Creative Nonfiction

In this lesson, you will learn more about creative nonfiction in general and the Philippine creative nonfiction.
Also, you will read a few selected works by Filipino writers.

Creative Nonfiction
It is a major genre of literature. It refers to narratives of fantasy with real events told in a literary style.

Kinds of Creative Nonfiction

 Memoir - This account is narrowly focused on a single event in a person’s life.
 Biography - This is a detailed account of a person’s life written by another person.
 Autobiography - This is a written account of the life of a person written by the subject himself or
herself.
 Diary - This is a collection of discrete accounts of a person’s experiences and thoughts each day.
 Essay - This writing features any subject that the writer personally comments about or describes.

Philippine Creative Nonfiction

The American Occupation (1898–1940)
The essay in English proved to be an influential medium. The first volume of essays was Life and Success
(1921) by Zoilo Galang. The earliest travel writing was Notas de Viaje (1930) by Maria Paz Mendoza-Guazon.
The essay “Literature and Society” by Salvador Lopez sparked a debate on socially relevant literature versus
aesthetic value. It won in the first Commonwealth Literary Awards in 1940.

The Japanese Occupation (1941–1945)

Because of censorship, only a few essays in English were published. Horizons from My Nipa Hut, published in
1941, is a collection of humorous essays by Francisco B. Icasiano. I Am a Filipino, the most famous essay of
Carlos P. Romulo, was published the same year.

1960s and 1970s

Literary journalism came into its own. It appeared in some publications like the Philippines Free Press and the
Philippine Graphic. It attracted some of the best Filipino writers. Nick Joaquin, who sometimes used the pen
name Quijano de Manila, was the most prolific among those writers.

1990s
A few autobiographies and memoirs were published like Memory’s Fictions: A Personal History (1993) and
Postscript to a Saintly Life (1994) by Bienvenido Santos. Also, there were works on wars like Living With the
Enemy: A Diary of the Japanese Occupation (1999) by Pacita Pestaño-Jacinto, and Breaking the Silence (1996)
by Lourdes Reyes Montinola.

Also, published in this period were travel writings by Filipino women like Sylvia Mayuga’s Earth, Fire & Air
(1992) and Kerima Polotan’s Adventures in a Forgotten Country (1999).

Early 21st Century

This period saw the publication of collections of short essays and narratives of young writers. Their works were
Wala Lang (2004) by Bud Tomas; Love, Desire, Children, Etc.: Reflections of a Young Wife (2005) by Rica
Bolipata-Santos; The King of Nothing To Do (2006) by Luis Katigbak; and Stressed in the City (2007) by April
T. Yap.
 Popular Fiction
In this lesson, you will learn about popular fiction and three of its genres, namely, the science fiction, chick
literature, and ghost stories.

Popular fiction, also called genre fiction, refers to works of literature that are intended for the masses or large
audience. Its main purpose is to appeal to the general public. Below are a few features of popular fiction:

 Its story is plot-driven.

 Its characters are mostly stock figures.
 Its setting is either familiar or exotic.
 Its language is closer to everyday spoken language.
 It contains a lot of dialogues.

Science fiction, also called sci-fi, at its core, deals with science and technology. It is often lumped with the
fantasy and horror genres under the broader term “speculative fiction.” As this term suggests, sci-fi writers are
often preoccupied by the question “what if.”

Pocholo Goitia’s short story “An Introduction to the Luminescent” is an example of science fiction. It was
published in Philippine Speculative Fiction volume 1 in 2005. The story is set in the year 2105 in a mall
described as an “ultrasaur,” a massive structure that towers at two kilometers and stretches at half kilometer.
Magenta, one of the characters, is a member of La Luminosa, a group of biogenetically engineered people that
live in the mall. This mall is protected by “clone warriors” that hover in the air using devices called gravity
disruptors.

Chick literature, or chick lit, is written by women who write for women. The usual target readers are young
and single women, especially in their 20s or 30s. The stories deal with real life, usually love and relationships,
and they are written in a light-hearted tone.

