IAN ROSALES CASOCOT

Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, Philippines

Ian Rosales Casocot was born in Dumaguete City in 1975, and

studied in the International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan,

and in Silliman University, where he graduated cum laude with a

Bachelor in Mass Communication degree. He has a Masters Degree

in Creative Writing from Silliman University, where he is a faculty of

the Department of English and Literature. He was a fellow for fiction

in English in the National Writers’ Workshops in Dumaguete,

Baguio, Cebu, and Iligan. He has won several Don Carlos Palanca

Awards and an NVM Gonzalez Prize for his fiction, and was chosen

as one of the authors for the UBOD New Writers Series 2003 by the

country’s National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). In

2002, he edited FutureShock Prose: An Anthology of Young Writers

and New Literatures, which was nominated as Best Anthology in the

National Book Awards given by the Manila Critics Circle. In 2005,

the NCCA published his first short story collection, Old Movies and

Other Stories. His other books include Beautiful Accidents: Stories

(University of the Philippines Press, 2011), Heartbreak & Magic:

Stories of Fantasy and Horror (Anvil, 2011), and Inday Goes About

Her Day (Locsin Books, 2012). His children’s book Rosario and the

Stories garnered him an Honorable Mention from the 2006

PBBY-Salanga Writer’s Prize. His stories “A Strange Map of Time”

and “The Sugilanon of the Epefania’s Heartbreak” has won top

prizes in the Fully-Booked/Neil Gaiman Philippine Graphic/Fiction

Awards, the only writer in the award’s history who has done so. His

novel Sugar Land was longlisted in the 2008 Man Asian Literary

Prize. One of his stories, “Old Movies,” has been translated to

French. He has published in Esquire Philippines Magazine, Story

Philippines, The Sunday Times, Sands and Coral, Dapitan, Tomas,

Philippines Free Press, Philippine Graphic, Sunday Inquirer

Magazine, Philippine Daily Inquirer, SunStar Bacolod, and

MetroPost. He is a correspondent of the Philippine Daily Inquirer,

and writes two weekly columns, “The Spy in the Sandwich,” for

StarLife Magazine of the Visayan Daily Star, and “Tempest in a

Coffee Mug” for MetroPost. He was Writer in Residence for the

International Writers Program of the University of Iowa in 2010. He

also does graphic design, and has recently produced the documentary

City of Literature, directed by the Chinese filmmaker Zhao Lewis

Liu
She does not tell anybody she has the disease until she emerges one

day from her room,her face a frightened blur, clutching her groin in a

staggered fashion to Auntie Nida’sroom, screaming from the pain,

and fainting dead away.That was the first time everyone knew she

was sick—and dying.Everyone thought mother would just fade away,

like the iris vanishing point of her oldmovies. Nobody sees her

around anymore.She did not tell anyone she was cringing, night after

day, from the pain, from deepinside her, for the past months. Auntie

Nida only knew she had refused to eat anything,even hamburgers.

She had grown pale and was dizzy most days—would not see

thedoctor even, despite Nay Gloria’s constant nagging.“I’m fine. I’m

fine,” mother would say.Tita Carmen swore to Nay Gloria that

mother was getting out of bed at the strangesthours of the night, to

cry at the upstairs toilet. “Are you all right?” Tita Carmen wouldask

her, partly irritated from the constant visits, which interrupted her

sleep and NayGloria’s, their bedroom only a jump away from the

creaky toilet door.“I’m fine. I’m fine,” my mother said. “Just

remembering Tatay, that’s all.”Lolong has been dead six months.And

they went back to bed, and Tita Carmen thought that perhaps she

could oil thehinges of the toilet doors tomorrow. The house was

getting old, and its occupants evenolder, and crankier. It was very

difficult to get good sleep these days.So nobody saw it coming. Not
until that night when mother screamed.I remember that night. I am

in Steven’s arms. We have finished watching Spartacus. Wetry to

memorize Laurence Olivier’s poolside seduction of Tony Curtis. We

are hungryfor oysters and snails.Now we are watching Ingmar

Bergman’s The Seventh Seal at Lolong’s house when thecall comes

from the hospital. “It’s Auntie Charo,” Nay Gloria cries on the phone.

It takesforever for her to speak intelligibly. She breathes deeply.

“Jaggy, your mother’s dead.”“I suppose,” I finally say.Something

collapses inside me, but, as yet, there are no tears. Mother, I think,

has criedfor me all these years. The coincidence of moments is

suddenly too strange: deathcoming in as I am seeing Death—hooded

and ominous, cinematic—playing chess withthe knight. A negotiation.

It is easier to think of yesterday when—When I visit her in the

hospital, and she sits up in bed, eating an apple, and smiling. Ihave

never really seen my mother smile.“Hi.”“Hello, Ma,” I hesitate.She

laughs weakly and puts the half-finished apple away. She looks

terrible and cheap—Loni Anderson after the facelift. “How very An

Affair to Remember. Do you rememberhow that scene with Deborah

Kerr goes after she sees Cary Grant again after theaccident, and he

comes up to her and says a nonchalant hello?”“Yes, Ma.”“Deborah

Kerr goes, ‘And all I could ever say back was hello’... That was a sad

movie,wasn’t it? It was the sadness that made it more beautiful, I

think.”“Yes, Ma.”“Is your mother still beautiful?”“Yes, Ma. You look

like Ali McGraw.”“Ah, Love Story. Do you remember that? Ali

McGraw dying of a dreadful disease, yetgrowing more beautiful by

the minute. Hollywood’s beautiful, Jaggy. I just wish lifecould be a

little bit more like that.”

“I’m sorry, Ma.”“I’m sorry, Travis.”This is the longest conversation

we’ve ever had.“Ma, I’m—.”She looks at me quietly, and nods faintly.

“I can understand,” she gently says. She closesher eyes, and I move to

the door. Her voice, weak now, stops me.“Travis never touched me,

you know,” I hear her say. “But he promised to take me away—away

from all that fright. But I guess he forgot. I guess he got too

frightened. YourLolong was capable of anything, even when he was

already getting old.”“I know.”“I’m sorry, hijo, I could have been

more of a mother, you know? Like Ann Revere—““National Velvet.

Elizabeth Taylor was just 12.”“—or somebody. Like one of those

Brady Bunch.”“Mr. Brady died of AIDS.”“Yes, but all we really

remember are the toothpaste smiles.”“The toothpaste smiles...”“I still

can be Mrs. Brady, you know.”“I suppose.”“Just give me time,

okay?”I nod.There is silence, punctuated only by the soothing whir of

the air-conditioning. I move tothe television to turn it on, and to the

light switches to turn them off. This is the onlyright scenario: the

silence, the blue hue of the muted TV screen, and the

encompassingdarkness.“Goodnight, ma.”But I think I have always

known this is coming. Now, I push down the cradle of thetelephone

with my fingers, and Nay Gloria becomes a persistent buzz in my

ears. I havepromised my mother I will not cry: I can only see around

me and breathe in thecomforting darkness, and hear the soundtrack

the scene will have wrought—JohnWilliams as he takes me to the

stars? Nino Rota, perhaps, with a haunting score, asbeautifully sad as

the trembling of my feet. I slowly walk now to where Steve

liessleeping, waiting for my arms to engulf him goodnight. He wakes

a little, buzzes mycheek, and whispers: “Is it all over?”“Yes.” I, too,

speak softly.“I’m sorry.”“I know.”“We’ll see her tomorrow, Jag.”“I

know.”“Okay, then, good night.”“Okay.”In the dark of the room, the

blue shadows still flicker, but they only lull me to sleep. Thelast thing

I remember is the solicitous dusk, which is the authority of dreams,

thekeeper to the vicarious life that becomes the seeking hearts’

devoted companion. Steve,Lolong, Auntie Nida, Mother, my so-called

father, my so-called life—and this, myredemption, my wishes for a

happy ending: they all collide in a dreamy sepiakaleidoscope, and I

breathe deeply. Like the old films, the night fades, and I descendinto

the movies of my dreams.

Martinez-Coscolluela, Elsa
June 7, 2014

ELSA MARTINEZ-COSCOLLUELA. Poet, fictionist and playwright

Elsa Martinez-Coscolluela obtained her doctorate in Language and

Literature at De La Salle University. She has won Palanca awards in

poetry, short story, drama, teleplay and filmscript; a CCP award for

the three-act play; as well as several other awards. In 1990, she

received the Outstanding Artist in Literature Award from the Negros

Occidental Centennial Commission. Coscolluela is the Vice President

for Academic Affairs at the University of Saint La Salle in Bacolod

City.

Elsa Martinez Coscolluela

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

IMAGESVIDEOS

Elsa Martinez De Coscolluela is an award-winning Filipina poet,

short-story writer, and playwright from Bacolod City. She is married

to Jose Orlando H. Coscolluela and has three sons, Jose Orlando Jr,

John Paul Rupert, and Jacques Oscar Celerino, she finished her AB

and MA for Creative Writing at the Silliman University,[1] a school

noted for training writers in the Philippines, and also a doctorate in

Language and Literature from the De La Salle University.

Her career as a poet lasted between 1965 and 1973 and these poems
are published in a book entitled "Katipunera and Other Poems"

published in 1998. In 1973 she focused her writing efforts to writing

plays and also to pursue an academic career, her best known play

that earned her great acclaim as a playwright is "In My Father's

House" which staged production both in the University of the

Philippines and the Cultural Center of the Philippines in the year

1988. This play was also the official Philippine entry to the

Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Drama Festival

held in Singapore in 1989. In My Father's House was also staged in

New York, San Francisco, Kyoto, and the Philippines.

