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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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