2. The year 1986 marks a new beginning of a new scene for
Filipino writers and artists. It saw the downfall of late President
Ferdinand Marcos when he placed the Philippines under martial rule
last September 21,1972. This action does not only oppress the
writers' right to free expression but also created conditions that
made collaboration and cooperation convenient choices for artists'
struggling for recognition and survival. Furthermore, the growth of
underground writing was created both in urban and in the
countryside.
The popular "Edsa Revolution" (EDSA, a highway in Metro Manila
that runs north to south from Caloocan to Baclaran) has paved the
way for the flight of the dictator and his family to Hawaii, USA on
February 24,1986. The revolt established the presidency of Corazon
Aquino, which marked the "restoration" of a pre-Martial Law
society. However, the Philippines did not recover that easily. The
years that followed "Edsa" was a wild "roller-coaster" ride for many
Filipinos. The unease times was caused by natural disasters that left
the economic plans in shambles.
3. Militancy and belligerence best describes writing under
the Martial Law regime. With the overthrow of the enemy in
1986, however, the literary activity showed certain disorientation
manifesting itself in a proliferation of concerns taken up by
individual
writers
and
groups.
Creative writing centers after Edsa maybe grouped into
two. Academic institutions where Creative Writing is part of the
curricular offerings, and students majoring in Literature are able to
come in contact with elder creative writers/critics/professors
belonged to the first group. Such academic institutions includes the
Silliman University; the University of the Philippines; the Ateneo de
Manila University; De la Salle University; and last but not the
least, San Carlos University in Cebu.
The second group is composed of writers' organizations
that periodically sponsor symposia on writing and/or set up
workshops for its members and other interested parties. UMPIL
(Unyon ng mga Manunulat ng Pilipino), PANULAT (Pambansang
Unyon ng mga Manunulat), Panday-Lipi, GAT (Galian sa Arte at
Tula), KATHA, LIRA (Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika at Anyo), GUMIL
(Gunglo Dagiti Mannurat nga Ilokano), LUDABI (Lubas sa Dagang
Binisaya) and P.E.N.
4. Writers get to hear about new developments in writing and
derive enthusiasm for their craft through these twin centers. The two
"unyon" function as umbrellas under which writers belonging to a
diversity of organizations socialize with fellow writers.
Award giving bodies, annual competitions and publications provide
the incentives for writers to keep producing. These actions perform
the important service of keeping the writers in the public
consciousness, making it possible for commentators and audiences to
identify significant established writers and give attention to emerging
new talents.
The National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA), a postEDSA state sponsored institution, was created by the law in
1992, superseding the Presidential Commission on Culture and the Arts
which was established in 1987. The said institution has a Committee
on Literary Arts which funds workshops, conferences, publications and
a variety of projects geared towards the production of a "national
literature". The committee has the aim of developing writing that is
multi-lingual, multi-cultural, and truly national.
5. Non-governmental organizations have helped hand in hand
with some institutions in giving recognition to writers from specific
sectors in the society. These NGO's includes the Amado V. Hernandez
Foundation;
the
GAPAS
foundation,
and
the
KAIBIGAN.
Campus publications are another group of outlet that is of
importance as a source of non-traditional, experimental writing.
These campus publications could either be a weekly student
newspapers, quarterly magazines, or annual literary journals. The
University of the Philippines has the Collegian; The Diliman Review;
and The Literary Apprentice. Silliman University has Sands and Coral;
Ateneo de Manila University issues Heights and Philippine Studies; De
la Salle University has Malate, Likha, and Malay to offer; University of
Santo Tomas publishes The Varsitarian.
6. Overall, the character of the Philippine literary scene after "EDSA"
maybe pinpointed be referring to the theories that inform literary
production, to the products issuing from the publishers, to the
dominant concerns demonstrated by the writers' output, and to the
direction towards which literary studies are tending.
1. There is in the academe an emerging critical orientation that
draws its concerns and insights from literary theorizing current in
England and the United States.
2. Post-EDSA publishing has been marked by adventurousness, a
willingness to gamble on "non-traditional" projects.
3. The declining prestige of the New Criticism, whose rigorous
aesthetic norms has previously functioned as a Procrustean bed on
which Filipino authors and their works were measured, has opened a
gap in the critical evaluation of literary works.
4. The fourth and final characteristic of post-EDSA writing is the
development thrust towards the retrieval and the recuperation of
writing in Philippine languages other than Tagalog.
