2nd PART

Literary Texts of Different Regions and Genres, 21st Century Literature from the Philippines
and the World

Poetry
Objective
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to compare and contrast two poems published in different periods.

What do the poems published in different periods have in common?

How are they different from one another?

Philippine Literature during the American Occupation of the Philippines (1898–1940)

With English as the medium of instruction in public schools, Filipino literary works in English were produced. In the
first decade, poetry and prose in English appeared in student publications like the UP College Folio and The
Coconut of Manila High School. By the 1930s and 1940s, Filipino writers in English came into their own.

Philippine Literature in the 21st Century (2001 up to the present)

This body of literature includes digital writings, graphic novels, textula, hypertext, and other emerging literary genres
at present.

In this lesson, you will compare and contrast Amador T. Daguio’s poem “Man of Earth” and a piece of textula by
Frank Rivera.

At 20, the poet Amador T. Daguio wrote “Man of Earth” in 1932. According to Dr. Gemino Abad, a well-known
Filipino poet and critic, “Man of Earth” marks a turning point in Filipino poetry. Daguio’s poem words in English are
reinvented to establish a native idiom.

Textula is poetry written and read on a mobile phone. It is popularized by the playwright Frank Rivera, who came to
be known as the “makata sa cell phone.” His works of textula and other poems are performed in different occasions,
such as rallies, school programs, and contests; published in newspapers; heard on radio; and shared on social media
or through text messaging.

Poetic Terms
Allusion – Using this literary device, the writer refers to a significant person, place, thing, or idea in culture, history,
literature, or politics briefly and indirectly.

Apostrophe – With this literary device, the writer addresses someone or something that is not present in his work.

End rhyme – This rhyme occurs in the last syllables of verses.

Lyric poetry – This traditional poetry is characterized by its brevity, emotional intensity, and musical quality.

Example 1:
Man of Earth
By Amador T. Daguio

Pliant is the bamboo;

I am man of earth.
They say that from the bamboo
We had our first birth.

Am I of the body,
Or of the green leaf?
Do I have to whisper
My every sin and grief?

If the wind passes by,

Must I stoop, and try
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 To measure fully
My flexibility?

I might have been the bamboo,

But I will be a man.
Bend me then, O Lord,
Bend me if you can.

Explanation:

The lyric poem has a varied rhythm. It is composed of four stanzas, each one with five to seven syllables.

 The poem contains end rhymes.
 The poem contains an allusion to a Philippine creation myth that tells that the first man and woman came
from a bamboo. The speaker is aware of his own pagan heritage.
 The poem uses apostrophe. The speaker addresses a spiritual being he calls “Lord” in the last two lines of the
fourth stanza.

Example 1:
Man of Earth
By Amador T. Daguio

Pliant is the bamboo;

I am man of earth.
They say that from the bamboo
We had our first birth.

Am I of the body,
Or of the green leaf?
Do I have to whisper
My every sin and grief?

If the wind passes by,

Must I stoop, and try
To measure fully
My flexibility?

I might have been the bamboo,

But I will be a man.
Bend me then, O Lord,
Bend me if you can.

Explanation:

 The lyric poem has a varied rhythm. It is composed of four stanzas, each one with five to seven syllables.
 The poem contains end rhymes.
 The poem contains an allusion to a Philippine creation myth that tells that the first man and woman came
from a bamboo. The speaker is aware of his own pagan heritage.
 The poem uses apostrophe. The speaker addresses a spiritual being he calls “Lord” in the last two lines of the
fourth stanza.

Example 2:
A Textula
By Frank Rivera

Merong himala, hindi totoong wala

Ituro ma’y mali, alam nati’y tama
Kahit walang sagot itong panalangin
Hindi tumitigil ang ating paghiling.

Walang nagturo na tayo’y makibaka

Ngunit sulirani’y ating binabata
Kahit may pangakong laging napapako
Sa anumang init, handa ring mapaso.
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 Sa ating puso’y may awit ng pag-asa
Kahit titik nito’y hindi makabisa
Ang katotohana’y lalaging totoo
Basta maniwalang mayroong milagro.

(Reproduced by permission of Frank Rivera)

Explanation:
 The poem is a piece of lyric poetry. It is composed of three stanzas, and each stanza has four lines. It has a
regular meter; each line consists of twelve syllables.