As an academician she held the position of Vice President for

Academic Affairs at the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City

and also manages annual Negros Summer Workshops for artists and

writers with Peque Gallaga since 1991.She first started teaching in St.

Paul University Dumaguete as an English and Literature Professor

and school paper adviser " The Paulinian".

She is also a multi-awarded writer, her achievements include winning

the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for more than twenty times,the

prestigious Cultural Center Award in playwrighting, as well as the

Philippine Free Press Award. In 1996 she was named National Fellow

for Drama by the University of the Philippines Creative Writing

Center.

In 1999 she was instilled as a Hall of Famer in the Palanca Awards. In

2004 Outstanding Paulinian in the field of Literature during the 100

centennial celebration of St. Paul University Dumaguete.In 2015

Outstanding Negrense in the field of Education and in 2016

Outstanding Pinili Heritage Award in the field of Literature &

Education.

Elsa Coscolluela is the only Filipina dramatist in Palanca's Hall of

Fame, she has started as a poet, she wrote under Edith Tiempo and

David Quemada. These poems are printed by her brother in two

volumes, "Brown Glass" (1969), and "Becoming and other" (1970).

She says that she's grateful for the training and exposure in poetry

which has given her "depth and texture" to the way she writes plays,

she considers poems as a preparation for plays, because it is pure and

concise. She believes that poetry is strict in a way because it puts

great ideas to tiny verses.

At first she thought her poems to be seriously flawed and

heavy-handed but soon discovered that poems worked out for

themselves out in her mind and then become something else,

something that is new again; that is why she submitted her collection

to the Palanca Literary Contests, her collection "In Time Being and

Other Poems" won second prize in 1993, and "Katipunera" won first

prize in 1995. "Katipunera" also won in the Free Press Poetry

Contest in 1996.

However, Coscolluela is best known in the field of drama having won

sixteen Palancas in that genre, her best known play "In My Father's

House" was first produced onstage in 1988, and submitted as an

entry in the ASEAN Drama Festival in Singapore, 1989. The play

popularity is not only in the Philippines, it has been restaged in San

Francisco, New York City, and Kyoto.

Sa Tahanan ng Aking Ama, 2010

In My Father's House was also staged at the Ateneo de Manila

University in January 2010 as Sa Tahanan ng Aking Ama, produced

by ENTABLADO (ENterteynment para sa TAo, Bayan, LAnsangan

at DiyOs, Eng. Entertainment for the People, Country, Street and

God), the socio-political theater organization of the university, in line

with its 27th* season: Taon ng Pagbanyuhay. It was co-directed by Dr.

Jerry Respeto and Jethro Nino Tenorio, both members of the faculty

of Filipino Department, the former being the Department Chair; the

play was translated into Filipino language by Dr. Jerry Respeto. Sa

Tahanan ng Aking Ama is the first production made by

ENTABLADO in years that showcase heavy drama.

References

Brillantes, Gregorio C. (2005). The cardinal's sins, the general's

cross, the martyr's testimony, and other affirmations. Manila: Ateneo

de Manila University. p. 249. ISBN 971-550-474-4.

KATIPUNERA AND OTHER POEMS by ELSA MARTINEZ

COSCOLLUELA

YVONNE HORTILLO reviews

Katipunera and Other Poems by Elsa Martinez Coscolluela

(Anvil Publishing, Inc., 1998)

Kassandra and Other Heroines

The poems in this collection were written between 1965 and 1973,

overlapping Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos' declaration of

martial law in 1972 by only one year. Historians claim this period in

Philippine history is the country's most prosperous. When Marcos

declared martial law, all forms of expression were suppressed --

newspapers were shut down, publishing almost ground to a halt.

Stories of writers, labor and student leaders disappearing have

entered into the Philippines' history pages and mythology.

During that time, Elsa Martinez Coscolluela pursued graduate

degrees in Siliman University and De La Salle University and tried

her hand at playwriting. When she tookp up poetry again in 1993,

she would create collections that would win awards -- Katipunera

and Other Poems won first place in the Don Carlos Palanca

Memorial Awards for Literature, a national writing contest, in 1995.

This collection along with new poems appeared in book form in 1998.

"Katipunera" reflects the prosperity shortly before martial law that

the Philippines would have pursued had writers not been diverted

from craft to survival. Coscolluela draws from the Philippines'

relationship with China and Spain in telling about a recently-passed

grandmother in "Camphor Chest":

The men say you always knew your place, standing

By Grandfather at every feast...

The women praise your tidy

Home, your upright sons...

Your honoring the head of your house.

(They do not speak of your absent daughter.)...

And though the hour is late, it's too early yet

To sort out all the tokens fixed and sealed

In you precious camphor chest...

Carefully crafted by your mother in China

When she sent you off across the sea....

And here, more precious than all these, a stack

Of letters from your daughter: frayed and stored

And ribboned, and now I know what I always

Thought I knew with inner knowing. As I unfold

The letters, one by one, the vague aching

Spaces in my heart are filled with love.

Though you could not send her off with woman--

Things in a camphor chest, I know she brought

With her your silent blessings, knowing

Perhaps all mothers know she had to break

Her vows to be. And so you set her free,

And secretly sent her off across the sea.

(Father does not care to remember.)

This poem features most of Coscolluela's themes in this book, her

first. She highlights gender differences in favor of the female almost

to a fault -- intuition, deferrence to her partner, the infinite secrets

that the female supposedly keeps, the taking sides of your own as

opposed to your son-in-law, the need for space. She renders these

themes beautifully throughout the book.

Coscolluela also uses Greek myths and heorines and turns them into

Filipinas --

O knowledge known too soon for faith! Prophecies

Die at her throat, and as her irides cup

The colors of scorched earth, she weeps

For living twice the sight.

("Kassandra")

With the dominance of social realist works in Philippine literature in

the last 20 years, one quite forgets that the writer is Filipino. And yet

Coscolluela doesn't betray her realist roots with a fixation on

Western figures. "Kassandra" is the calculating Gabriela Silang, the

brave Tandang Sora, the worrying nurse thinking of her troubled

spouse and children in Manila, in Dumaguete, in Surigao.

A new generation of readers might scoff at the social traditions

etched in Coscolluela's collection, but if they remember how painful

it still is to have a daughter or wife leave for overseas to work because

there are no jobs for the men, the collection turns priceless.

In a society where expression is rarely seen or taken for its value

alone, writing is a luxury and writers, messengers. Coscolluela offers

an alternative to families straining under the weight of earning a

living from across continents.

*****

Yvonne Hortillo is an editorial assistant for The Associated Press. She

has never owned a business card in her life. She has crossed the

Chicago River countless times, and is fated to cross it untold times

more. She adores truth in all forms.

http://galatearesurrection.blogspot.com/2006/03/katipunera-and-othe

r-poems-by-elsa.html?m=1

Lakambini Sitoy

Lakambini A. Sitoy is an author, journalist and teacher. Her novel

Sweet Haven was published in French translation by Albin Michel as

"Les filles de Sweethaven" in October 2011, in the original English

by the New York Review of Books in 2014, and by Anvil Publishing

Inc. in 2015. She received the David T.K. Wong fellowship from the

University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom in 2003. She has

an MA from Roskilde University, Denmark, in the fields of English

Studies and Cultural Encounters, both under the Department of

Culture and Identity. As a journalist, Sitoy was a lifestyle and

cultural section editor for various papers, and was a columnist and

section editor for the Manila Times. She has also received nine prizes

in the annual Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards in the

Philippines (1995, 1996, 1998, 2000 (2), 2001, 2005 (2), 2007 as well as

a Philippines Free Press Award (1994). She was born in the

Philippines in 1969, and earned a degree in Biology from Silliman

University. She currently teaches English at Studieskolen in

Copenhagen, Denmark.Sitoy has published a novel, Sweet Haven

(Anvil, 2015) and two collections of short stories in Manila. Mens Rea
and Other Stories was published by Anvil in 1999 and received a

Manila Critics' Circle National Book Award that same year. Jungle

Planet was published by the University of the Philippines Press in

2006 and was shortlisted for the Manila Critics' Circle National Book

Award for that year. Sitoy was among 21 authors on the Man Asian

Literary Prize's long list in 2008. The novel, Sweet Haven, was her

first. It was published in French by Albin Michel in October 2011.Her

short stories have appeared in magazines such as Philippines Free

Press, Philippine Graphic and Story Philippines. They have appeared

in various anthologies in the Philippines, such as Likhaan Anthology

of Poetry and Fiction (published by the University of the Philippines

Press) and The Best Philippine Stories, a 2000 anthology published

by Tahanan Books and edited by Isagani Cruz. Other stories have

appeared in Manoa, the literary journal of the University of

Hawaii;Wake, an anthology of stories, essays and poems about

Southeast Asia published in Britain to benefit victims of the 2004

tsunami; and Ansigter, an anthology of Southeast Asian short stories

published by Forlaget Hjulet in Copenhagen in 2008.Sitoy has

received writing fellowships from the National Writers' Workshop in

Dumaguete (1989) and the University of the Philippines National

Writers Workshop (1990). She has also received nine prizes in the

annual Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards and a Philippines Free

Press Award (1994). She currently resides in Denmark.