Tara Sering’s Getting Better is an example of chick literature. The novella was published in the October 2002
issue of Cosmopolitan Philippines, a magazine that targets contemporary women and that mostly features topics
regarding relationships, beauty, fashion, and health. Told in the second person point of view, the story tackles
the life of a single woman named Karen—how she was as a girlfriend, how she dealt with cheating, and how
she moved on.

Ghost stories are part of Filipino pop culture. They are a specific kind of stories in the horror fiction genre. As
the name suggests, a ghost story features a ghost as one of its characters. Like any story in the horror fiction
genre, a ghost story is meant to scare its reader.

Joel P. Salud’s “The Haunting at Concha Cruz Drive” is an example of a ghost story. It was published in True
Philippine Ghost Stories Book 1 in 2002. It tells the story of three friends driving along a road named Concha
Cruz Drive which is known to be haunted by ghosts of a young couple who were victims of drag racing
accident.
Name: _________________________________ Grade and Section: _______________ Score: ___________________

I.Identify the word/s being described by the following descriptions below. Write the correct answer on the space
provided.

_____________________1. It is written by women who write for women.

_____________________2. This is a collection of discrete accounts of a person’s experiences and thoughts each day.

_____________________3. They are a specific kind of stories in the horror fiction genre.

_____________________4. This account is narrowly focused on a single event in a person’s life.

_____________________5. It is also called sci-fi, at its core, deals with science and technology.

_____________________6. This is a detailed account of a person’s life written by another person.

_____________________7. It is also called genre fiction, refers to works of literature that are intended for the masses or
large audience.

_____________________8. This is a written account of the life of a person written by the subject himself or herself.

_____________________9. This writing features any subject that the writer personally comments about or describes.

_____________________10. It refers to narratives of fantasy with real events told in a literary style.

II. Enumerate the following as stated by the statements below.

A.Write the three genres of popular fiction.

1. _______________________2. ____________________________ 3. _______________________

B.Write the genres of creative nonfiction.

4. ________________________ 5. ____________________________ 6. _______________________

7. ________________________ 8. ____________________________

C. Write the features of popular fiction.

9. ________________________ 10. ___________________________ 11. ______________________

12. _______________________ 13. ___________________________

III. Write the authors of the following titles of literatures. Write it on the space provided.

__________________1. The Haunting at Concha Cruz Drive __________________6. Getting Better

__________________2. Wala Lang __________________7. Horizons from My Nipa Hut

__________________3. Breaking the Silence __________________8. Literature and Society

__________________4. Notas de Viaje __________________9. An Introduction to the Luminescent

__________________5. Life and Success _________________10. Stressed in the City

IV. Arrange the following jumbled letters to form the word/s. Write the correct answer on the space provided.

_____________________1. TOLIUN PARIPFOC ______________________6. VIDOSSO BENAT NINE

_____________________2. JOCK QUINAIN ______________________7. NONO CRAVENT FICITIE

_____________________3. LOLA DORA SEVPZ

_____________________4. TAGAK BILUSIK

_____________________5. BOGO TIRA PUHAY

V. Write a short synopsis of the movie “Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them” by J.K. Rowling through:

1. Exposition 2. Rising action 3. Climax 4. Falling action 5. Conclusion

Name: __________________________________________ Score: ________________________
Grade and Section: ________________________________ Date: _________________________

CREATIVE NONFICTION AND POPULAR FICTION

ACTIVITY M.3

Directions: Create a graphical presentation that would distinguish creative nonfiction and popular fiction based on
your major. (For example, housekeeping major students could make hotel or restaurant structures as graphical
organizer.) Make sure that the following are present:
a. Definition b. Kinds/Types of Genres c. Authors d. Title of literature
New and Emerging Literary Forms in the 21st Century
Literary Genre
This refers to a type or category of literature. It has a specific form, content, and style. The four main genres of
literature are poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and drama. Under each of those genres are different genres. For
example, fiction includes speculative fiction, fantasy, and science fiction.

