Literature after EDSA revolution

1. Literature After EDSA Revolution
(1986 – 1995)

2. 1986 EDSA Revolution
• The year 1986 demarcates the beginning of new
scene in the unfolding narrative of contemporary
Philippine Literature.
– It saw the fall of the dictatorship that President Marcos set
up on September 21, 1972, when he placed the Philippines
under martial rule, initiating a regime that did not only
suppress the writers’ right to free expression but
also created conditions that made collaboration and
cooptation convenient choices for artists struggling for
recognition and survival.

3. – Writing under the Martial Law Regime was
characterized by militancy and belligerence,
even when it showed up in the legal press.
Especially after the assassination of Ninoy Aquino
in 1983, the temper of poetry and theatre derived
much of its heat and direction from the political
culture of the underground national democratic
movement.
1986 EDSA Revolution

4. • However, when the enemy were overthrown
in February 1986, the literary activity showed
a certain disorientation manifesting
itself in a proliferation of concerns taken up by
individual writers and groups.
1986 EDSA Revolution

5. • Post EDSA: 2 Creative Writing centers
o Academic institutions where Creative Writing is a part of
the curricular offerings.
o Writers’ organizations that periodically sponsor symposia
on writer and/or set up workshops for its members and
other interested parties
 Through these centers that writers get to hear about new
developments in writing, and derive enthusiasm for their
crafts.
1986 EDSA Revolution

6. Writers’ Organizations
• UMPIL (Unyon ng mga Manunulat ng
Pilipino)
• PANULAT (Pambansang Unyon ng mga
Manunulat)
• Panday Lipi
• GAT (Galian sa Arte)

7. Award Giving Bodies

8. Writers’ Organization
• Katha
• LIRA (Linangan sa Imahe, Retorika at
Anyo)
• GUMIL (Gunglo Dagiti Manunurat nga
Ilokano)
• LUDABI (Lubas sa Dagang Bisaya)
• PEN ( Pen, Essay and Novel)

9. Post EDSA
• La Tondeña, sponsors of the venerable Carlos
Palanca Memorial Awards in Literature, has
made the name “Palanca” a synonym for
quality literary works in both English and
Filipino.
• The National Commission for Culture and the
Arts (NCAA) was created by law in 1992. It has
a Committee on Literary Arts which funds
workshops, conferences, publications and a

10. Post EDSA
• Non-governmental organizations have helped
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.

11. Characteristics of Post EDSA Literature
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. (Post – Modernism)
2. Post-EDSA publishing has been marked by adventurousness, a
willingness to gamble on "non-traditional" projects. (Advent of more
publishing houses)
3. Gay and Lesbian writings also started to emerged as a
response to re-frame traditional assumptions.
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.

12. Summary of Post – EDSA Literature
• English and Filipino continue to be the major media of literature.
• Literature as a venue for socio-politico-economic-religious
discussions and a vehicle for personal thoughts and feelings has
become more marked.
• Literary themes cover a wide range of subjects most outstanding among
which are existentialism and the search for identity in varying levels and
settings, deception and violence perpetuated by those in power, grinding
poverty especially in the country-sides and in some cities, nationalism,
tenant-landlord relationship, human rights violation and the search for
the desaparecidos, and the Filipino diaspora and the experiences of
overseas Filipino workers(OFWs) and migrants.
• The Anglo-American tradition, which includes the free verse and
the blank verse, gained acceptance among writers.

13. Characteristics of Contemporary
Literature
• The Euro-Hispanic tradition was blended with the tradition of
propaganda and revolutionary literature to become a truly Filipino
tradition.
• The ‘60s and the ‘70s saw the resurgence of cause-oriented
literature. This militancy, although markedly toned down, has
continued to the present.
• Further development of regional literatures has been given a
stronger impetus through the inclusion of regional literary
masterpieces in the college curriculum.
• Filipino writers have become more conscious of their craft as
shown by the regular conduct of writing workshops (Godinez-
Ortega 6).

14. Literary Types of Post – EDSA era
• Modern Poetry – This is a new style of poetry writing in
Tagalog, a deviation from the highly rhymed, declamatory
tradition known for many centuries.
• Modern Short Story – These are stories set in the
Philippines in the English language
• The Novel
• Essay
• Drama

15. Assignment:
Research (3) Post – EDSA Revolution
literatures with its author.
* (½ Yellow Paper) Make a short reflection
about the literary effect of EDSA revolution.

16. Sources:
• Guillermo, Gelacio. “Ang Sitwasyon sa
Panitikan pagkaraan ng Pag-aalsang EDSA,”
Ang Panitikan ng Pambansang
Demokrasya(Manila;Kalikayan Press, 1990)
• Mojares,Resil B., “Reclaiming Lost Ground:
Regional Literature in the Philippines, Kultura,
Vol.3 No.1, 1990, pp. 50-55