LETTERS FROM THE OUTLANDS

by Lakambini "Bing" Sitoy: author, artist, traveller

March 07, 2009

LAKAMBINI SITOY: PROFILE

Lakambini A. Sitoy is a Filipino writer.

She is also known as Bing Sitoy.

Sitoy has published two collections of short stories in Manila. Mens

Rea and Other Stories was published by Anvil in 1999 and received a

Manila Critics Circle National Book Award that same year. Jungle

Planet was published by the University of the Philippines Press in

2006 and was shortlisted for the MCC National Book Award for that

year.

Sitoy is among 21 authors on the Man Asian Literary Prize's long list

for 2008. The novel, Sweet Haven, is her first.

She received the David T.K. Wong fellowship from the University of

East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom in 2003.

Her short stories have appeared in magazines such as Philippines

Free Press, Philippine Graphic and Story Philippines. They have

appeared in various anthologies in the Philippines, such as Likhaan

Anthology of Poetry and Fiction (published by the University of the

Philippines Press) and The Best Philippine Stories, a 2000 anthology

published by Tahanan Books and edited by Isagani Cruz.

Other stories have appeared in Manoa, the literary journal of the

University of Hawaii; Wake, an anthology of stories, essays and

poems about Southeast Asia published in Britain to benefit victims of

the 2004 tsunami; and Ansigter, an anthology of Southeast Asian

short stories published by Forlaget Hjulet in Copenhagen in 2008.

Sitoy has received writing fellowships from the National Writers'

Workshop in Dumaguete (1989) and the University of the Philippines

National Writers Workshop (1990). She has also received nine prizes

in the annual Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards and a

Philippines Free Press Award (1994).

As a journalist, Sitoy also served as a lifestyle and cultural section

editor and columnist for the Manila Times.

She was an MA guest student at Roskilde University in Denmark in

2006.

AWARDS/ RECOGNITION RECEIVED and PUBLICATIONS

1. Longlisted for Man Asian Literary Prize, 2008 for novel

"Sweethaven"

2. David TK Wong Fellow for Fiction, 2003, University of East Anglia,

Norwich, United Kingdom

3. MCC National Book Award for Fiction, 1999 from The Manila

Critics Circle for fiction collection "Mens Rea and Other Stories"

published in 1998 held at The Philippine Book Fair Mandaluyong,

Metro Manila September 12, 1999

4. Finalist in Fiction category, MCC National Book Awards, 2006 For

fiction collection "Jungle Planet and Other Stories," published by

University of the Philippines Press in 2005

5. NCCA Young Artists' Competitive Grant For Completion of 12

Short Stories with a One-Year Period Awarded by National

Commission for Culture and the Arts 633 General Luna Street,

Intramuros, Manila, Philippines

6. Chosen as Member, 3-person Board of Judges, Story for Children

Category, Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature 2002

Carlos Palanca Foundation, CPJ Building, 105 C. Palanca Jr. St.

Legaspi Village, Makati City 1229, Philippines Tel. no. 818-36-81 to

85 locals 31 and 24 Fax no. 817-40-45

7-14. Nine-Time Awardee, Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for

Literature Carlos Palanca Foundation, CPJ Building, 105 C. Palanca

Jr. St. Legaspi Village, Makati City 1229, Philippines Tel. no.

818-36-81 to 85 locals 31 and 24 Fax no. 817-40-45

First Place, Story for Children Category, English Division, "The

Elusive Banana Dog", 2007

First Place, Essay Category, English Division, "From the Outlands

with Love," 2005

First Place, Short Story Category, English Division, for "Touch,"

1998

First Place, Story for Children Category, English Division, for "Pure

Magic," 1996

Second Place, Fiction Category, English Division, for "Shut up and

live", 2005

Second Place, Future Fiction Category, English Division, for "Secret

Notes on the Dead Star", 2000

Third Place, Short Story Category, English Division, for "Lyra,"

2001

Third Place, Story for Children Category, English Division, for "The

Night Monkeys," 2000

Third Place, Short Story Category, English Division, for "I See My

Shadow on the Pavement", 1995

15. Second Place Winner – Philippine Graphic Literary Awards, 2005,

for short story "The Sisterhood." Awarded by Philippine Graphic

(Newsweekly), Dominga Building, 2113 Pasong Tamo Street cor. dela

Rosa Street Makati, Metro Manila

16. Second Place Winner – Philippine Graphic Literary Awards, 2001,

for short story "Jungle Planet."

17. Honorable Mention – Philippines Free Press Literary Awards,

1994 for short story "Mens Rea" Awarded by Philippines Free Press,

55 Paseo de Roxas, Urdaneta Village, Makati City 1225

II. PUBLICATIONS (as of mid-2008)

BOOKS

Jungle Planet (a collection of 17 short stories) © 2005 University of

the Philippines Press Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines email:

[email protected]

Mens Rea and other stories (a collection of nine short stories), © 1998

Anvil Publishing, Inc. 2/F Team Pacific Bldg. 13 Jose Cruz St., Barrio

Ugong Pasig City, Philippines (632) 6719235 email:

[email protected]
NEWSPAPER WORK

Over 200 lifestyle, feature and travel articles,reviews, newspaper

columns and uncredited Opinion-page editorials, in Sitoy’s capacity

as Lifestyle Editor of Manila Standard, Isyu and The Evening Paper,

published over the period from May 1996 to December 1999 and

Opinion page editor of The Manila Standard (1998-1999) and The

Manila Times (2000-2001)

ANTHOLOGIZED STORIES AND ESSAYS, PUBLISHED BY

FOREIGN AND PHILIPPINE PUBLICATIONS (partial)

A. International Publishers

“Armani” (translated) in Danish anthology of Southeast Asian short

fiction, scheduled for publication by Forlaget Hjulet, Inc.,

Copenhagen, 2007, Denmark, Vagn Plenge, editor

“Renata” and “Jungle Planet” in Manoa (winter 2004 edition titled

“Jungle Planet” after Sitoy’s story) , University of Hawaii Press,

Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.

“Jungle Planet” and “Touch” in Wake (a collection of short stories,

profit of which benefitted the victims of the 2004 tsunami. Edited by

Nathan Hamilton and Zoe Green. Other authors include Arthur C.

Clarke, Rattawut Lapcharoensap, Rose Tremain and Patricia

Duncker), Ó 2005, Egg Box Publishing, London, U.K.

“Touch” in Coming Home to a Landscape: Writings by Filipinas,

edited by Marianne Villanueva. Consortium Book Sales &

Distribution, Ó 2003. New York, U.S.A.

“Armani” in Tulikarpanen (“Firefly”), an anthology of Filipino

women’s writings translated into Finnish , Riitta Vartti, editor and

translator Kaantopiiri, Helsinki, Finland Ó 2001

“A Dream of Women” in Manoa (Century of Dreams: New Writing

from America, the Pacific and Asia) University of Hawaii Press Ó

1997, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.

B. Philippine Publishers
“Sisters” in anthology project of PEN, Philippines, scheduled for

release in 2007, Vicente Groyon, editor

“The Night Monkeys” in The Night Monkeys, anthology of Palanca

award-winning short stories for children, published by Tahanan

Books, Makati, Manila, 2008

“Zenaida Amador” in Ten Outstanding Filipino Biographies for high

school readers, published by Insular Life, Inc., Makati, Manila, 2007

“Shut up and Live” in Latitude: Writing from the Philippines and

Scotland, edited by Angelo Lacuesta and Toni Davidson, Anvil

Publishing, Inc., Manila, 2006.

“Sr. Mary John Mananzan,” in Heroes, a coffee table book to

celebrate the 25th anniversary of EDSA, published by Alay sa Bansa

Community and Ninoy and Cory Aquino Center for Leadership,

edited by Alfred Yuson, Manila, 2006.

“When You Wish Upon a Jollibee,” essay in A 25-Year Love Story

with the Pinoy (coffee table book to celebrate Jollibee’s 25th

anniversary), edited by Alfred Yuson, 2004.

“Moon Silver” in Fast Food Fiction: Short Stories to Go, Anvil

Publishing, Ó 2003 edited by Noelle de Jesus

“The Vampire” in The Likhaan Book of Poetry and Fiction 2002,

Carla Pacis, editor University of the Philippines Press Ó 2003

“Secret Notes on the Dead Star” in Future Shock: An anthology of

young writers and new literatures, Ian Rosales Casocot, editor

Silliman University, Dumaguete City Ó 2002

“Touch” in Best Philippine Short Stories of the 20th Century, Isagani

Cruz, editor Tahanan Books, Makati City Metro Manila Ó 2000

“The Atheneum” in Dream Noises: A Generation Writes, Anvil

Publishing, Manila Ó 1999

“Pure Magic” in The Golden Loom: Palanca Prize-winners for

Children, Tahanan Books for Young Readers, Makati City, Metro

Manila Ó 1997
“I See My Shadow on the Pavement” in The Likhaan Book of Poetry

and Fiction 1995 University of the Philippines Press, Diliman,

Quezon City Ó 1995

SHORT STORIES and ARTICLES IN LIFE-STYLE GLOSSIES

Over 25 short stories and non-fiction articles published in Philippine

magazines such as Cosmopolitan-Philippines, Preview, Free Press,

Graphic.

