Jose Garcia Villa was a renowned Filipino poet, critic, short story writer, and painter. He was known for his unconventional behavior and comments that intrigued audiences. After facing censorship issues in the Philippines, Villa moved to the United States in 1930 where he established an international reputation in literature. He received many honors over his career, including being named a National Artist by the Philippines. Villa lived in New York City for most of his life but remained proud of his Filipino citizenship. He passed away in 1997 at the age of 88.

1. Jose Garcia Villa
Poet, critic, short story writer, and painter, Jose Garcia
Villa was a consummate artist in poetry and in person as
well. At parties given him by friends and admirers
whenever he came home for a brief visit, things
memorable usually happened. Take that scene many
years ago at the home of the late Federico Mangahas, a
close friend of Villa's. The poet, resplendent in his shiny
attire, his belt an ordinary knotted cow's rope, stood at a
corner talking with a young woman. Someone in the crowd remarked:
"What's the idea wearing a belt like that?" No answer. Only the faint
laughter of a woman was heard. Or was it a giggle perhaps? Then there
was one evening, with few people around, when he sat down Buddha-like
on a semi-marble bench under Dalupan Hall at UE waiting for somebody.
That was the year he came home from America to receive a doctor's
degree, honoris causa, from FEU. Somebody asked: "What are you
doing?" He looked up slowly and answered bemused: "I am just catching
up trying to be immoral." Sounded something like that. There was only
murmuring among the crowd. They were not sure whether the man was
joking or serious. They were awed to learn that he was the famed Jose
Garcia Villa. What did the people remember? The Buddha-like posture?
Or what he said?
That was Villa the artist. There's something about his person or what he
does or says that makes people gravitate toward him. Stare at him or listen
to him.
Villa is the undisputed Filipino supremo of the practitioners of the
"artsakists." His followers have diminished in number but are still
considerable.
Villa was born in Singalong, Manila, on 05 August 1908. His parents
were Simeon Villa, personal physician of revolutionary general Emilio
Aguinaldo, and Guia Garcia. He graduated from the UP High School in
1925 and enrolled in the pre-med course. He didn't enjoy working on
cadavers and so he switched to pre-law, which he didn't like either. A
short biography prepared by the Foreign Service Institute said Villa was
first interested in painting but turned to writing after reading Sherwood
Anderson's "Winesburg, Ohio."
Meanwhile, he devoted a good part of his time writing short stories and
poems. Soon he started exerting his leadership among the UP writers.
His ideas on literature were provocative. He stirred strong feelings. He

2. was thought too individualistic. He published his series of erotic poems,
"Man Songs" in 1929. It was too bold for the staid UP administrators,
who summarily suspended Villa from the university. He was even fined
P70 for "obscenity" by the Manila Court of First Instance.
With the P1,000 he won as a prize from the Philippines Free Press for his
"Mir-i-Nisa," adjudged the best short story that year (1929), he migrated
to the United States. He enrolled at the University of New Mexico where
he edited and published a mimeographed literary magazine he
founded: Clay. Several young American writers who eventually became
famous contributed. Villa wrote several short stories published in
prestigious American magazines and anthologies.
Here is a partial list of his published books:
 Philippine Short Stories, best 25 stories of 1928 (1929)
 Footnote to Youth, short stories (1933)
 Many Voices, poems (1939)
 Poems (1941)
 Have Come Am Here, poems ((1941)
 Selected Poems and New (1942)
 A Doveglion Book of Philippine Poetry (1962)
Through the sponsorship of Conrad Aiken, noted American poet and
critic, Villa was granted the Guggenheim Fellowship in creative writing.
He was also awarded $1,000 for "outstanding work in American
literature." He won first prize in poetry at the UP Golden Jubilee Literary
Contests (1958) and was conferred the degree Doctor of
Literature, honoris causa, by FEU (1959); the Pro Patria Award for
literature (1961); Heritage Awards for literature, for poetry and short
stories (1962); and National Artist Award for Literature (1973).
On 07 February 1997, Jose Garcia Villa died at a New York hospital, two
days after he was found unconscious in his apartment. He was 88.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said Villa, popularly known as the
"comma poet," died at 12:37 a.m. (New York time) of "cerebral stroke
and multilobar pneumonia" at the St. Vincent Hospital in Greenwich.
He is survived by his two sons, Randy and Lance, and three
grandchildren.
Interment was scheduled on Feb. 10 in New York, the DFA said. It added
that Villa had expressed the wish to be buried wearing a barong. Though
he lived in New York for 67 years, he remained happily a Filipino citizen.

3. LYRIC 17
First, a poem must be magical,
Then musical as a sea-gull.
It must be a brightness moving
And hold secret a bird's flowering.
It must be slender as a bell,
And it must hold fire as well.
It must have the wisdom of bows
And it must kneel like a rose.
It must be able to hear
The luminance of dove and deer.
It must be able to hide
What it seeks, like a bride.
And over all I would like to hover
God, smiling from the poem's cover.
-Jose Garcia Villa
Directions: Read the following information about Jose Garcia Villa. Then answer the questions.
Jose Garcia Villa was born in Manila, Philippines. He came to the United States in 1930 and has resided
here ever since. Villa has established an international reputation as a short story writer and as a poet, and
was awarded the National Artist Award for Literature by the Philippine government. His first book of
poems,Have Come, Am Here (1942), was hailed by American critics such as Marianne Moore and Mark
Van Doren. This book received the poetry award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
"Lyric 17" is an excellent example of the use of the metaphor to create a better understanding of poetry.
As you read "Lyric 17" think about the way this poem describes how a lyrical poem should be written. You
may want to use the five steps for reading poetry discussed in the introduction to this unit.
"Lyric 17"
First, a poem must be magical,
Then musical as a sea-gull.
It must be a brightness moving
And hold secret a bird's flowering.
It must be slender as a bell,
And it must hold fire as well.
It must have the wisdom of bows
And it must kneel like a rose.
It must be able to hear
The luminance of dove and deer.
It must be able to hide
What it seeks, like a bride.
And over all I would like to hover
God, smiling from the poem's cover.