National Artist for Literature

• Philippine literature is a rich group of literary works that has developed along with the country’s history.
• Long before the arrival of Western influences, early Filipinos already have stories to tell to younger generations.
• FRANCISCO ARCELLANA (1916 – 2002)
•      FRANCISCO ARCELLANA Year of Conferment: 1990
•      FRANCISCO ARCELLANA·        One of the greatest Filipino poets of his generation.

  ·        He studied in Tondo Intermediate School.

  ·        However, it was at the Manila West High School (which was later named the Florentino Torres High School) that he took up his writing seriously and became a staff member of the The Torres Torch, the school organ

  ·        While still a student at Florentino Torres High School, he wrote his first story, “The Man Who Would Be Poe.”
• The Babaylan, the early healers, used chants to please the supernatural beings or spirits to bestow good health and fortune in the home and the fields.
• Francisco  Arcellana is considered as one of the pioneers of modern Filipino short story in English.
• Francisco Arcellana short stories are written in lyrical prose-poetic form
• Francisco  Arcellana’s exceptional works in fiction include “ Death in a Factory,” “A Clown Remembers,” and “Divided by Two.” Some of his poems include “The Other Woman,” “To Touch You,” and “I Touched Her,” which are among others are now part of the secondary – and tertiary – level syllabi in the country.
•      N.V.M. GONZALES (1915 – 1999)
•      N.V.M. GONZALES Year of Conferment: 1997
• Nestor Vicente Madali Gonzales was born on September 8, 1915 in the beautiful province of Romblon.
• N.V.M. GONZALES


  1915 – 1999
• Year of Conferment


  1997
• N.V.M. Gonzales


  Nestor Vicente Madali Gonzales
• In 1948, NVM Gonzales  received a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship , which allowed him to study in Stanford University and Columbia University.
• NVM Gonzales works are The Winds of April (1941), A Season of Grace (1956), and The bamboo Dancers (1988).
• NVM Gonzales exemplary works have been published in several languages including Filipino, English, Chinese, German, Russian, and Indonesian.
•      NICK JOAQUIN (1917 – 2004)
•      NICK JOAQUINYear of Conferment: 1976
•      NICK JOAQUIN

  ·        His literary works are prolific and unparalleled.
•      NICK JOAQUIN

  ·        He is considered by many as the people’s writer because his passion for writing embraced the manifold being of Filipinos.
• Nick Joaquin first short story dealt with the vaudeville of Manila, “The Sorrows of Vaudeville,” published in 1937 by the Sunday Tribune Magazine.
• Nick Joaquin worked as a journalist for most of his life, pioneering literary journalism.
• Literary journalism is the reportage of actual events that employs literary techniques.
• Some of Nick Joaquin renowned works are The Woman Who Had Two Navels, A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino: An Elegy in Three Scenes, Manila, My Manila: A History for the Young, The Ballad of the Five Battles, Rizal in Saga: A Life for the Student Fans, Almanac for Manileños, and Cave and Shadows.
• Nick Joaquin  used the pen name QUIJANO de MANILA for some of his works
•      FRANCISCO SIONIL JOSE (1924 - )
•      FRANCISCO SIONIL JOSEYear of Conferment: 2001
•      FRANCISCO SIONIL JOSE is a prolific Filipino writer whose works have been translated in more than 20 languages.
•      FRANCISCO SIONIL JOSE

  ·        His literary works represent the social underpinnings of class struggles and colonialism in the society.
•      FRANCISCO SIONIL JOSE

  ·        One of his popular novels, The Pretenders, is the story of one man’s separation from his poor background and the dissipation of his wife’s prosperous family.
•      FRANCISCO SIONIL JOSE

  ·        Perhaps his most famous work is the Rosales Saga that includes The Pretenders, Tree, My Brother, My Executioner, Mass and Po – on.
•      FRANCISCO SIONIL JOSE

    The Rosales Saga “captures the sweep of Philippine history while simultaneously narrating the lives of generations of the Samsons whose personal lives intertwine with the social struggles of the nation.”
•      FRANCISCO SIONIL JOSE

  ·        He was the founder of the Philippine chapter of the international organization PEN.
•      JOSE GARCIA VILLA (1908 - 1997 )
•      JOSE GARCIA VILLA Year of Conferment: 1973
•      JOSE GARCIA VILLA

  ·        In the 20th century, he is considered as a powerful literary influence in the country.
•      JOSE GARCIA VILLA

  ·        Many people think that his personality and writing style are eccentric.

  ·        If you will study his work, you will notice his use of comma in every word.

  ·        He described this style as similar to Seurat’s architectonic and measured pointillism.
• Pointillism is a painting technique in which the artist uses small, distinct dots of pure color to create an image.