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Lakambini A. Sitoy

Bing Sitoy currently teaches English at Studieskolen and Cambridge

Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark. She has published three books of

fiction (Filles de Sweethaven, Jungle Planet and Mens Rea). She

holds an MA from Roskilde University, Denmark, in the fields of

English Studies and Cultural Encounters, both under the

Department of Culture and Identity. She was a semi-finalist in the

Man Asian Prize (2008), has received numerous prizes in the

Philippines (Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards, a National Book

Award, prizes sponsored by magazines). As a journalist, Sitoy was a

lifestyle and cultural section editor for various papers, and was a

columnist and section editor for the Manila Times. She received the

David T.K. Wong fellowship from the University of East Anglia,

Norwich, United Kingdom in 2003. She is a permanent resident of

Denmark.

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Featured in a 2007 People Magazine interview

Featured in a 2007 People Magazine interview

SWEET HAVEN, A NOVEL

SWEET HAVEN, A NOVEL

Les filles de Sweethaven by Lakambini Sitoy, published 2011 by

Albin Michel, Paris. Translated by Nathalie Cunnington. Original

novel written in English, titled Sweet Haven.

THE NIGHT MONKEYS story book for children

THE NIGHT MONKEYS story book for children

Nataberne (The Night Monkeys) picture book. Story by Lakambini

Sitoy. Illustrations by Lilian Brøgger. Published in Danish and in

Swedish in 2011 by Forlaget Hjulet.

JUNGLE PLANET, a collection of short stories

JUNGLE PLANET, a collection of short stories

Jungle Planet by Lakambini Sitoy, University of the Philippines Press

2005, Quezon City, Philippines.

MENS REA, a collection of short stories

MENS REA, a collection of short stories

Mens Rea and Other Stories by Lakambini A. Sitoy, Anvil Publishing

Inc., Manila,1999.

http://bingsitoy.blogspot.com/2009/03/lakambini-sitoy-profile.html?m

=1

Shut Up & Live," second prize (by Lakambini Sitoy), is an atrocious

behavior happening in another sector of our society. The story

involves a mother, daughter up to a granddaughter centrally

transfixed on sex, vice and divisiveness reaching the dangerous level

of practical materialism whereby people deem moral orthodoxy is

hardly needed to haunt individual sin.

This story is female psychology in its harshest and real terms. Egoism,

rebelliousness, sex and adventurism weave in and out within the

same family of women, as if their misfortunes are subjected to the

law of DNA. Conscience appear in cameo roles to rescue wrongdoings

from becoming a total moral disaster. The originality and impact of

"Shut Up & Live" manifest in the characterization of women as

rendered in flesh and blood by a person of the same sex, Lakambini

Sitoy, a gifted writer who stupefies us with her depth and daring.

Abortion horrifies when seen purely as clinical. Absolutely necessary

to free oneself from shame and responsibility. Abortionists are spooky,

doing their deeds in a curt and silent way. Women share the same

tragedies with painless indifference. Unbelievable!

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ulture/2005/09/19/297527/impact-palanca-award-stories/amp/

Transcript of We Won't Cry About This

Plot
Strength and Acceptance
Theme
1st Person Point of View
Point of View
Mother
>> 43 yrs old; the character who parties with her amigas constantly, drinks until the wee hours of
the morning, reads such an eclectic array of books (by Gary Zukav, Ralph Waldo Emerson,
Thoreau and Thich Nhat Hanh), dates younger men and seems to have certain affinity for mess
and laziness.
Characters
- reveal an important truth.
Author's Purpose
We Won't Cry About This
By:
Socorro Villanueva
- 52 years old.
- When she was 41, she yielded to parental pressures and took up psychology. But the need to
express herself in words never left.
- She also returned to school, this time for a master’s degree in Creative Writing at the University
of the Philippines-Diliman.
- She wrote the short story “We Won’t Cry About This” as a course requirement which became her
winning entry in the 52nd Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards. It earned the first prize.
- Her literary work "We Won't Cry About This" remained relatively unpopular.
- She was also the recipient of the N.V.M. Gonzalez Award for her story, “Lavender”, in 2001.
- Lastly, she was also a fellow in the UP National Writers’ Workshop in 2001.
In the story, all the techniques that was used by the author is based on the reality. She describes the
mother as the type of mother in our generation. However, inspite of the not so good description,
the author portrays a character that is strong enough to face all the challenges in her life.
Katrina/ Tyke/ Tykee/ Tyke-wonder/ Tyke-coon
>> the 18 yrs old teenage narrator and daughter in the story.
>> an interesting, complex and dynamic character.
Squeak
>> 16 yrs old; another daughter in the story, Katrina's sister.
- the story is told by Katrina, who is one of the characters in the story.
- The author wants us to understand that hiding one’s true feelings is not commendable and yet
she seems to be telling us that neither does hysteria nor emotivity. What is and should be done
instead in these circumstances is to enjoy the remaining moments, conserving and spending one’s
energy into what is productive and important.

Resolution
- What brought the climax in this short story is the rising action which is the violent incident in
December which ensues from Katrina coming home late and thus earning the ire of her sister,
Squeak.
Climax
- The fight between the siblings could be regarded as the climax of the story wherein all the rage,
curbed emotions of the past days, months and years were let out.
Falling Action
- The resolution is found in the last section of the prose, when Katrina cozies with her mom in the
hospital along with Squeak, sad and maybe even fearful but somehow one begins to sense a quiet
understanding in her action, a resigned piercing acceptance and a desire to embrace the present.
This newfound enlightenment comes with the knowledge that heading toward the future is a skate
on the ice-forever slippery and uncertain.
Plot
Conflict
The external conflict revolves around the effort to deal with the mother’s illness which is an
outside force.
External Conflict
In Socorro A. Villanueva’s short prose the conflict is both internal and external but mainly the
conflict resides within the characters’ psyche.
Internal Conflict
The internal conflict rages inside Katrina, her emotions swinging a la pendulum between denial
and acceptance.
Summary
Excerpt
From “We Won’t Cry About This”
By Socorro Villanueva
She stays in bed with Ralph Waldo Emerson all weekend, his book close to her breast, like a lover.
And she has conversations with this man, dead a century, because, she says, his words are alive for
talking-to and true, and she likes truth and true men, whatever she means by that. She takes to
books because she doesn’t have a man otherwise is what I think. She dated for a while---Roque,
this longhaired commercial director who was like eight years her junior. But now he’s gone, thank
God. Lately she talks to books and is outrageously lazy. She has her recent favorites, like Thoreau
and the Buddhist, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Gary Zukav, the soul geek. The bible, even. But she and
Emerson, woooh, they’re tight.
“You have a problem with that?” she asks me without looking up from the page. She looks pale.
“I think, Ma, you’re going psycho,” I say, and she laughs, says she suspects she was born nuts and
may have passed it on to me along with her nose and skin color.
“It’s child abuse, what you do. Raising us crazy by example,” I say.
Her room is a mess. Sheets are falling off the sides of her bed and an altar of bottles stands on her
night table---coke, water, and wine---like the holy trinity. The whole room is gloomy with the
curtains drawn and the walls dim into hepatitis-yellow. Books, books, books.
“Hey!” she says. “Who says I’m raising who here? I’m just reading a book, for Christ’s sake!”
My sister, her name is Squeak, marks her page on “The Celestine Prophecy” (also from Mother’s
library) and comes to lie between Ma moe--- like it was a detergent bar she’d picked and me on
the bed.

Ma’s bedroom couch is Squeak’s house. She lives there like a mindless, faithful mongrel, and
there are nights when she stares out the window into the big sky and sees UFOs. Day after Ma first
heard about this, she got up on the roof to see if it were possible for a peeping tom with a
flashlight to get near that window. Impossible, from any angle. There was no access, unless
Peeping Tom could fly, she said. One night I saw them both looking out, almost midnight it was,
and my Ma---my Ma! ---told me they were waiting for aliens to swing by the block that night.
“Look at you,” I tell Squeak, “you’re 16, you should be on the phone with boys, not reading a
book about prophets!”
“This is so not about prophets, dork!” she squeaks
In March---nothing good happens in March---Ma comes home with her hair all gone, head shaved
to a shine. She zooms into the dining room and goes: “Ta-da!”
Squeak and I shriek. A freaking Sinead O’Connor! She is 43, for crying out loud!

Then she breaks the news, breaks us. She says she better get at the hair before the chemo does.
She says the word---kheemoe---like it was a detergent bar she’d picked up at Unimart. I feel like
I'd been stabbed. Right here, between my ribs. I fly out there, leaving a trail of curses behind me
and go straight to my bedroom. I whack my pillows until the seams come off and the white fluff
flies about me like dry snow.
She struts around the house like she was healthy, like she had hair. “How come your friends don’t
come around anymore?” she asks me on my way out to school one morning while I struggle
balancing my history book and my gym bag and my stuff bag. I tell her something, like the guys
are busy---“college now, you know,” crap like that. She winks at me. She winks at me!
“What you winking at me for, Ma?”
“It’s a blessing I get hit in the lungs. ‘T least I get to keep the boobs,” she says.
“Right. Like you’re A-cups were something to die for!”
“Ah like dem,” she says. “I’ll keep them or die.”

She is at the door, with the sun on her face. Something about her makes me want to say, “Wanna
come?” But if I ask her, she will come. Her head is blinding orb in the light.
“Ever consider wearing a wig?” I say as I get into the car.
She goes: “But I feel hip this way!”

