Introduction Philippine literature

• DR. LILIA QUINDOZA-SANTIAGO: 'Philippine literary production during the American Period in the Philippines was spurred by two significant developments in education and culture. One is the introduction of free public instruction for all children of school age and two, the use of English as medium of instruction in all levels of education in public schools.'
• Free public education made knowledge and information accessible to a greater number of Filipinos. Those who availed of this education through college were able to improve their social status and joined a good number of educated masses who became part of the country’s middle class.
• The use of English as medium of instruction introduced Filipinos to Anglo-American modes of thought, culture and life ways that would be embedded not only in the literature produced but also in the psyche of the country’s educated class. It was this educated class that would be the wellspring of a vibrant Philippine Literature in English.
• Philippine literature in English, as a direct result of American colonization of the country, could not escape being imitative of American models of writing especially during its period of apprenticeship.
• The poetry written by early poets manifested studied attempts at versification as in the following poem by Juan F. Salazar:
• Juan F. Salazar: 'Vacation days at last are here,

  And we have time for fun so dear,

  All boys and girls do gladly cheer,

  This welcomed season of the year.

  In early June in school we’ll meet;

  A harder task shall we complete

  And if we fail we must repeat

  That self same task without retreat.

  We simply rest to come again

  To school where boys and girls obtain

  The Creator’s gift to men

  Whose sanguine hopes in us remain.

  Vacation means a time for play

  For young and old in night and day

  My wish for all is to be gay,

  And evil none lead you astray'
• The poem by Juan F. Salazar was published in the Philippines Free Press on May 9, 1909 and anthologized in the first collection of poetry in English, Filipino Poetry, edited by Rodolfo Dato (1909 – 1924).
• Poets featured in the anthology Filipino Poetry

  • Proceso Sebastian Maximo Kalaw
  • Fernando Maramag
  • Leopoldo Uichanco
  • Jose Ledesma
  • Vicente Callao
  • Santiago Sevilla
  • Bernardo Garcia
  • Francisco Africa
  • Pablo Anzures
  • Carlos P. Romulo
  • Francisco Tonogbanua
  • Juan Pastrana
  • Maria Agoncillo
  • Paz Marquez Benitez
  • Luis Dato
• Poets featured in the anthology The English German Anthology of Poets

  • Teofilo D. Agcaoili
  • Aurelio Alvero
  • Horacio de la Costa
  • Amador T. Daguio
  • Salvador P. Lopez
  • Angela Manalang Gloria
  • Trinidad Tarrosa
  • Abelardo Subido
  • Jose Garcia Villa
• Poets featured in the anthology Chorus for America: Six Philippine Poets

  • Jose Garcia Villa
  • Rafael Zulueta da Costa
  • Rodrigo T. Feria
  • C.B. Rigor
  • Cecilio Baroga
  • Carlos Bulosan
• In fiction, the period of apprenticeship in literary writing in English is marked by imitation of the style of storytelling and strict adherence to the craft of the short story as practiced by popular American fictionists.
• Early short story writers in English

  • Francisco Arcellana
  • A.E. Litiatco
  • Paz Latorena
• When the University of the Philippines was founded in 1908, an elite group of writers in English began to exert influence among the culturati. The U.P. Writers Club founded in 1926, had stated that one of its aims was to enhance and propagate the “language of Shakespeare.”
• In 1925, Paz Marquez Benitez short story, “Dead Stars” was published and was made the landmark of the maturity of the Filipino writer in English
• The U.P. Writers Club was founded

  1926
• One of the aims of the U.P. Writers Club was to enhance and propagate the “language of Shakespeare”
• In 1925, Paz Marquez Benitez's short story, “Dead Stars” was published and was considered a landmark of the maturity of the Filipino writer in English
• Following Benitez, short story writers began publishing stories no longer imitative of American models
• Short story writers during the American period

  • Icasiano Calalang
  • A.E. Litiatco
  • Arturo Rotor
  • Lydia Villanueva
  • Paz Latorena
  • Manuel Arguilla
• Major Filipino fictionists in English during the American period wrote about Filipino customs and traditions in a borrowed tongue
• Major novels of the period

  • Filipino Rebel by Maximo Kalaw
  • His Native Soil by Juan C. Laya
• Stories such as “How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife” by Manuel Arguilla depicted the scenery and folkways of Ilocandia
• N.V. M. Gonzales’s novels and stories presented the customs and traditions of Mindoro
• Noted fictionists during the period

  • Francisco Arcellana
  • Consorcio Borje
  • Aida Rivera
  • Conrado Pedroche
  • Amador Daguio
  • Sinai Hamada
  • Hernando Ocampo
  • Fernando Maria Guerrero
• In 1936, the Philippine Writers League was organized
• Salvador P. Lopez led discussions on the value of literature in society
• The discussion in the Philippine Writers League centered on proletarian literature versus art for art’s sake literary orientation
• With Salvador P. Lopez, the essay in English gained prominence in political discourse
• Noted essayists during the period

  • Fernando Maramag
  • Carlos P. Romulo
  • Conrado Ramirez
• Literary production in native or indigenous languages continued alongside the English literary tradition
• Seditious plays in the form of zarsuwela were mounted during the early American period
• Zarsuwelistas


  • Juan Abad
  • Aurelio Tolentino
  • Juan Matapang Cruz
  • Juan Crisostomo Sotto
• Wilfredo Maria Guerrero gained dominance in theatre through his one-act plays on the eve of World War II
• The novel in Tagalog, Iloko, Hiligaynon, and Sugbuanon developed aided by the steady publication of weekly magazines like the Liwayway, Bannawag, and Bisaya
• Early Tagalog novelists of the 20th century included Ishmael
• Novels that became popular in campuses throughout the archipelago

  • Wanted a Chaperone
  • The Forsaken House
• Development of novels in Tagalog, Iloko, Hiligaynon, and Sugbuanon


  Aided largely by the steady publication of weekly magazines like Liwayway, Bannawag, and Bisaya which serialized the novels
• Early Tagalog novelists of the 20th century

  • Ishmael Amado
  • Valeriano Hernandez Peña
  • Faustino Aguilar
  • Lope K. Santos
  • Lazaro Francisco
• Ishmael Amado’s Bulalakaw ng Pag-asa published in 1909 was one of the earliest novels that dealt with the theme of American imperialism in the Philippines
• Valeriano Hernandez Peña’s Nena at Neneng narrates the story of two women who cope with their relationships with the men in their lives