 The poem uses what is called in Tagalog poetry as “tugmang karaniwan,” wherein the last word of each line
has the same sound. Except the last two lines of the first stanza, the rest of the poem uses “tugmang
patinig,” wherein the last words of the lines have the same vowel sound.

Fiction

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 define literary meaning, and

 determine how the literary devices of a work of fiction work together to convey its literary meaning.

What is "literary meaning"?

How does one determine the "literary meaning" of a work of fiction?

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Literary elements – These devices are inherent in a literary text. Some examples are the characters, setting, conflict,
plot, and theme of a short story.

Literary techniques – These devices are used deliberately by a writer in his or her work to convey a particular
meaning. Dialogue is an example.

The literary meaning of a work is conveyed through its elements and the literary techniques that the writer used. In a
short story, for instance, the writer weaves a story, putting elements and techniques together in a specific
arrangement to convey its meaning.

Consider Francisco Arcellana’s short story "The Mats." Arcellana focused on the character’s actions and dialogues to
reveal their innermost feelings, which can be clues to the literary meaning of the work.

"The Mats" (A Summary)

By Francisco Arcellana

The short story "The Mats" is about the Angeles family. As the title suggests, their story unfolds like the unfolding of a
sleeping mat. It begins with Emilia and her children waiting excitedly for Mr. Jaime Angeles’s return from a business
trip. In a letter, Mr. Angeles told his wife that he had asked a mat weaver to make decorative sleeping mats for each
one in the family. To some degree, the children knew what those mats would look like because their mother kept one
herself. This mat was a gift from Emilia’s mother. It had been a witness to the couple’s wedding night as well as to the
illnesses and even deaths in the family. Then the day came when Mr. Angeles arrived home at last. The family had a
long dinner. The table was cleared right after, and Mr. Angeles had a cigar. When it was time to untie the mats, Mr.
Angeles cut the cord that held the bundle with scissors. He began unfolding the mats one by one. He handed the first
one to Emilia; the second one to himself; the third one to his eldest, Marcelina; the fourth one to his son, Jose; and three
more to his children Antonia, Juan, and Jesus. Each mat had the name of the family member on it as well as something
special like the cadena de amor on Emilia’s mat, a lyre on Marcelina’s, and the symbol of Aesculapius on Jose’s. Then
Emilia noticed the other three mats that were not yet unfolded. In a different voice, Mr. Angeles told her that they were
for those who were not there. Emilia was speechless, and the children fell silent. Mr. Angeles unfolded the first of three
remaining mats; it revealed a name that the children knew, but it seemed strange to them. Nana Emilia told her
husband, "You know, Jaime, you didn’t have to. You didn’t have to." To this Mr. Angeles only said, "Do you think I’d
forgotten? Do you think I had forgotten them? Do you think I could forget them?" Then he called out the names of his
dead children, namely, Josefina, Victoria, and Concepcion, as if they were there to get the mats themselves. Emilia
pleaded with him to stop. To this he only said, "Is it fair to forget them? Would it be just to disregard them?" The

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children wanted to turn away from their father, but they did not. Emilia held back her frustration. Mr. Angeles unfolded
the remaining mats in silence.

Literary Meaning of "The Mats"

It is shown through the characters Emilia and her husband that coping with the death of loved ones is a struggle.
Emilia seemed to lead a normal life from the beginning of the story until the moment her husband told her that he
had the mat weaver made three mats for their three dead children. Forced to remember their dead children, she
could only hold back from feeling frustration perhaps with her husband. On the other hand, Mr. Angeles dealt with
the death of his children in a way that he knew how, that is, remembering them on special occasions even if that
made his wife and children uncomfortable.

Drama

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 identify the Filipino dramatists or playwrights in English during the Postwar Period in the Philippines (1946–
1960); and
 analyze a Filipino drama or play in English published during that period.

What is a drama?
What are the elements of a drama?
Who are the Filipino dramatists in English that emerged during the Postwar Years?

Drama
Drama is a literary work that tells a story through actions and dialogues. It is usually performed on stage.

Elements
Characters – These actors set the scene and flow of the story.

Dialogues – These are conversations between the characters.