Other Characters
Tita Lanie
>> mother's younger sister, a big time lawyer.
Grandmother
>> the mother's, mother who treated her a trip to Europe.
Dino, Father, Marge, Ignatio et Lamina and Roque.
Rising Action
Exposition
- The story started in a scene where the mother stays in bed all weekend for just reading the book
written by Ralph Waldo Emerson. In this scenario, the author introduces the main character in the
story which is the mother.
- The falling action in the story is when Katrina started to realize her mistakes, and learned to
understand her mother's present condition.
Man vs. Fate
Man vs. Self
Settings
Pasig
>> the house with a purple sala which is also Katrina's family, first home.
>> a townhouse given by Katrina's father which became their second home.
Room 401
>> one of the rooms in the hospital where Katrina's family celebrated the Christmas.
Valle Verde
The End
Mood
Optimism
- The story shows that inspite of all the struggles that the mother experienced, she keep on telling
her children that "We Won't Cry About This," a sign of being a strong and optimistic person.

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The Literary Forms in Philippine Literature

by: Christine F. Godinez-Ortega

The diversity and richness of Philippine literature evolved

side by side with the country's history. This can best be appreciated

in the context of the country's pre-colonial cultural traditions and the

socio-political histories of its colonial and contemporary traditions.

The average Filipino's unfamiliarity with his indigenous

literature was largely due to what has been impressed upon him: that

his country was "discovered" and, hence, Philippine "history"

started only in 1521.

So successful were the efforts of colonialists to blot out the

memory of the country's largely oral past that present-day Filipino

writers, artists and journalists are trying to correct this inequity by

recognizing the country's wealth of ethnic traditions and

disseminating them in schools and in the mass media.

The rousings of nationalistic pride in the 1960s and 1970s

also helped bring about this change of attitude among a new breed of

Filipinos concerned about the "Filipino identity."

Pre-Colonial Times

Owing to the works of our own archaeologists, ethnologists

and anthropologists, we are able to know more and better judge

information about our pre-colonial times set against a bulk of

material about early Filipinos as recorded by Spanish, Chinese,

Arabic and other chroniclers of the past.

Pre-colonial inhabitants of our islands showcase a rich past

through their folk speeches, folk songs, folk narratives and

indigenous rituals and mimetic dances that affirm our ties with our

Southeast Asian neighbors.

The most seminal of these folk speeches is the riddle which is

tigmo in Cebuano, bugtong in Tagalog, paktakon in Ilongo and

patototdon in Bicol. Central to the riddle is the talinghaga or

metaphor because it "reveals subtle resemblances between two unlike

objects" and one's power of observation and wit are put to the test.

While some riddles are ingenious, others verge on the obscene or are

sex-related:

Gaddang:

Gongonan nu usin y amam If you pull your daddy's penis

 Maggirawa pay sila y inam. Your mommy's vagina, too,

(Campana) screams. (Bell)

The proverbs or aphorisms express norms or codes of

behavior, community beliefs or they instill values by offering nuggets

of wisdom in short, rhyming verse.

The extended form, tanaga, a mono-riming heptasyllabic

quatrain expressing insights and lessons on life is "more emotionally

charged than the terse proverb and thus has affinities with the folk

lyric." Some examples are the basahanon or extended didactic

sayings from Bukidnon and the daraida and daragilon from Panay.

The folk song, a form of folk lyric which expresses the hopes

and aspirations, the people's lifestyles as well as their loves. These are

often repetitive and sonorous, didactic and naive as in the children's

songs or Ida-ida (Maguindanao), tulang pambata (Tagalog) or

cansiones para abbing (Ibanag).

A few examples are the lullabyes or Ili-ili (Ilongo); love songs

like the panawagon and balitao (Ilongo); harana or serenade

(Cebuano); the bayok (Maranao); the seven-syllable per line poem,

ambahan of the Mangyans that are about human relationships, social

entertainment and also serve as a tool for teaching the young; work

songs that depict the livelihood of the people often sung to go with the

movement of workers such as the kalusan (Ivatan), soliranin

(Tagalog rowing song) or the mambayu, a Kalinga rice-pounding

song; the verbal jousts/games like the duplo popular during wakes.

Other folk songs are the drinking songs sung during

carousals like the tagay (Cebuano and Waray); dirges and

lamentations extolling the deeds of the dead like the kanogon

(Cebuano) or the Annako (Bontoc).

A type of narrative song or kissa among the Tausug of

Mindanao, the parang sabil, uses for its subject matter the exploits of

historical and legendary heroes. It tells of a Muslim hero who seeks

death at the hands of non-Muslims.

The folk narratives, i.e. epics and folk tales are varied, exotic

and magical. They explain how the world was created, how certain

animals possess certain characteristics, why some places have

waterfalls, volcanoes, mountains, flora or fauna and, in the case of

legends, an explanation of the origins of things. Fables are about

animals and these teach moral lessons.

Our country's epics are considered ethno-epics because

unlike, say, Germany's Niebelunginlied, our epics are not national for

they are "histories" of varied groups that consider themselves

"nations."

The epics come in various names: Guman (Subanon);

Darangen (Maranao); Hudhud (Ifugao); and Ulahingan (Manobo).

These epics revolve around supernatural events or heroic deeds and

they embody or validate the beliefs and customs and ideals of a

community. These are sung or chanted to the accompaniment of

indigenous musical instruments and dancing performed during

harvests, weddings or funerals by chanters. The chanters who were

taught by their ancestors are considered "treasures" and/or

repositories of wisdom in their communities.

Examples of these epics are the Lam-ang (Ilocano);

Hinilawod (Sulod); Kudaman (Palawan); Darangen (Maranao);

Ulahingan (Livunganen-Arumanen Manobo); Mangovayt Buhong na

Langit (The Maiden of the Buhong Sky from Tuwaang--Manobo); Ag

Tobig neg Keboklagan (Subanon); and Tudbulol (T'boli).

The Spanish Colonial Tradition

While it is true that Spain subjugated the Philippines for

more mundane reasons, this former European power contributed

much in the shaping and recording of our literature. Religion and

institutions that represented European civilization enriched the

languages in the lowlands, introduced theater which we would come

to know as komedya, the sinakulo, the sarswela, the playlets and the

drama. Spain also brought to the country, though at a much later

time, liberal ideas and an internationalism that influenced our own

Filipino intellectuals and writers for them to understand the

meanings of "liberty and freedom."

Literature in this period may be classified as religious prose

and poetry and secular prose and poetry.

Religious lyrics written by ladino poets or those versed in

both Spanish and Tagalog were included in early catechism and were
used to teach Filipinos the Spanish language. Fernando Bagonbanta's

"Salamat nang walang hanga/gracias de sin sempiternas" (Unending

thanks) is a fine example that is found in the Memorial de la vida

cristiana en lengua tagala (Guidelines for the Christian life in the

Tagalog language) published in 1605.

Another form of religious lyrics are the meditative verses like

the dalit appended to novenas and catechisms. It has no fixed meter

nor rime scheme although a number are written in octosyllabic

quatrains and have a solemn tone and spiritual subject matter.

But among the religious poetry of the day, it is the pasyon in

octosyllabic quintillas that became entrenched in the Filipino's

commemoration of Christ's agony and resurrection at Calvary.

Gaspar Aquino de Belen's "Ang Mahal na Passion ni Jesu Christong

Panginoon natin na tola" (Holy Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ in

Verse) put out in 1704 is the country's earliest known pasyon.

Other known pasyons chanted during the Lenten season are

in Ilocano, Pangasinan, Ibanag, Cebuano, Bicol, Ilongo and Waray.

Aside from religious poetry, there were various kinds of

prose narratives written to prescribe proper decorum. Like the

pasyon, these prose narratives were also used for proselitization.

Some forms are: dialogo (dialogue), Manual de Urbanidad (conduct

book); ejemplo (exemplum) and tratado (tratado). The most

well-known are Modesto de Castro's "Pagsusulatan ng Dalawang

Binibini na si Urbana at si Feliza" (Correspondence between the Two

Maidens Urbana and Feliza) in 1864 and Joaquin Tuason's "Ang

Bagong Robinson" (The New Robinson) in 1879, an adaptation of

Daniel Defoe's novel.

Secular works appeared alongside historical and economic

changes, the emergence of an opulent class and the middle class who

could avail of a European education. This Filipino elite could now

read printed works that used to be the exclusive domain of the

missionaries.

The most notable of the secular lyrics followed the

conventions of a romantic tradition: the languishing but loyal lover,

the elusive, often heartless beloved, the rival. The leading poets were

Jose Corazon de Jesus (Huseng Sisiw) and Francisco Balagtas. Some

secular poets who wrote in this same tradition were Leona Florentino,

Jacinto Kawili, Isabelo de los Reyes and Rafael Gandioco.

 Another popular secular poetry is the metrical romance, the

awit and korido in Tagalog. The awit is set in dodecasyllabic

quatrains while the korido is in octosyllabic quatrains. These are

colorful tales of chivalry from European sources made for singing

and chanting such as Gonzalo de Cordoba (Gonzalo of Cordoba) and

Ibong Adarna (Adarna Bird). There are numerous metrical romances

in Tagalog, Bicol, Ilongo, Pampango, Ilocano and in Pangasinan. The

awit as a popular poetic genre reached new heights in Balagtas'

"Florante at Laura" (ca. 1838-1861), the most famous of the

country's metrical romances.