Literary Technique
This is a literary device deliberately used by a writer to convey a specific idea or meaning. An example is motif,
an object or idea that is repeated in a literary work. Another literary technique is the use of figurative language,
an example is personification, a figure of speech in which an inanimate object is given human qualities.

Besides the illustrated novel, the graphic novel, and doodle-fiction, there are other literary forms or genres
emerging at present, such as the flash fiction, slipstream, metafiction, and magic realism.

Flash Fiction

Flash fiction is known for its extreme brevity. A typical work of flash fiction is only a few hundred words long.
Examples are the stories in Fast Food Fiction: Short Short Stories To Go (2003), edited by Noelle Q. de Jesus.
The collection features stories written by well-known Filipino writers like Gemino H. Abad, Gregorio
Brillantes, Jose Dalisay, Jr., Jessica Zafra, and Lakambini Sitoy.

Slipstream

Slipstream, or the “fiction of strangeness,” features elements of fantasy, science fiction, and serious fiction. For
many, works of slipstream are difficult to categorize because of their similarities with speculative fiction. The
collection Philippine Speculative Fiction, edited by Dean Francis Alfar and Nikki Alfar, contains stories that are
slipstream fiction.

Metafiction

Metafiction is about fiction itself. A work of metafiction can be a story about a writer who writes a story or a
story about another work of fiction. Some works of metafiction by Filipinos are the novel Ilustrado (2010) by
Miguel Syjuco and Hari Manawari (2011) by German Gervacio.

Magic Realism

Magic realism is a fiction genre in which magical elements are blended with reality. It is characteristic of the
stories by Latin American writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jorge Luis Borges, and Isabel Allende. The
short story “The Death of Fray Salvador Montano, Conquistador of Negros” by the Filipino writer Rosario Cruz
Lucero has elements of magic realism.
Literary Works by Writers from Luzon, Visayas and
Mindanao
 Kundiman - This is a genre of Tagalog folk love songs that express an intense longing for a beloved, a
cause, or the motherland. They are usually played in minor chord, giving them a sad, melancholic sound.
 Kambubulag - This is the Kapapampangan term for a type of native moth. It comes from the root word
“bulag” meaning “blind,” and there are Filipino superstitions about becoming blind after encountering
moths.
 Context is the background of the text which may have been influenced by the author’s life, language,
society, and culture.
 Diction is the choice of words that suit the writer’s intended purpose.
 Kundiman and kambubulag folk tales are part of Filipino folk literature. They can be a source of
inspiration, or they can be used as literary devices. Also, writing a poem or a story around those cultural
symbols reawakens interest in those literary forms.
 Imagery – This language awakens the reader’s sensory perceptions through words and phrases.
 Cacophony – This sound device refers to words or phrases with harsh sounds that create a disturbing
tone.
 Euphony – This sound device refers to words or phrases with melodic sounds that create a calming
tone.

Mikael de Lara Co is a writer and musician. He was born in Makati City and graduated with a degree in Environmental
Science from Ateneo de Manila University. His English and Filipino poetry collections have received awards including
Palanca Awards and the Meritage Press Holiday Poetry Prize. He was also a member of the Los Chupacabras band. At
present, he works for the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office at the Malacañang.

Co used diction to create a specific tone for “Kundiman” (2014). He used Tagalog words and phrases:
kundiman; hawak (hold); kapit (hold on); tahan na (stop crying); and uwi na (go home now). These
words, which have an emotional ring to them like the words in a kundiman, create a mood reminiscent
of Filipino sentimentality. Also, the mention of the A minor chord evokes sad, longing feelings that
contribute to the sentimental tone of the poem.

Catherine Batac Walder hails from Pampanga. She graduated from the University of the Philippines and
moved to Europe in 2005 to pursue a Master of Philosophy degree. Her works have been featured in local
publications including Inquirer’s Youngblood, Philippines Free Press, and Philippine Speculative Fiction 8.
Also an avid reader, her letters have been published in international magazines like Reader’s Digest and Time.
She is now a blogger and a full-time mother based in South East England.