Plot – This is the series of events that take place.

Stage directions – These statements tell the actors how they should look, move, and speak. They also give the
director a picture of how the setting looks like, and what music and other sounds would set the mood of the play.

Philippine Drama in English During the Postwar Period (1946–

1960)
By the 1940s and 1950s, dramas in English had been performed on stage in the Philippines. During that time, three
notable Filipino dramatists emerged. They were Severino Montano, Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero, and Alberto S. Florentino.

Severino Montano (1915–1980) established the Arena Theatre at the Philippine Normal College in 1952. Almost two
hundred performances were staged there from 1953 to 1964. Among those performances were the staging of
Montano’s four major dramas, namely, Parting at Calamba (1953), Sabina (1953), The Ladies and the Senator (1953),
and The Love of Leonor Rivera (1954).

Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero (1910–1995) was a prolific playwright. He wrote over a hundred plays; most of them were
staged. His plays portray the educated middle class. Among his popular works are Wanted: A Chaperone (1940), The
Three Rats (1948), and Condemned (1943).

Alberto S. Florentino (1931– ) became known for his drama The World Is An Apple. It won first prize in the Carlos
Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature in 1954 and was published in the Sunday Times Magazine that same year.
The play as well as the others like Cavort with Angels (1959) and Oli Impan (1959) is set in Tondo slums.

During the period, the theater was moribund in the cities, however. One reason is that the language used, which was
English, made the plays only accessible to the educated Filipinos.

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"The World Is an Apple" by Alberto S. Florentino is a one-act play. As the term suggests, a one-act play is composed
of only one act or part. Its story has a few characters; it is condensed and has a single effect.

Florentino’s play only has three characters, namely, Gloria, Mario, and Pablo. The story takes place one evening in an
improvised home in Intramuros. Gloria and Mario are a poor couple. Their poverty forces Mario’s hand both literally
and figuratively. So, he returns to his old life of stealing and joins his old friend Pablo for a heist.

The World Is An Apple: A Synopsis

It is payday, and Mario comes home without any money to give his wife Gloria for their sick daughter named Tita. At
first, he tells his wife that he spent all of his money on a few drinks with his friends. However, Gloria does not believe
him because he does not look intoxicated. Then Mario attempts to lie the second time by telling her that he spent it all
on a woman. Once again, Gloria does not believe him because she knows Mario loves their daughter very much that he
could not have done it. Finally, Mario tells her that he lost his job a week ago and that he has been looking for a new
one ever since. Gloria is shocked to hear the news and worried that Mario would not be able to find a job soon. Mario,
however, assures her that it will not take long for him to get a new job.

Gloria then asks Mario why he lost his job. Mario relates that he was accused of pilfering (stealing a small amount of
something) at work. He took an apple that rolled out of a broken crate and thought of giving it to their child. The
people at his work kept the apple, though, for evidence. Gloria wants Mario to ask those people for a second chance,
but Mario is convinced that they want to throw him out so that they could bring their own men into the job. When
Gloria suggests that Mario complain, he does not want to do so for fear of those people finding out about his police
record. Then he tells Gloria that he has found a good job. He is to be a night watchman for a company. Gloria is
thankful to God, though she feels uncertain because she will be alone at night without Mario by her side.

Then comes Pablo, Mario’s friend. Mario becomes nervous, and Gloria is not very happy to see him. Pablo asks about
their child’s condition and offers money to Gloria so that she can take her to a doctor, but Gloria refuses it. She is
convinced that Pablo has come to lead Mario back to his old ways. Soon enough, she discovers that Mario has indeed
decided to go back to stealing for their sake. She tries to stop him from going, but Mario leaves with Pablo anyway.
Before he leaves, he tells Gloria to take care of their daughter and herself, and he will take care of himself. The story
ends with Gloria shouting Mario’s name as she watches him walk away with Pablo.

Creative Nonfiction

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 identify some Filipino writers of creative nonfiction and their works; and
 analyze a few selected Filipino works of creative nonfiction.

What makes a work of creative nonfiction?

What are the different kinds of 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 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.

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 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

Objective
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to name some genres of the popular fiction.

What makes a piece of fiction popular?

What are the different genres of the 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.
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  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.