Again, the winds of change began to blow in 19th century

Philippines. Filipino intellectuals educated in Europe called

ilustrados began to write about the downside of colonization. This,

coupled with the simmering calls for reforms by the masses gathered

a formidable force of writers like Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar,

Mariano Ponce, Emilio Jacinto and Andres Bonifacio.

This led to the formation of the Propaganda Movement

where prose works such as the political essays and Rizal's two

political novels, Noli Me Tangere and the El filibusterismo helped

usher in the Philippine revolution resulting in the downfall of the

Spanish regime, and, at the same time planted the seeds of a national

consciousness among Filipinos.

But if Rizal's novels are political, the novel Ninay (1885) by

Pedro Paterno is largely cultural and is considered the first Filipino

novel. Although Paterno's Ninay gave impetus to other novelists like

Jesus Balmori and Antonio M. Abad to continue writing in Spanish,

this did not flourish.

Other Filipino writers published the essay and short fiction

in Spanish in La Vanguardia, El Debate, Renacimiento Filipino, and

Nueva Era. The more notable essayists and fictionists were Claro M.

Recto, Teodoro M. Kalaw, Epifanio de los Reyes, Vicente Sotto,

Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, Rafael Palma, Enrique Laygo (Caretas or

Masks, 1925) and Balmori who mastered the prosa romantica or

romantic prose.

But the introduction of English as medium of instruction in

the Philippines hastened the demise of Spanish so that by the 1930s,

English writing had overtaken Spanish writing. During the

language's death throes, however, writing in the romantic tradition,

from the awit and korido, would continue in the novels of Magdalena

Jalandoni. But patriotic writing continued under the new colonialists.

These appeared in the vernacular poems and modern adaptations of

works during the Spanish period and which further maintained the

Spanish tradition.

The American Colonial Period

A new set of colonizers brought about new changes in

Philippine literature. New literary forms such as free verse [in

poetry], the modern short story and the critical essay were

introduced. American influence was deeply entrenched with the firm

establishment of English as the medium of instruction in all schools

and with literary modernism that highlighted the writer's

individuality and cultivated consciousness of craft, sometimes at the

expense of social consciousness.

The poet, and later, National Artist for Literature, Jose

Garcia Villa used free verse and espoused the dictum, "Art for art's

sake" to the chagrin of other writers more concerned with the

utilitarian aspect of literature. Another maverick in poetry who used

free verse and talked about illicit love in her poetry was Angela

Manalang Gloria, a woman poet described as ahead of her time.

Despite the threat of censorship by the new dispensation, more

writers turned up "seditious works" and popular writing in the

native languages bloomed through the weekly outlets like Liwayway

and Bisaya.

The Balagtas tradition persisted until the poet Alejandro G.

Abadilla advocated modernism in poetry. Abadilla later influenced

young poets who wrote modern verses in the 1960s such as Virgilio S.

Almario, Pedro I. Ricarte and Rolando S. Tinio.

While the early Filipino poets grappled with the verities of

the new language, Filipinos seemed to have taken easily to the

modern short story as published in the Philippines Free Press, the

College Folio and Philippines Herald. Paz Marquez Benitez's "Dead

Stars" published in 1925 was the first successful short story in

English written by a Filipino. Later on, Arturo B. Rotor and Manuel

E. Arguilla showed exceptional skills with the short story.

Alongside this development, writers in the vernaculars

continued to write in the provinces. Others like Lope K. Santos,

Valeriano Hernandez Peña and Patricio Mariano were writing

minimal narratives similar to the early Tagalog short fiction called

dali or pasingaw (sketch).

The romantic tradition was fused with American pop culture

or European influences in the adaptations of Edgar Rice Burroughs'

Tarzan by F. P. Boquecosa who also penned Ang Palad ni Pepe after

Charles Dicken's David Copperfield even as the realist tradition was

kept alive in the novels by Lope K. Santos and Faustino Aguilar,

among others.

It should be noted that if there was a dearth of the Filipino

novel in English, the novel in the vernaculars continued to be written

and serialized in weekly magazines like Liwayway, Bisaya,

Hiligaynon and Bannawag.

The essay in English became a potent medium from the

1920's to the present. Some leading essayists were journalists like

Carlos P. Romulo, Jorge Bocobo, Pura Santillan Castrence, etc. who

wrote formal to humorous to informal essays for the delectation by

Filipinos.
 Among those who wrote criticism developed during the

American period were Ignacio Manlapaz, Leopoldo Yabes and I.V.

Mallari. But it was Salvador P. Lopez's criticism that grabbed

attention when he won the Commonwealth Literay Award for the

essay in 1940 with his "Literature and Society." This essay posited

that art must have substance and that Villa's adherence to "Art for

Art's Sake" is decadent.

The last throes of American colonialism saw the flourishing

of Philippine literature in English at the same time, with the

introduction of the New Critical aesthetics, made writers pay close

attention to craft and "indirectly engendered a disparaging attitude"

towards vernacular writings -- a tension that would recur in the

contemporary period.

The Contemporary Period

The flowering of Philippine literature in the various

languages continue especially with the appearance of new

publications after the Martial Law years and the resurgence of

committed literature in the 1960s and the 1970s.

Filipino writers continue to write poetry, short stories,

novellas, novels and essays whether these are socially committed,

gender/ethnic related or are personal in intention or not.

Of course the Filipino writer has become more conscious of

his art with the proliferation of writers workshops here and abroad

and the bulk of literature available to him via the mass media

including the internet. The various literary awards such as the Don

Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, the Philippines Free

Press, Philippine Graphic, Home Life and Panorama literary awards

encourage him to compete with his peers and hope that his creative

efforts will be rewarded in the long run.

With the new requirement by the Commission on Higher

Education of teaching of Philippine Literature in all tertiary schools

in the country emphasizing the teaching of the vernacular literature

or literatures of the regions, the audience for Filipino writers is

virtually assured. And, perhaps, a national literature finding its niche

among the literatures of the world will not be far behind.

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ippine_lit.htm

The 10 Best Books in Modern Philippine Literature

Install
Manila
Books
The 10 Best Books in Modern Philippine Literature
Stupid is Forever | Courtesy of ABS-CBN Publishing, Inc.
Stupid is Forever | Courtesy of ABS-CBN Publishing, Inc.

Most traditional Filipino books either tell stories about nationalism, real-life experiences, or make
use of legends and fables to showcase Filipino traits and values. Modern Filipino books aren’t far
from promoting such cultural values, as these books continue to make use of symbols and
allegories to depict the daily struggles of Filipinos in dealing with family, friends, romantic
partners, and society. Whether told in a comedic or heart-breaking way, these books never fail to
surprise readers and leave an eye-opening realization or two. And because of their impact on
readers, some of these books even made their way to the big screen. Here’s our picks for the 10
best books in modern Philippine literature

Culture Trip for Android

Install
Manila
Books
The 10 Best Books in Modern Philippine Literature
Stupid is Forever | Courtesy of ABS-CBN Publishing, Inc.
Stupid is Forever | Courtesy of ABS-CBN Publishing, Inc.
Photo of Ronica Valdeavilla
RONICA VALDEAVILLA
WRITER
UPDATED: 15 DECEMBER 2017
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Most traditional Filipino books either tell stories about nationalism, real-life experiences, or make
use of legends and fables to showcase Filipino traits and values. Modern Filipino books aren’t far
from promoting such cultural values, as these books continue to make use of symbols and
allegories to depict the daily struggles of Filipinos in dealing with family, friends, romantic
partners, and society. Whether told in a comedic or heart-breaking way, these books never fail to
surprise readers and leave an eye-opening realization or two. And because of their impact on
readers, some of these books even made their way to the big screen. Here’s our picks for the 10
best books in modern Philippine literature.
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ABNKKBSNPLAko?! by Bob Ong
ABNKKBSNPLAko?! Courtesy of Visual Print Enterprises
1433337
The title of the book is read phonetically as “Aba nakakabasa na pala ako?!” which can be
translated as “Wow I can read now?!” Published in 2001, Bob Ong’s first book rose to fame for
depicting the supposed unforgettable moments of his life as a student—from primary years to
college days—using a first-person perspective and conversational writing techniques. Because of
its success among readers, this book got its movie debut in 2014.

Para Kay B by Ricky Lee

Ricky Lee’s Para Kay B is a romantic comedy which tells stories about five different women, but
only one out of five of them gets a happy ending. Each character has her own chapter—a moment
to tell her story—which isn’t a usual situation in a Philippine context. A breathe of fresh air in
mainstream romance, this book shows how people are willing to take risks and sacrifices for the
sake of love.

Dekada ’70 (translated to “Decade 70”) tells the story of a woman’s struggles and heart-breaking
experiences during the difficult years in Philippine history known as the Martial Law era. Prepare
yourself for a tragic and emotionally intense plot, and take a glimpse at how difficult it was for
women to live during the Martial Law era. This book got its movie version in 2002.

Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco

The story begins when authorities find the lifeless body of fictional author Crispin Salvador
floating off the Hudson River. According to authorities, there was no evidence of foul play, which
led them to think that the author must have taken his own life. At the time, Salvador was working
on a manuscript that would expose powerful and influential people in the Philippines. His student
and friend, who has the same name as the book’s author Miguel Syjuco, hopes to unravel the story
behind this mystery.