In “The Kambubulag” (2013) the writer used a Filipino cultural symbol of bad luck, the kambubulag, to
create the fictional urban legend of the Kambubulag Road. Old folk legends of the moth being a
harbinger of death is prevalent in Luzon. It signals the reader to regard the woman and her superstition
as out of the ordinary.

Merlie M. Alunan was born in Dingle, Iloilo and graduated with a Creative Writing degree from Siliman
University. She is Professor Emeritus at the University of the Philippines and promotes writing in the mother
tongue. Her poems are in English, Cebuano, and Waray. At present, she resides in Tacloban City.

The imagery in “Old Women in Our Village” (2012) is heightened through the use of sound devices. For
instance, the cacophony in the first stanza implies strong feelings, like in the line “against rock faces,
landlocks, hills.” Then euphony in the next stanza evokes pleasant feelings as in the line “the sea’s
sibilant sighing.” This suggests an impending disaster, which is echoed in the rest of the poem.

Gutierrez Mangansakan II, an advocate of the Moro culture, is a filmmaker and writer from Pagalungan,
Maguindanao. In 2001, his film House under the Crescent Moon won the grand prize for video documentary
from the Cultural Center of the Philippines Prize for Independent Film and Video. Since then, he has made
films that focus on the plight of women and children. Also, he was the editor of Children of the Ever-Changing
Moon (2007), a collection of essays by young Moro writers. He became a fellow at the University of Iowa’s
International Program in 2008.

Name: _________________________________ Grade and Section: _______________ Score: ___________________

I. Enumerate the following as stated by the statements below.

A.Write the literary forms or genres emerging at the 21 st century.

1. ___________________ 2. _________________________ 3. _______________________

B. Write the other literary forms or genres emerging at the 21st century.

4. ___________________ 5. _________________________ 6. _______________________

7. ___________________

C. Write the main genres of literature.

8. ___________________ 9. _________________________ 10. _______________________

11. __________________

D. Write 5 examples of diction.

12. __________ 13. ____________ 14. ____________ 15. ___________ 16. ________

II. Identify the word/s being described by the following statements. Write the correct answer on the space provided.

______________1. This sound device refers to words or phrases with melodic sounds that create a calming tone.

______________2. It is a figure of speech in which an inanimate object is given human qualities.

______________3.It is the choice of words that suit the writer’s intended purpose.

______________4. It is the “fiction of strangeness,” features elements of fantasy, science fiction, and serious fiction.

______________5. This sound device refers to words or phrases with harsh sounds that create a disturbing tone.

______________6. This is a genre of Tagalog folk love songs that express an intense longing for a beloved, a cause, or
the motherland.

______________7. It is a fiction genre in which magical elements are blended with reality.

______________8. It is the background of the text which may have been influenced by the author’s life, language,
society, and culture.

______________9. This language awakens the reader’s sensory perceptions through words and phrases.

III. Supply the missing idea or concept to complete the table below. Write the correct answer on the space provided.

Genre Title Author

Flash fiction 1.________________________ Noelle Q. de Jesus
Slipstream Philippine Speculative Fiction 2.__________________________
3.________________________ 4.__________________________ German Gervacio
The Death of Fray Salvador Montano, Conquistador of Negros
Magic realism 5. __________________________

IV. Supply the missing idea or concept to complete the table below. Write the correct answer on the space provided.

Area in the Philippines Author Title Literary Technique

Luzon 1.
2.
Visayas 3.
Mindanao 4.
Name: __________________________________________ Score: ________________________
Grade and Section: ________________________________ Date: _________________________

New and Emerging Literary Forms and Works in the 21st Century
ACTIVITY M.4

Directions: Create a flowchart that would show the different emerging literary forms of the 21 st century based on your
major. You can add visual presentation to your work like colors or drawings.