New and Emerging Literary Forms in the 21st Century

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 identify new and emerging literary forms at the present time, and
 analyze some selected works written by present-day Filipino writers.

What new literary forms are emerging at present?

What are the distinct qualities of such literary forms?

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.

Introduction
Many works of literature produced at present are characterized by the writers’ use of unconventional techniques. For
instance, the illustrated novel, the graphic novel, and doodle-fiction present narratives using pictures or images. The
illustrated novel presents images that tell some parts of the story, while the other parts are told in words. The
graphic novel tells a story in comic book format. A work of doodle fiction contains doodles and hand-written
graphics.

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.
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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

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 analyze selected literary works by writers from Luzon,

 identify the context of a given literary text,
 relate the context of a literary text to its meaning, and
 situate or place the literary text in the context of the region where the writer is from and of the nation.

As a reader, why do you have to make sense of the context of a literary work?
How is each literary work representative of the region where the writer is from and of the nation?

The literary works in this lesson are by writers from Luzon. The writers used the Filipino cultural elements below:

 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.

 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.

Example:
Kundiman (An Excerpt)
By Mikael de Lara Co

I ate alone. I grew old. I grew older.

I said hold in my own language
again and again, hawak, kapit,
tahan na, uwi na. Then strained
to hear all the engines in this city
droning in A minor. A knife
scraped against marble. A stick
rattled towards stillness. A minor.
All the lullabies ever hummed
coming together to vibrate
in the saddest of frequencies.
Your keys dangled by the sink.
Somewhere a chord is diminished

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 to static. Kundiman means
the opposite of if ever.

(Reproduced by permission of Mikael de Lara Co)

Explanation:
 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.

Example:
The Kambubulag (An Excerpt)
By Catherine Batac Walder

“I can’t believe that woman,” Delia said.

“What woman?” Odessa asked.

“Oh, one I met while smoking just now. Kept asking if we passed Kambubulag Road on the way here. ‘Never heard of
the road,’ I told her. She said it’s four kilometers from the hotel and mentioned how we should be careful because we
might encounter the kambubulag. ‘Most residents here have resigned themselves to the fact that they have more
chances of dying on that road than any other non-resident. But as anyone would say, if it’s your time, then it is,’ she
said [. . .]”

(Reproduced by permission of Catherine Batac Walder)

Explanation:
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.

Literary Works by Writers from Visayas and Mindanao

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 analyze selected literary works by writers from Visayas and Mindanao,

 identify the context of a given literary text,
 relate the context of a literary text to its meaning, and
 situate or place the literary text in the context of the region where the writer is from and of the nation.

As a reader, why do you have to make sense of the context of a literary work?
How is each literary work representative of the region where the writer is from and of the nation?

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.

Example:

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 Old Women in Our Village (An Excerpt)
By Merlie M. Alunan

Old women in my village say

the sea is always hungry, they say,
that’s why it comes without fail
to lick the edges of the barrier sand,
rolling through rafts of mangrove,
smashing its salt-steeped flood
on guardian cliffs, breaking itself
against rock faces, landlocks, hills,
reaching through to fields, forests,
grazelands, villages by the water,
country lanes, towns, cities where
people walk about in a dream,
deaf to the wind shushing
the sea’s sibilant sighing

somedaywecome
somedaywe come
someday . . . .

Only the old women hear

the ceaseless warning, watching
the grain drying in the sun,
or tending the boiling pot
or gutting a fish for the fire, fingers
bloody, clothes stained, scent of the ocean
rising from the mangled flesh into their lungs.

Nights, as they sit on their mats

rubbing their knees, waiting for ease
to come, and sleep, they hear the sea
endlessly muttering as in a dream
someday someday someday . . . .
Nudging the old men beside them,
their mates—empty-eyed seafarer,
each a survivor of storms, high waves,
and the sea’s vast loneliness,
now half-lost in their old age
amid the household clutter—
old women in my village
nod to themselves and say,
one uncharted day, the sea
will open its mouth and drink in
a child playing on the sand,
a fisherman with his nets,
great ships laden with cargo,
and still unsated, they say,
suck up cities towns villages—
one huge swallow to slake its hunger.
As to when or how it would happen,
who knows, the women say, but this much
is true—no plea for kindness can stop it—
nodding their heads this way and that,
tuning their ears to the endless mumbling . . . .
somedaywecomewecomewecome
somedaywecomewecomewecome
somedaysomedaysomeday

(Reproduced by permission of Prof. Merlie M. Alunan)

Explanation:

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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.