Miguel Syjuco’s novel landed him a spot as the Grand Prize winner of the 2008 Man Asian
Literary Prize.

Ligo na U, Lapit na Me by Eros Atalia

Roughly translated, the title of the book is “Take A Shower. I’m Almost There Now.” This is a
story about two college students named Intoy and Jenny who engage in a casual sexual
relationship. In short, they’re friends with benefits. The book teaches its readers that there are a lot
of questions, and whether you know the answer or not, it doesn’t guarantee a happy ending.
Sometimes, the most intriguing questions are left unanswered, and you just have to accept it. In
2011, Ligo na U, Lapit na Me hit the big screen

.100 Tula Para Kay Stella by Jason Paul Laxamana

Install
Manila
Books
The 10 Best Books in Modern Philippine Literature
Stupid is Forever | Courtesy of ABS-CBN Publishing, Inc.
Stupid is Forever | Courtesy of ABS-CBN Publishing, Inc.
Photo of Ronica Valdeavilla
RONICA VALDEAVILLA
WRITER
UPDATED: 15 DECEMBER 2017
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Most traditional Filipino books either tell stories about nationalism, real-life experiences, or make
use of legends and fables to showcase Filipino traits and values. Modern Filipino books aren’t far
from promoting such cultural values, as these books continue to make use of symbols and
allegories to depict the daily struggles of Filipinos in dealing with family, friends, romantic
partners, and society. Whether told in a comedic or heart-breaking way, these books never fail to
surprise readers and leave an eye-opening realization or two. And because of their impact on
readers, some of these books even made their way to the big screen. Here’s our picks for the 10
best books in modern Philippine literature.
Sign Up. Get More. Do More.
Read the Culture Trip newsletter. Because you want to see what's out there.
Email address
For more information on how we use your data, see our privacy policy. Unsubscribe in one click.
To see what our newsletters include, click here.
ABNKKBSNPLAko?! by Bob Ong
ABNKKBSNPLAko?! Courtesy of Visual Print Enterprises
The title of the book is read phonetically as “Aba nakakabasa na pala ako?!” which can be
translated as “Wow I can read now?!” Published in 2001, Bob Ong’s first book rose to fame for
depicting the supposed unforgettable moments of his life as a student—from primary years to
college days—using a first-person perspective and conversational writing techniques. Because of
its success among readers, this book got its movie debut in 2014.

Para Kay B by Ricky Lee

Sa wakas nahanap rin kita, sabi ko na eh dun kita makikita sa mga lumang bookstores!! Hehe..
😝😝😝 #paraKayB

A post shared by Jobelle Andeza (@cute_belle) on Jun 23, 2017 at 4:49pm PDT

Ricky Lee’s Para Kay B is a romantic comedy which tells stories about five different women, but
only one out of five of them gets a happy ending. Each character has her own chapter—a moment
to tell her story—which isn’t a usual situation in a Philippine context. A breathe of fresh air in
mainstream romance, this book shows how people are willing to take risks and sacrifices for the
sake of love.

Dekada ’70 by Lualhati Bautista

Dekada 70 Courtesy of Anvil Publishing
Dekada ’70 (translated to “Decade 70”) tells the story of a woman’s struggles and heart-breaking
experiences during the difficult years in Philippine history known as the Martial Law era. Prepare
yourself for a tragic and emotionally intense plot, and take a glimpse at how difficult it was for
women to live during the Martial Law era. This book got its movie version in 2002.

Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco

Ilustrado Courtesy of Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG)
The story begins when authorities find the lifeless body of fictional author Crispin Salvador
floating off the Hudson River. According to authorities, there was no evidence of foul play, which
led them to think that the author must have taken his own life. At the time, Salvador was working
on a manuscript that would expose powerful and influential people in the Philippines. His student
and friend, who has the same name as the book’s author Miguel Syjuco, hopes to unravel the story
behind this mystery.

Miguel Syjuco’s novel landed him a spot as the Grand Prize winner of the 2008 Man Asian
Literary Prize.

Ligo na U, Lapit na Me by Eros Atalia

#ligonaulapitname

A post shared by Emmanuel Balugo 😝 (@emmaganda_) on May 31, 2016 at 10:31pm PDT

Roughly translated, the title of the book is “Take A Shower. I’m Almost There Now.” This is a
story about two college students named Intoy and Jenny who engage in a casual sexual
relationship. In short, they’re friends with benefits. The book teaches its readers that there are a lot
of questions, and whether you know the answer or not, it doesn’t guarantee a happy ending.
Sometimes, the most intriguing questions are left unanswered, and you just have to accept it. In
2011, Ligo na U, Lapit na Me hit the big screen.

100 Tula Para Kay Stella by Jason Paul Laxamana

I got it. Pangalawang libro na binili ko gamit ang aking ipon. Maagang pamasko sa sarili 😝😝 Sana
may chance na ma-meet ko na ng personal si Fidel at Stella. 😝 Thank You God!
😝#100tulaparakaystella

A post shared by Christian Lean Calano 😝😝 (@leaaanonmeeeee) on Dec 9, 2017 at 12:48am PST

In 100 Tula Para Kay Stella (“100 Poems for Stella”), character Fidel Lansangan meets his
opposite Stella Puno. Fidel has a speech impediment that makes him really shy around people,
while Stella is a tough rocker chick full of confidence. Fidel loves poetry and is a grade-conscious
student, whereas Stella doesn’t really care much about her studies—her priority is to snag a
recording contract. Despite their opposing personalities, the two seem to complement each other
and become really good friends. But for Fidel, he can’t hide his true feelings forever, and after his
100th poem, he hopes to tell it all. This book also became a hit among readers and got its movie
debut this year.

14 by Manix Abrera
Just by looking at the book’s cover, one instantly gets the impression that this book has a dark,
mysterious, sad story. Manix Abrera’s second wordless graphic novel reveals how good the author
is at conveying messages without having to use words. While this novel portrays typical beings in
Philippine folklore such as a manananggal (creature without its lower half), a white lady, and an
elf, among others, don’t expect that it’s a typical Philippine horror story.

The Last Time I Saw Mother by Arlene J. Chai

In Arlene J. Chai’s novel, protagonist Caridad discovers that her real mother isn’t the woman she
grew up with. Aside from finding out the story behind Caridad’s secret adoption, readers get a
detailed glimpse into how difficult life was during the Japanese invasion up to the Marcos era and
People Power Revolution, where fear, envy, and hatred lingered among native Filipinos

Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan

Author F.H. Batacan won the Carlos Palanca Grand Prize for the English Novel in 1999 for his
book, Smaller and Smaller Circles. This is the first Filipino crime detective story set in the
Philippines. The mystery revolves around two Jesuit priests who happen to perform forensic work
and hope to uncover the person behind the serial killings in a slum area in Manila. At the time of
writing, this movie is being shown in selected cinemas in the Philippines.

Stupid is Forever by Miriam Defensor-Santiago

The late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago might have lost the presidential elections last 2016,
but she won the hearts of many for her wit and sense of humor. In her book, published in 2014, the
‘Iron Lady of Asia’ proves that only a politician like her can spontaneously make people laugh as
she brings up her collection of one-liners, pick-up lines, and witty jokes in the political
setting.https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/the-10-best-books-in-modern-philippine-
literature/

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21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World
21ST CENTURY LITERATURE FROM THE PHILIPPINES AND THE WORLD

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INTRODUCTION TO PHILIPPINE LITERATURE
By Katrina Melissa Cruz

Philippine literature withstood time and periods and has evolved through generations. For every
period that passed, different genres appeared, and these literary works rooted from all regions
reflecting their culture, society and lifestyle.

The early stages of Filipino Literature consist of the Pre-Spanish period, the Spanish period and
the Propaganda and Revolutionary Periods. In the Pre-Spanish period, literature was in oral form
as technology of printing wasn’t available yet. Works such as epics, legends, folklore, salawikain,
bugtong, sawikain, songs such as the Oyayi or Hele are passed on from generations to generations
and they are still well-known up to this day as they are being taught in schools. Philippine
Literature changed during the Spanish Period. It was centered on Christian faith. Pre-Spanish
literary types continued to develop; however, there was a gradual shift of interest from nature and
natural phenomena to the lives of the saints, hymns, miracles and invocations based on the
teachings of the Catholic Church. The works during this time are imitative of the Spanish theme,
forms, and traditions. The corrido, awit, dalit, cenaculo, moro-moro, duplo and karagatan, and
zarzuela are reflective of the said characteristics. Religious matters were in prose as novenas and
prayer books, biographies of the saints, tales and novels. The Filipinos were able to retain their
native traditions and poems in the field of poetry reflected as lyrical folksongs and riddles. Some
examples of songs are Bahay Kubo, kundiman, and tapat. Francisco Baltazar also was popular
during this time because of his “Florante at Laura”. Events such as the exposure of the Filipinos to
Europe’s liberal idealism, the opening of the Suez Canal, the Spanish Revolution in 1868, and the
martyrdom of Gomburza led to Filipino nationalism. This gave birth to two movements during
this time – the Propaganda movement and the Revolutionary movement. The Propaganda
movement was reformatory in objective and its members are college students mostly based in
Spain. The primary propagandists were Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, and Graciano
Lopez-Jaena. The exposure of the evils of the Spanish rule in the Philippines was because of
Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo and has paved the way to a revolution against
Spain. Del Pilar’s essays and editorials in Diariong Tagalog which he founded with Lopez-Jaena’s
articles in La Solidaridad which he was an editor reflected nationalism that was dominant at this
time.

