Literature

Lazaro Francisco
Literature (2009)

Prize-winning writer Lazaro A. Francisco developed the social realist tradition in Philippine fiction. His
eleven novels, now acknowledged classics of Philippine literature, embodies the author’s commitment to
nationalism. Amadis Ma. Guerrero wrote, “Francisco championed the cause of the common man,
specifically the oppressed peasants. His novels exposed the evils of the tenancy system, the exploitation of
farmers by unscrupulous landlords, and foreign domination.” Teodoro Valencia also observed, “His pen
dignifies the Filipino and accents all the positives about the Filipino way of life. His writings have
contributed much to the formation of a Filipino nationalism.” Literary historian and critic Bienvenido
Lumbera also wrote, “When the history of the Filipino novel is written, Francisco is likely to occupy an
eminent place in it. Already in Tagalog literature, he ranks among the finest novelists since the beginning of
the 20th century. In addition to a deft hand at characterization, Francisco has a supple prose style responsive
to the subtlest nuances of ideas and the sternest stuff of passions.”

Francisco gained prominence as a writer not only for his social conscience but also for his “masterful
handling of the Tagalog language” and “supple prose style”. With his literary output in Tagalog, he
contributed to the enrichment of the Filipino language and literature for which he is a staunch advocate. He
put up an arm to his advocacy of Tagalog as a national language by establishing the Kapatiran ng mga
Alagad ng Wikang Pilipino (KAWIKA) in 1958.

His reputation as the “Master of the Tagalog Novel” is backed up by numerous awards he received for his
meritorious novels in particular, and for his contribution to Philippine literature and culture in general. His
masterpiece novels—Ama, Bayang Nagpatiwakal, Maganda Pa Ang Daigdig and Daluyong—affirm his
eminent place in Philippine literature. In 1997, he was honored by the University of the Philippines with a
special convocation, where he was cited as the “foremost Filipino novelist of his generation” and “champion
of the Filipino writer’s struggle for national identity.”
 Cirilo F. Bautista
Literature (2014)

Cirilo F. Bautista is a poet, fictionist and essayist with exceptional achievements and significant
contributions to the development of the country’s literary arts. He is acknowledged by peers and critics, and
the nation at large as the foremost writer of his generation.

Throughout his career that spanned more than four decades, he established a reputation for fine and
profound artistry; his books, lectures, poetry readings and creative writing workshops continue to influence
his peers and generations of young writers.

As a way of bringing poetry and fiction closer to the people who otherwise would not have the opportunity
to develop their creative talent, Bautista held funded and unfunded workshops throughout the country. In his
campus lecture circuits, Bautista updated students and student-writers on literary developments and
techniques.

As a teacher of literature, Bautista realized that the classroom is an important training ground for Filipino
writers. In De La Salle University, he was instrumental in the formation of the Bienvenido Santos Creative
Writing Center. He was also the moving spirit behind the founding of the Philippine Literary Arts Council
in 1981, the Iligan National Writers Workshop in 1993, and the Baguio Writers Group.

Thus, Bautista contributed to the development of Philippine literature: as a writer, through his significant
body of works; as a teacher, through his discovery and encouragement of young writers in workshops and
lectures; and as a critic, through his essays that provided insights into the craft of writing and correctives to
misconceptions about art.

Major works: Summer Suns (1963), Words and Battlefields (1998), The Trilogy of Saint
Lazarus (2001), Galaw ng Asoge (2003).
 Jose Garcia Villa
Literature (1973)

Jose Garcia Villa is considered as one of the finest contemporary poets regardless of race or language.
Villa, who lived in Singalong, Manila, introduced the reversed consonance rime scheme, including the
comma poems that made full use of the punctuation mark in an innovative, poetic way. The first of his
poems "Have Come, Am Here" received critical recognition when it appeared in New York in 1942 that,
soon enough, honors and fellowships were heaped on him: Guggenheim, Bollingen, the American
Academy of Arts and Letters Awards. He used Doveglion (Dove, Eagle, Lion) as penname, the very
characters he attributed to himself, and the same ones explored by e.e. cummings in the poem he wrote
for Villa (Doveglion, Adventures in Value). Villa is also known for the tartness of his tongue.