Mangansakan wrote a short story entitled “A Harvest of Sorrows” for the collection Peace Mindanao edited by Jaime
An Lim, a multi-awarded writer, it is also published by UST Publishing House in 2013. The story features a narrator
whose experience mirrors Mangansakan’s experience in relief work. For him, the issue and images of refugees and
displacement have always been a consistent element in both his films and writing.

Example:
A Harvest of Sorrows
by Gutierrez Mangansakan II

“A Harvest of Sorrows” begins with the narrator’s arrival at an evacuation center at 9 AM in a remote village in
Mindanao. He has come to give away several sacks of rice to the refugees in the center. The refugees have fled their
homes because fighting broke out in their villages. At the center he meets his friend Ayesha, the social worker who is in
charge of supervising relief operations. Ayesha tells him that a woman in the center gave birth to a stillborn child, and
the father does not know it yet. The father, together with the other men, has gone back to the village to guard the rice
fields, where crops are ready for harvest in ten days. Later, while the narrator and Ayesha are having coffee, the latter
announces that the father will be sent for and that the child will be buried after the noon prayer.

Electronic Literature

Objective
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to analyze two sample works of electronic literature by Filipinos.

What is electronic literature?

What are the different kinds of electronic literature?

Electronic literature refers to works commonly published and shared on the Web. Unlike traditional printed
literature, it has features that could only be presented through multimedia.

Kinds of Electronic Literature

 Hyperpoetry – This is a kind of graphic poetry, which combines words with images. It has no standard lines
or verses, but its words are arranged in a way that it creates meaning and visual effect.
 Hyperfiction – This contains hyperlinks. When readers click on a hyperlink, they go to another Web page
that contains the next part of a story.
 Photo poem – This uses real-life images or electronically generated images as representation of the textual
poem.
 Silent comics – These have no verbal dialogues. The dialogues are presented through symbols.
 Textula – This poem is intended to be shared through the SMS.
 Blog – This Web site is where a person writes about his or her personal opinions, activities, and experiences.

Vladimeir Gonzales
 Filipino fictionist and playwright Vladimeir Gonzales is known for his short stories in Filipino, as well as his
works of nonfiction compiled in his books Isang Napakalaking Kaastigan and A-side/B-side: ang mga Piso sa
Jukebox ng Buhay Mo.

 He has also published several hyperfiction works in his site, vladgonzales.net_. One of them is entitled “Mga
Tala ng Buhay ni Edward Elric, Dating State Alchemist, bilang State University Instructor 1.” A work of fan
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 fiction, the story features Edward Elric from the Japanese manga Fullmetal Alchemist. Elric is the youngest
alchemist working for the state of Amestris. In Gonzales’s story he has come to the Philippines through a
magical portal.
 Access to parts of the story is through the embedded hyperlinks on the human transmutation circle, which is
used by Elric in the original story to resurrect his mother. The hyperlinks are signs of metals in alchemy. To
begin reading the story, one clicks on the hyperlink of Tin and goes clockwise.

 The hyperlinks lead to these portions:

Example:
 Ang Transmutation Circle (An Excerpt)
By Vladimeir Gonzales

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 Hindi kaagad naalala ni Ed ang mga huling naganap bago siya mapunta sa Pilipinas. Lumipas pa ang ilang
araw bago magkaroon ng saysay ang mga naganap sa kanya. Oo, napunta na siya sa kabilang panig ng
lagusan upang muling mabuhay ang kapatid niyang si Al sa orihinal nitong katawan, at hindi ang katawang
bakal na matagal nitong pinaglagian bilang kapalit sa pagtatangkang resureksyon ng kanilang ina. Wala
nang alchemy sa mundong nakita niya
pagkagising. Si Edward Elric na dati’y isang alchemist ay si Edward Aquino na, isang estudyante ng Fine Arts sa
Unibersidad ng Pilipinas. Sa pamilyang Aquino, siya lang daw ang nalinya sa kursong may kaugnayan sa
Sining. Ito ang nakuha niya mula sa mga pira-pirasong sermon ng kanyang ina sa mundong napuntahan
niya. Ang kanyang ama, tulad ng sa mundong pinanggalingan niya ay nawawala. Kapag tinatanong niya sa
kanyang ina kung nasaan ang kanyang ama, lagi lang siyang minumura nito. Malayo sa inang nakagisnan
niya’t tinangkang buhayin.