The Revolutionary movement took over as the propagandists failed to get much reforms. This was
of course more violent, and it demands complete independence from Spain. The Katipunan was
founded by Andres Bonifacio who was inspired by Rizal’s novels. The articles written in tagalog
(which was a form of revolution) was published in the Kalayaan, the newspaper of the society.
The literature at that time was more propagandistic than literary as the situation and events at that
time needed such purpose for liberation.

The three periods mentioned are the core of our history and literature. History has a very
important role in literature as literature not only reflects facts with aesthetic language but more
importantly, it displays the ideas and feelings of the people living at that time. Not only does
literature exhibit history but so as the hope that people have. It shows what they hope for the
nation, or for themselves, may it be about nationalism, love, or other aspects going on in life. As
the Philippines underwent a lot of history, as well as changes, literature also evolved. In the
similar case as the first three periods, literary genres also evolve depending on the influence, state
and the condition that our country is in. From epics to folksongs, to the cenaculo and Noli Me
Tangere, to Tagalog and English short stories, essays, poetry, to the Palanca Awards entries, drama
and film, to Wattpad and blogs – these are all reflective of the history, evolution, and
developments or mishaps of the Filipino nation. Each period has its own distinct genre and unique
artists that everyone remembers.

21st century literature per se, is anything that was written and published in the year 2000s. It is a
bit too early to give a definite and elaborate description of the 21st century literature in the
Philippines and the world. It is possible, however, to approach contemporary literature as a
reaction to and dialogue with existing forms of expressive culture. As we engage in technology
more and more, we create and discover more existing forms of expressive culture as well. We
have a wide range of resources through the internet and this gave opportunities to people,
especially the youth, to begin writing and expressing their thoughts, ideas, and feelings. A perfect
example would be WattPad. It became popular to the Filipino youth in 2006.

The idea is to create an e-book reading application, as e-books are becoming in demand during
that time, however, the founders thought that it would be time consuming to maintain their own
catalog, so they decided to let the community decide what they want to read, and they can also
upload their works and content into the application. This had made it possible for the youth to read
more and to start creating their own compositions.

It has become a network.

Here are more examples of literary genres in the 21st century Philippine literature:

Creative nonfiction

It’s a rich mix of flavors, ideas, and techniques, some of which are newly invented and others as
old as writing itself. Creative nonfiction can be an essay, a journal article, a research paper, a
memoir, or a poem; it can be personal or not, or it can be all of these.

Some of the creative nonfiction in the Philippines are:

“The Cardinal’s Sins, the General’s Cross, the Martyr’s Testimony, and Other Affirmations” by
Gregorio C. Brillantes
“Manananggal Terrorizes Manila and Other Stories” by Jessica Zafra
“Sapay Koma” by Jhoanna Lynn Cruz
Hyper poetry

Hypertext poetry and hypertext fiction are new genres of literature that use the computer screen as
medium, rather than the printed page. The literary works rely on the qualities unique to a digital
environment, such as linked World Wide Web pages or effects such as sound and movement.
Hypertext “poetry” can consist of words, although not necessarily organized into lines and stanzas,
as well as, sounds, visual images, movement or other special effects. Although the poem may be
dazzling with sounds, perhaps of a lawnmower, while the words “mowing,” “stop,” “Sunday,” and
“morning” float across your computer screen in pseudo-three-dimensional letters, one will have
been hard pressed to identify the use of any formal poetics.

Mobile phone text tula

A cell phone novel, or mobile phone novel is a literary work originally written on a cellular phone
via text messaging. This type of literature originated in Japan, where it has become a popular
literary genre. However, its popularity has also spread to other countries internationally, especially
to China, United States, Germany, and South Africa. Chapters usually consist of about 70-100
words each due to character limitations on cell phones.

Chick lit

This is genre fiction, which “consists of heroin-centered narratives that focus on the trials and
tribulations of their individual protagonists”. The genre often addresses issues of modern
womanhood – from romantic relationships to female friendships to matters in the workplace – in
humorous and lighthearted ways.

Some of the chick lit in the Philippines are:

Spotlight New Adult by Mina V. Esguerra

Tall Story by Candy Gourlay
All’s Fair in Blog and War by Chrissie Peria
Speculative fiction

It covers all stories from fantasy to science fiction to slipstream to magic realism to urban fantasy
— so on and so forth. In other words (or in other worlds), it encompasses all the stories that are
removed from the reality that we are currently living in. As the introduction states, “speculative
fiction is a type of story that deals with observations of the human condition but offers the
experience through a different lens…and challenges us to see what tomorrow could be like or
what the mythic past of our imagination actually is.”

Some of the speculative fiction in the Philippines are:

Smaller and Smaller Circles by FH Batacan

Sink by Isabel Yap
The Secret Origin of Spin-Man by Andrew Drilon
Flash fiction

Flash fiction goes by many names, including microfiction, microstories, short-shorts, short short
stories, very short stories, sudden fiction, postcard fiction and nanofiction. While it can be difficult
to pinpoint an exact definition of flash fiction based on word count, consideration of several of its
features can help provide clarity, like its brevity, length, background and purpose.
Some of the flash fiction in the Philippines are:

100 Kislap, by Abdon M. Balde Jr.

Karapote: Antolohia Dagiti 13 a Nasuerte A Sarita, by Ariel S. Tabag
Blog

A blog (shortening of “weblog”) is an online journal or informational website displaying

information in the reverse chronological order, with latest posts appearing first. It is a platform
where a writer or even a group of writers share their views on an individual subject.

Graphic novels

The ‘graphic novel’ has existed as an art form arguably from the time our species learned how to
paint. However, the term has only been in use since the 1960’s, and though it’s often a hotly
debated issue, it’s generally accepted that a graphic novel is a longer work or collection of works
presented in ‘comics’ style.

Some of the graphic novels in the Philippines are:

The Mythology Class (Nautilus comics) by Arnold Arre

Light (Anino comics) by Rob Cham
Sixty Six (Anino comics) by Russell Molina
Maktan 1521 by Tepai Pascual
Contemporary writers often consciously draw inspiration and ideas from the writers who have
come before them. As an outcome, many works of 21st literature deal with the events, movements
and literature of the past in order to make sense of the current times. In addition, the technological
developments of the 21st century have directed other writers to theoretically write about the future,
usually to comment on the present and suggest introspection.

There are various themes and topics that the contemporary literature addresses. One of which is
Identity. With increasing globalization, intersections of cultures and more vocal discussions of
women’s rights and LGBT rights, identity has become a common theme in 21st century literature.
In a world that is now able to exchange ideas more quickly than ever before via the Internet and
other technological advancements, people have relatively more freedom to draw from multiple
cultures and philosophies and question the concept of the self and its relation to the body, brain
and “soul.” Another theme is history and memory. Often contemporary literature explores the
notion of multiplicities of truth and acknowledges that history is filtered through human
perspective and experience. Another main theme is technology. Today, technology is more
integrated into people’s lives than ever before. Dreams of what technology could potentially help
people become and anxieties regarding the demise of humanity because of technology can be seen
in 21st century literature. Additionally, many 21st century works of literature explore what it
means when all of humanity’s experiences are filtered through technology. These are just among
many themes that 21st century literature covers. Among these are of course, love, sex, family,
religion, but approached in a different way. They are more liberal and unfiltered in a sense, just
like the world we live in. For this reason, the language and tone that are commonly used doesn’t
really follow a rule just like the traditional and classical works, as long as it is able to express and
convey the authenticity and the essence of the meaning of the work and the identity of the
characters. Examples of this would be the works of Bob Ong, Ricky Lee, and Bebang Siy. The
poems of Maria Cecilia dela Rosa are perfect examples of 21st century literature as she conveys a
different flavor and turn to her works.

The previous periods had already established canon writers and their works which, until now, are
being studied in schools and universities. As times change, people need to innovate and become
more aware of the present time and condition, as well as the events that recently directed us to be
at the current circumstances that we stand. Modernization, invention, expression and a wider point
of view are results of the arising awareness people have. Modern day Filipinos, as well as the
youth of today become more conscious of what’s happening, primarily because of easier access to
education and technology. Print, we might say, is gradually dying but our appetite for information
continues to grow and of course literature, along with technology still thrives. All of this paved
the way to the 21st century Literature, with various genres, themes and voices. The Philippines
continues to develop in many aspects and as a liberal and democratic country, we are part of the
worldwide innovation of ways on how to exchange and share ideas about the present events which
have much similarities in each country.

Since we are in the age of technology, we use them to impart and experience literature to make it
more interesting especially to the young ones. They grew up using technology as a primary
learning tool and for them to be more engaged in literature, technology such as the internet and
gadgets play a huge role for them in acquiring knowledge and information.

Literature continues to change with society and although we are in the 21st century and are binded
with technology, authors are still trying to address absolute human questions in new ways and
therefore, reconcile them with the ever-changing technology that surrounds us; hence, the birth of
the different 21st century literary genres.

In the new educational system that the Philippines is currently under which is the K+12 program,
students are also entitled to learn the new literary genres that we have in the 21st century. In this
guide, we will find the different characteristics of the 21st century literature in the Philippines and
their genres, along with their representative texts that tackles their relevance to our current
situation.

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