Villa's works have been collected into the following books: Footnote to Youth,Many Voices, Poems by
Doveglion, Poems 55, Poems in Praise of Love: The Best Love Poems of Jose Garcia Villa as Chosen
By Himself, Selected Stories, The Portable Villa, The Essential Villa, Mir-i-nisa, Storymasters 3:
Selected Stories from Footnote to Youth, 55 Poems: Selected and Translated into Tagalog by Hilario
S. Francia.

Amado V. Hernandez
Literature (1973)

Amado V. Hernandez, poet, playwright, and novelist, is among the Filipino writers who practiced
"committed art". In his view, the function of the writer is to act as the conscience of society and to affirm
the greatness of the human spirit in the face of inequity and oppression. Hernandez's contribution to the
development of Tagalog prose is considerable -- he stripped Tagalog of its ornate character and wrote in
prose closer to the colloquial than the "official" style permitted. His novelMga Ibong Mandaragit, first
written by Hernandez while in prison, is the first Filipino socio-political novel that exposes the ills of the
society as evident in the agrarian problems of the 50s.
Hernandez's other works include Bayang Malaya, Isang Dipang Langit, Luha ng Buwaya, Amado V.
Hernandez: Tudla at Tudling: Katipunan ng mga Nalathalang Tula 1921-1970, Langaw sa Isang
Basong Gatas at Iba Pang Kuwento ni Amado V. Hernandez, Magkabilang Mukha ng Isang Bagol
at Iba Pang Akda ni Amado V. Hernandez.

Nick Joaquin
Literature (1976)

Nick Joaquin, is regarded by many as the most distinguished Filipino writer in English writing so
variedly and so well about so many aspects of the Filipino. Nick Joaquin has also enriched the English
language with critics coining "Joaquinesque" to describe his baroque Spanish-flavored English or his
reinventions of English based on Filipinisms. Aside from his handling of language, Bienvenido Lumbera
writes that Nick Joaquin's significance in Philippine literature involves his exploration of the Philippine
colonial past under Spain and his probing into the psychology of social changes as seen by the young, as
exemplified in stories such as Doña Jeronima, Candido's Apocalypse and The Order of Melchizedek.
Nick Joaquin has written plays, novels, poems, short stories and essays including reportage and
journalism. As a journalist, Nick Joaquin uses the nome de guerreQuijano de Manila but whether he is
writing literature or journalism, fellow National Artist Francisco Arcellana opines that "it is always of the
highest skill and quality".

Among his voluminous works are The Woman Who Had Two Navels, A Portrait of the Artist as
Filipino, Manila, My Manila: A History for the Young, The Ballad of the Five Battles, Rizal in
Saga, Almanac for Manileños, Cave and Shadows.

Nick Joaquin died April 29, 2004

Carlos P. Romulo's multifaceted career spanned 50 years of public service as educator, soldier,
university president, journalist and diplomat. It is common knowledge that he was the first Asian
president of the United Nations General Assembly, then Philippine Ambassador to Washington, D.C., and
later minister of foreign affairs. Essentially though, Romulo was very much into writing: he was a
reporter at 16, a newspaper editor by the age of 20, and a publisher at 32. He was the only Asian to win
America's coveted Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for a series of articles predicting the outbreak of World
War II. Romulo, in all, wrote and published 18 books, a range of literary works which included The
United(novel), I Walked with Heroes (autobiography), I Saw the Fall of the Philippines, Mother
America, I See the Philippines Rise (war-time memoirs).

His other books include his memoirs of his many years' affiliations with United Nations (UN), Forty
Years: A Third World Soldier at the UN, and The Philippine Presidents, his oral history of his
experiences serving all the Philippine presidents.