Naging katulad siya ng maraming mag-aaral. Mas nakaaangat nga lang ang hilig sa pag-aaral lalo na sa
kanyang mga major. Sa mga lumipas na taon ng kanyang buhay undergrad, nakilala siya sa kanilang
kolehiyo sa kanyang mga eskultura’t installation pieces. Pinakapopular ang ginawa niyang serye ng mga
installation art na gumagamit ng mga sipilyo, kubyertos at picture frames na nakapaloob sa iba’t ibang
baryasyon ng transmutation circles. Para sa mga kritiko, ang kanyang mga piyesa’y isang dekonstruksyon ng
kalikasan ng tao, isang paghihimay ng mga batayang pagpapahalaga, ng mabuti’t masama, ng liwanag at
dilim, sa isang dinamikong mundong hinahati ng noon, ng ngayon, ng bukas; para kay Ed, simpleng
pagpapaalala lang ito ng mundong kanyang iniwanan, ng mundo kung saan naroon si Al, ang kaibigang si
Winry, ang mga kaibigang state alchemist. Magkaiba man ang mga dahilan, ito ang nagbigay-daan kay Ed
upang makalabas siya ng Pilipinas at makabisita sa iba pang mga bansa sa kanyang bagong mundo. Naging
laman siya ng mga diyaryo’t magasin, ng telebisyon at radyo. Nabansagan siyang isa sa mga pinakamahusay
na artista ng kanyang panahon.

Nagtapos siya ng kanyang undergraduate degree nang walang karangalan. Dahil sa paglibot ng kanyang
installation pieces sa iba’t ibang bansa’y nakatanggap siya ng forced drop sa ibang mga asignatura’t na-
underload din nang ilang beses. Bukod doon ay hindi pa niya maipasa-pasa ang kanyang Math 1 (naiwan din
yata sa kabilang dimensyon ang kanyang husay at interes dito). Pero kahit na walang anumang ‘laude’ na
natanggap, nakapasok naman siya sa kanilang kolehiyo bilang isang university instructor. Isang taon pa lang
siyang nagtuturo’y nagkaasawa na siya’t nagkaroon ng anak. Co-teacher niya sa departamento’t isang fresh
grad din ang kanyang naging kabiyak. Sa puntong ito’y nakaramdam nang kaunting kapanatagan si Ed, halos
katumbas ng ligayang naramdaman niya noong nagawaran siya ng titulong state alchemist.

 (Reproduced by permission of Vladimeir Gonzales)

Frank Rivera
Frank Rivera, a playwright, received recognition for a number of his plays like Ambon, Ulan, Baha: Sarsuwelang
Pinoy (2003) and Oyayi, Ang Zarzuela (2004). Also, he received awards for the Makata sa Cellphone (2005), a
collection of poetry which includes his popular textula. For his works of textula, he was dubbed as the “makata sa cell
phone.”

Example:
A Textula (2013)
by Frank G. Rivera

Bayang mahilig sa ganda

Inuuna ang postura
Walang laman ang bituka
Kundi gasgas na pag-asa.

Si MEGAN YOUNG nang manalo

Nagbunyi ang Pilipino
May dala sanang asenso
Magkakapag-asa tayo.

Nagkagyera sa Mindanao
Kaban ng bayan ninakaw
Sa Bagyo’y daming pumanaw
MISS WORLD, salamat sa araw.

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 (Reproduced by permission of Frank Rivera)

Explanation:

 This textula has three stanzas, each of which has four lines. Each line has eight syllables, which set a regular
rhythm.
 The poem uses what is called in Tagalog poetry as “tugmang karaniwan,” wherein the last word of each line
has the same sound. Also, the poem uses “tugmang patinig,” wherein the last words of the lines have the
same vowel sound, and “tugmang katinig,” wherein the last words of the lines have the same consonant
sound.

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