This document summarizes the history and development of Philippine literature in English from the Reorientation Period in the early 1900s to the New Millennium. It outlines 10 distinct periods and provides 1-3 key writers and works for each period. The periods progressed from imitation of foreign models to the emergence of a national literature and themes addressing social issues and the Philippine identity.

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Walk in the Past
History and Development of Philippine
Literature in English, A Synthesis
Prof. Christine Joanne Librero-Desacado
HUM014

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• A.Reorientation Period
• B.Apprenticeship/Imitation Period
• C.Emergence Period
• D.Japanese Period
• E.Post-war Period
• F.Period of Activism
• G.Period of New Society
• H.Period of the Third Republic
• I.Contemporary Period
• J.The New Millennium

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Reorientation Period
• American soldiers came on August 13, 1898 to supposedly
liberate the Filipinos from the clutches of the
Spanish conquerors.
• English was first taught as a subject.
• English became the medium of instruction in all
Philippine schools during the 1900s.

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Reorientation Period
• Teachers of English numbering 600 sailed on the ship
SS Thomas from San Francisco to Manila.
• The University of the Philippines (U.P.-Faura) was
established in 1908 to train young Filipinos.
• The U.P. Folio which later became The Philippine
Collegian, was founded in 1910 by Dean S. Fansler
and Harriet Ely Fansler. It contained the collected
folktales written by their students.

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Reorientation Period
KEY WRITERS AND THEIR WORKS
1. Sursum Corda by Justo Juliano was the first English
poem written by a Filipino during the period (1907,
Philippines Free Press).
2. Filipino Poetry (1924) by Rodolfo Dato was the
first anthology of Philippine poems in English.
3. Thinking for Ourselves (1924) was the first notable
collection of essays in English.

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Apprenticeship/Imitation Period
• Filipino student writers learned the language and
tried to produce their pieces patterned after the
foreign models.
• Filipino writers imitated American and English
writers.

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Apprenticeship/Imitation Period
• Plays were highly emotional rather than
intellectual experiences.
• The Philippines Herald, the first Filipino
daily newspaper in English, was founded in
1920.

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Apprenticeship/Imitation Period
KEY WRITERS AND THEIR WORKS
1. A Child of Sorrow by Zoilo M. Galang (1921) was the
first novel by Filipino in English.
2. Dead Stars by Paz Marquez-Benitez (1925) was the first
truly Filipino short story in English.
3. Reminiscences by Lorenzo Paredes (1921) was the first
collection of English poetry in book form written by a
Filipino.

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Emergence Period
• Time of self-discovery and the period of original works
• Writers set out to create a national literature: one that
reflects the Filipino way of life
• writers’ experimentation with forms and techniques
• Emergence of three groups of writers:
- concerned with social consciousness
- concerned with craftsmanship
- concerned with exploring local color

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Emergence Period
• The Bureau of Education published Philippine
Prose and Poetry, prescribed as a high school
textbook.
• The Free Press, the Graphic, and the Philippine
Magazine provided a space for literary works in English.
• The Commonwealth Literary Awards (1940) gave
the first substantial prizes to praiseworthy writers.
• The Period shifted from romantic idealism to romantic
realism.

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Emergence Period
KEY WRITERS AND THEIR WORKS
1. How My Brother Leon Brought Home a wife
by Manuel E. Arguilla (a short story)
2. Like the Molave by Rafael Zulueta da Costa (a
poem)
3. His Native Soil by Juan c. Laya (a novel)

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Japanese Period
• It brought the flowering of Philippine literature in
English to an abrupt close.
• The country was plunged in turmoil, fear, and
apprehension as a reign of terror swept the land.
• Writers could not create under such an atmosphere.
• Literary works were published abroad.

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Japanese Period
KEY WRITERS AND THEIR WORKS
1. I Saw the Philippines Fell and My Brother
Americans by Carlos P. Romulo
2. The Voice of Bataan by Carlos Bulosan
3. With Harp and Sling by Alfredo E. Litiatco
4. Forces that Make a Nation Great by Jose P. Laurel

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Post-war Period
• The Philippine Republic was born; this was the time of
re-evaluation and re-building.
• Writers felt a new sense of freedom and responsibility;
they became more perceptive of their country and the
world.
• There was a further growth of the senses of nationalism
and search for identity.
• Writers wrote to raise questions than to propose
answers.