Francisco Arcellana
Literature (1990)

Francisco Arcellana, writer, poet, essayist, critic, journalist and teacher, is one of the most important
progenitors of the modern Filipino short story in English. He pioneered the development of the short story
as a lyrical prose-poetic form. For Arcellana, the pride of fiction is "that it is able to render truth, that is
able to present reality". Arcellana has kept alive the experimental tradition in fiction, and has been most
daring in exploring new literary forms to express the sensibility of the Filipino people. A brilliant
craftsman, his works are now an indispensable part of a tertiary-level-syllabi all over the country.
Arcellana's published books areSelected Stories (1962), Poetry and Politics: The State of Original
Writing in English in the Philippines Today (1977), The Francisco Arcellana Sampler (1990).

Some of his short stories are Frankie, The Man Who Would Be Poe, Death in a Factory, Lina, A
Clown Remembers, Divided by Two, and his poems beingThe Other Woman, This Being the Third
Poem This Poem is for Mathilda,To Touch You and I Touched Her, among others.
 N. V. M. Gonzalez
Literature (1990)

Nestor Vicente Madali Gonzalez, better known as N.V.M. Gonzalez, fictionist, essayist, poet, and
teacher, articulated the Filipino spirit in rural, urban landscapes. Among the many recognitions, he won
the First Commonwealth Literary Contest in 1940, received the Republic Cultural Heritage Award in
1960 and the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining in 1990. The awards attest to his triumph in appropriating the
English language to express, reflect and shape Philippine culture and Philippine sensibility. He became
U.P.'s International-Writer-In-Residence and a member of the Board of Advisers of the U.P. Creative
Writing Center. In 1987, U.P. conferred on him the Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, its highest
academic recognition.

Major works of N.V.M Gonzalez include the following: The Winds of April, Seven Hills Away,
Children of the Ash-Covered Loam and Other Stories, The Bamboo Dancers, Look Stranger, on
this Island Now, Mindoro and Beyond: Twenty -One Stories, The Bread of Salt and Other Stories,
Work on the Mountain, The Novel of Justice: Selected Essays 1968-1994, A Grammar of Dreams
and Other Stories.

Edith L. Tiempo
Literature (1999)

Edith L. Tiempo, poet, fictionist, teacher and literary critic is one of the finest Filipino writers in English
whose works are characterized by a remarkable fusion of style and substance, of craftsmanship and
insight. She was born on April 22, 1919 in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya. Her poems are intricate verbal
transfigurations of significant experiences as revealed, in two of her much anthologized pieces, "The
Little Marmoset" and "Bonsai". As fictionist, Tiempo is as morally profound. Her language has been
marked as "descriptive but unburdened by scrupulous detailing." She is an influential tradition in
Philippine literature in English. Together with her late husband, Edilberto K. Tiempo, she founded and
directed the Silliman National Writers Workshop in Dumaguete City, which has produced some of the
country’s best writers.

Tiempo’s published works include the novel A Blade of Fern (1978), The Native Coast (1979), and The
Alien Corn (1992); the poetry collections, The Tracks of Babylon and Other Poems (1966), and The
Charmer’s Box and Other Poems (1993); and the short story collection Abide, Joshua, and Other
Stories (1964).

F. Sionil Jose
Literature (2001)

F. Sionil Jose’s writings since the late 60s, when taken collectively can best be described as epic. Its
sheer volume puts him on the forefront of Philippine writing in English. But ultimately, it is the consistent
espousal of the aspirations of the Filipino--for national sovereignty and social justice--that guarantees the
value of his oeuvre.

In the five-novel masterpiece, the Rosales saga, consisting of The Pretenders, Tree, My Brother, My
Executioner, Mass, and Po-on, he 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. Because of their international appeal, his works, including his many short stories, have been
published and translated into various languages.

Jose is also a publisher, lecturer on cultural issues, and the founder of the Philippine chapter of the
international organization PEN. He was bestowed the CCP Centennial Honors for the Arts in 1999; the
Outstanding Fulbrighters Award for Literature in 1988; and the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism,
Literature, and Creative Communication Arts in 1980.

