact on the Philippines.

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◊ 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
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 proclama
tion 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.
◊ F. Sionil Jose is among the most widely read Filipino writers in English
whose novels and short stories depict a wide scope of social
underpinnings and struggles of the Filipino masses. He is the country’s
most influential living writer who employs realism through his narrative
techniques and styles.

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◊ Poetic, literary historian critic
◊ Children books
◊ 12 books of poetry
◊ Makinasyon at Peregrinasyon, Doktrina ng Anak Pawis, Mga Retrato at
Rekwerdo, Muli, Sa Kandungan ng Lupa
◊ 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. Anto nio,
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; Dok
trinang Anakpawis (1979); Mga Retrato at Rekwerdo (1984); and Muli
Sa Kandungan ng Lupa (1994).
◊ Almario’s earliest works of literary criticism were published in the Dawn, the
weekly organ of the University of the East. Some of those works were
later included in Ang Makata sa Panahon ng Makina (1982), now
considered as the first book of literary criticism in Filipino. His other criti
cal works include Taludtod at Talinghaga (1965), which tackles the tra
ditional Tagalog prosody; and Balagtasismo Versus Modernismo
(1984), in which he presents the two main directions of the Tagalog Po
etry.
◊ 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, Re
torika, 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 di
rector of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). In
2013 he became the chairman of the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino
(KWF).

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◊ 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 Ma nila
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.
◊ His other literary works are "My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken," a story
which talks about two brothers who were arguing whether the chicken
they caught was a hen or a rooster; Something to Crow About, the
first Filipino zarzuela in English about a man named Kiko who earns a
living by means of cockfighting; and Fiesta, a collection of essays
about various Philippine festivals.
◊ Alejandro R. Roces was conferred as National Artist for Literature in
2003.
◊ He died on May 23, 2011.

◊
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.
◊ Lumbera took a degree in journalism at the University of Santo To mas 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.

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◊ Lumbera writes in English and Filipino. Below are some of his works.
◊ Poetry Collections
♦ Likhang Dila, Likhang Diwa (1993)
♦ Balaybay: Mga Tulang Lunot at Manibalang (2002)
◊ Critical Works
♦ Abot Tanaw: Sulyap at Suri sa Nagbabagong Kultura at Lipunan
(1987)
♦ Writing the Nation/Pag-Akda ng Bansa (2000)
♦ Tagalog Poetry, 1570–1898: Tradition and Influences in Its
Development (2001)
◊ Librettos
♦ Tales of the Manuvu (1977)
♦ Rama Hari (1980)
♦ Sa Sariling Bayan: Apat na Dulang May Musika (2003) ◊
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 Liter ary
Prize for Drama in 1998.
◊ Lumbera received the title of National Artist for Literature in 2006.

◊a poet, fictionist, essayist, critic and writer of nonfiction, taught crea tive
writing and literature
◊ was awarded an honorary degree—the only Filipino to have been so
honored there (International Writing Program at the University of Io
wa (1968–1969))
◊ received Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards (for poetry, fiction and essay
in English and Filipino) as well as Philippines Free Press Awards for
Fiction, Manila Critics' Circle National Book Awards, Gawad
Balagtas from the Unyon ng mga Manunulat ng Pilipinas, the Pablo
Roman Prize for the Novel, and the highest accolades from the City
of Manila, Quezon City and Iligan City

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◊ His poems have appeared in major literary journals, papers, and

magazines in the Philippines and in anthologies published in the
United States, Japan, the Netherlands, China, Romania, Hong
Kong, Germany and Malaysia.
◊ Summer Suns (1963), Words and Battlefields (1998), The Trilogy of
Saint Lazarus (2001),
◊ Fiction: Stories (1990), Galaw ng Asoge (2003)
◊ Literary Theory and Cultural Studies: Breaking Signs (1990), Words
And Battlefields: A Theoria On The Poem (1998), The Es trella D.
Alfon Anthology Vol. I - Short Stories (2000)

Wooh…Now you know

their
works and contributions! Truly
we
are lucky to have these
National
Artists for Literature! Oops, I
know
you’re thinking how to be great
like
them? Here’s how to be one them!

EXCERPT OF THE ORDER OF NATIONAL ARTIST

Order of National Artist Logo

The Order of National Artist (ONA) [Orden ng Pambansang Alagad

ng Sining] is the highest national recognition given to Filipino individuals
who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine
arts. The Order of National Artist aims to recognize:
a) Filipino artists who have made significant contributions to the cultur al
heritage of the country;
b) Filipino artistic accomplishment at its highest level and to promote
creative expression as significant to the development of a national cultural
identity; and
 c) Filipino artists who have dedicated their lives to their works to forge
new paths and directions for future generations of Filipino artists.

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CRITERIA FOR SELECTION The Order of National Artist shall

be given to artists who have met the following criteria:
4.1 Living artists who are Filipino citizens at the time of nomina
tion and at the awarding, as well as those who died after the establish
ment of the award in 1972 but were Filipino citizens at the time of their
death.
4.2 Artists who through the content and form of their works have
contributed in building a Filipino sense of nationhood.
4.3 Artists who have pioneered in a mode of creative expression or
style, thus, earning distinction and making an impact on succeeding
generations of artists.
4.4 Artists who have created a substantial and significant body of
works and/or consistently displayed excellence in the practice of their art
form thus, enriching artistic expression or style.
4.5 Artists who enjoy broad acceptance through:
4.5.1. Prestigious national and/or international recognition, such as
the Gawad CCP para sa Sining, CCP Thirteen Artists Award, and
NCCA Haraya Awards (Alab and Dangal)
4.5.2 Critical acclaim and/or reviews of their works
4.5.3 Respect and esteem from peers

Source: ONA Guidelines Approved on April 27, 2017 NCCA Board of Commissioners
Meeting

Oh…I read your mind! It’s difficult

to be one! Truly those in the list are
passionate on their craft! But who
knows? Maybe you could be one of
them in the future. For the meantime
let’s see how far you understood the
lesson.
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