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Post-war Period
KEY WRITERS AND THEIR WORKS
1. Season of Grace by N. V. M. Gonzalez (1956)
2. The Bamboo Dancers by N.V.M. Gonzalez
(1959)
3. You Lovely people by Bienvenido N. Santos
(1955)

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Period of Activism
• Youth activism was due to domestic and
worldwide causes and their desire for reforms
(a.k.a. Period of Bloody Placards).
• Campus newspapers expressed rebellious emotions.
• The literature of the activists reached a point where
they started boldly what should be done to effect
changes

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Period of Activism
KEY WRITERS AND THEIR WORKS
1. Children of the City by Amadis Guerrero (1970)
2. The Tomato Game by N. V. M. Gonzalez (1971)
3. Batik Maker and Other Poems by Virginia R.
Moreno (1971)

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Period of New Society
• All school newspapers and organizations were stopped from
operating.
• The focus of education and culture were on the
problems of national identity.
• Almost all themes dealt with the development or progress of
the country

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Period of New Society
KEY WRITERS AND THEIR WORKS
1. The Cries of the Children on an April
Afternoon in the Year 1957 by Gregorio
Brilliantes (1973)
2. The Heart of Emptiness is Black by Ricardo
Demetillo (1972)
3. A Life in the Slums by Rolando S. Tinio (1974)

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Period of the Third Republic
• Many composers who grieved over Aquino’s assassination
composed songs about the event.
• For journalists, it was a period loaded with libel charges,
lawsuits, and seditious trials.
• Many Filipino songs dealt with themes that were true-to-life.

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Period of the Third Republic
KEY WRITERS AND THEIR WORKS
1. In Hog Heaven by Jessie B. Garcia (1981)
2. Heart Island by Jose Dalisay, Jr (1982)
3. Philippine Folk Literature by Damiana
Eugenio (1981)
4. The Hand of God by Conrado de Quiros

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Contemporary Period
• Award-giving bodies, annual competitions,
and publications provide the incentives for
writers to keep producing (the Palanca
Memorial Awards in Literature and the
Manila Critics’ Circle)

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Contemporary Period
• Writers organizations sponsored symposia
on writing and/or set up workshops for its
members and other interested parties.

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Contemporary Period
• The non-fiction published pieces consist of
collections of essays originally published as
newspaper columns.

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Contemporary Period
KEY WRITERS AND THEIR WORKS
1. Seduction and Solitude by Danton Remoto
(1995)
2. Sarap: Essays on Filipino Food by Doreen
Fernandez (1988)
3. Twisted by Jessica Zafra (1995)

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The New Millennium
• Short stories in English record or interpret
the contemporary scene, or deal with the
social and economic problems of the
individual and of society.

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The New Millennium
• Content-wise, they deal largely with the
bewildering variety of experience -OFWs and
the Filipino diaspora, the war in Mindanao,
etc.

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The New Millennium
• Some stories and novels still deal with
fantasy, mysticism, and generous
speculation.

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The New Millennium
KEY WRITERS AND THEIR WORKS
1. Ben Singkol by F. Sionil Jose (2001)
2. The Builder by Edith Tiempo (2003)
3. The Trilogy of St. Lazarus by Cirilo F.
Bautista (2001)
4. Salamanca by Dean Alfar (2005)

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Modern Period of the 60’s
• There were little or unclear plot in stories.
• Writers made use of the following techniques:
stream of consciousness, flashback, flash
forwards
• Expository and essayistic stories were the trend
rather than narrative.
• Stories had little dialogues.

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Modern Period of the 60’s
KEY WRITERS AND THEIR WORKS
1. The Woman Who had Two Navels by
Nick Joaquin
2. The Pretenders by Francisco Sionil Jose
(1962)