Introduction:The Early Philippines
Philippine literature in English, like Filipino literature, has its origin deep in the psyche of the Filipinos. It is a rich and composite layers of cultural heritage. At the base is the culture of the original inhabitance said to be of Malay and Monggoloid stock. Superimposed upon these are several layers; namely, Chinese, Hindu, Japanese, Spanish, British, and American culture. If America is said to be the “melting pot of the West,” the Philippines may be considered as the “melting spot of the East and West.”
Kipling wrote:
“For East is East and West is West
And never the twain shall meet.”
But the Philippines is, in truth, the meeting place of East and West. Many have called us a geographical accident and, in many ways, the phrase is applicable. Place squarely in the East, yet we are deeply steeped in Western traditions and culture. Some believes that are destiny is to interpret the East to the West and the West to the East and bring them spiritually and culturally together. If this is so, ours is indeed a great destiny and this might be the special gift that we can give to the world.
Although at present, we are producing a body of literature in Filipino and other dialects, the general opinion is that our most substantial and most truly creative output is that which is written in English. It is highly exportable; consequently, it is that part of our literature which has caught world attention.
In putting up this text, the writers faced three problems:
1. Our writers of literary histories lack unanimity in the matter of naming and establishing the years-span of each period. After giving this matter serious thought, the writer of this text decided on the following division:
I. The Apprenticeship period 1910-1935
II. The Emergence period 1935-1945
III. The Contemporary period 1945- to present
2. The second problem has to determine what writers to include during each period since many of the writers continued writing well into succeeding periods. The writers of the text resorted to the expedient of placing writers under the period when they produced their best works.
3. The third problem was what selections to include. The writers of this text went through practically all the printed literally output available and guided themselves in their choice of materiel by two consideration:
a) That should be no duplication, as far as possible, of material found in the high school texts.
b) The stories and poems and essay included that should be truly representative of the talent of the authors; those works which, in the general opinion. Are their best works.
Significant aspects of this text are:
1. Each period is introduced by a historical, literary background.
2. Each selection is introduced by a capsule biography of an author, the brief statement of the nature of the selection as well as a tentative evaluation of the same.
3. Each selection is followed by questions for discussion to train the student in literary analysis and dept reading.
4. The essays under the contemporary period include essays on the humanities applicable to Philippine art in general.
This text is intended to be a survey course, a “chart,” so to speak, of the main outlines of the Filipino literature written in English. Because it is one semester course, there may be omissions in literary selection included which may not conform to the preference of all professors. This text should, therefore, be supplemented by reports, conferences and panel discussions which will rich and complete the semester’s work. Material for such supplementary work in included at the end of the end of the introduction for every literary period.
-J.B.A
- T.M.A
Kipling wrote:
“For East is East and West is West
And never the twain shall meet.”
But the Philippines is, in truth, the meeting place of East and West. Many have called us a geographical accident and, in many ways, the phrase is applicable. Place squarely in the East, yet we are deeply steeped in Western traditions and culture. Some believes that are destiny is to interpret the East to the West and the West to the East and bring them spiritually and culturally together. If this is so, ours is indeed a great destiny and this might be the special gift that we can give to the world.
Although at present, we are producing a body of literature in Filipino and other dialects, the general opinion is that our most substantial and most truly creative output is that which is written in English. It is highly exportable; consequently, it is that part of our literature which has caught world attention.
In putting up this text, the writers faced three problems:
1. Our writers of literary histories lack unanimity in the matter of naming and establishing the years-span of each period. After giving this matter serious thought, the writer of this text decided on the following division:
I. The Apprenticeship period 1910-1935
II. The Emergence period 1935-1945
III. The Contemporary period 1945- to present
2. The second problem has to determine what writers to include during each period since many of the writers continued writing well into succeeding periods. The writers of the text resorted to the expedient of placing writers under the period when they produced their best works.
3. The third problem was what selections to include. The writers of this text went through practically all the printed literally output available and guided themselves in their choice of materiel by two consideration:
a) That should be no duplication, as far as possible, of material found in the high school texts.
b) The stories and poems and essay included that should be truly representative of the talent of the authors; those works which, in the general opinion. Are their best works.
Significant aspects of this text are:
1. Each period is introduced by a historical, literary background.
2. Each selection is introduced by a capsule biography of an author, the brief statement of the nature of the selection as well as a tentative evaluation of the same.
3. Each selection is followed by questions for discussion to train the student in literary analysis and dept reading.
4. The essays under the contemporary period include essays on the humanities applicable to Philippine art in general.
This text is intended to be a survey course, a “chart,” so to speak, of the main outlines of the Filipino literature written in English. Because it is one semester course, there may be omissions in literary selection included which may not conform to the preference of all professors. This text should, therefore, be supplemented by reports, conferences and panel discussions which will rich and complete the semester’s work. Material for such supplementary work in included at the end of the end of the introduction for every literary period.
-J.B.A
- T.M.A