Virgilio S. Almario (also known as Rio Alma)

Virgilio Almario, also known as Rio Alma, is a poet, literary historian and critic, who has revived and
reinvented traditional Filipino poetic forms, even as he championed modernist poetics. In 34 years, he has
published 12 books of poetry, which include the seminal Makinasyon and Peregrinasyon, and the
landmark trilogy Doktrinang Anakpawis, Mga Retrato at Rekwerdo and Muli, Sa Kandungan ng
Lupa. In these works, his poetic voice soared from the lyrical to the satirical to the epic, from the
dramatic to the incantatory, in his often severe examination of the self, and the society.
He has also redefined how the Filipino poetry is viewed and paved the way for the discussion of the same
in his 10 books of criticisms and anthologies, among which are Ang Makata sa Panahon ng
Makina, Balagtasismo versus Modernismo, Walong Dekada ng Makabagong Tula
Pilipino, Mutyang Dilim and Barlaan at Josaphat.

Many Filipino writers have come under his wing in the literary workshops he founded –the Galian sa Arte
at Tula (GAT) and the Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika at Anyo (LIRA). He has also long been involved
with children’s literature through the Aklat Adarna series, published by his Children’s Communication
Center. He has been a constant presence as well in national writing workshops and galvanizes member
writers as chairman emeritus of the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL).

He headed the National Commission for Culture and the Arts as Executive Director, (from 1998 to 2001)
ably steering the Commission towards its goals.

But more than anything else, what Almario accomplished was that he put a face to the Filipino writer in
the country, one strong face determinedly wielding a pen into untruths, hypocrisy, injustice, among others

Alejandro R. Roces
Literature (2003)

Alejandro Roces, is a short story writer and essayist, and considered as the country’s best writer of comic
short stories. He is known for his widely anthologized "My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken." In his
innumerable newspaper columns, he has always focused on the neglected aspects of the Filipino cultural
heritage. His works have been published in various international magazines and has received national and
international awards.

Ever the champion of Filipino cultures, Roces brought to public attention the aesthetics of the country’s
fiestas. He was instrumental in popularizing several local fiestas, notably, Moriones and Ati-atihan. He
personally led the campaign to change the country’s Independence Day from July 4 to June 12, and
caused the change of language from English to Filipino in the country’s stamps, currency and passports,
and recovered Jose Rizal’s manuscripts when they were stolen from the National Archives.

His unflinching love of country led him to become a guerilla during the Second World War, to defy
martial law and to found the major opposition party under the dictatorship. His works have been
published in various international magazines and received numerous national and international awards,
including several decorations from various governments.
 Bienvenido Lumbera
Literature (2006)

Bienvenido Lumbera, is a poet, librettist, and scholar.

*As a poet, he introduced to Tagalog literature what is now known as Bagay poetry, a landmark aesthetic
tendency that has helped to change the vernacular poetic tradition. He is the author of the following
works: Likhang Dila, Likhang Diwa (poems in Filipino and English), 1993; Balaybay, Mga Tulang
Lunot at Manibalang, 2002; Sa Sariling Bayan, Apat na Dulang May Musika, 2004; "Agunyas sa
Hacienda Luisita," Pakikiramay, 2004. As a librettist for theTales of the Manuvu and Rama Hari, he
pioneered the creative fusion of fine arts and popular imagination. As a scholar, his major books include
the following:Tagalog Poetry, 1570-1898: Tradition and Influences in its Development; Philippine
Literature: A History and Anthology, Revaluation: Essays on Philippine Literature, Writing the
Nation/Pag-akda ng Bansa.

Carlos Quirino
Historical Literature (1997)

Carlos Quirino, biographer, has the distinction of having written one of the earliest biographies of Jose
Rizal titled The Great Malayan. Quirino's books and articles span the whole gamut of Philippine history
and culture--from Bonifacio's trial to Aguinaldo's biography, from Philippine cartography to culinary arts,
from cash crops to tycoons and president's lives, among so many subjects. In 1997, Pres. Fidel Ramos
created historical literature as a new category in the National Artist Awards and Quirino was its first
recipient. He made a record earlier on when he became the very first Filipino correspondent for the
United Press Institute.

His book Maps and Views of Old Manila is considered as the best book on the subject. His other books
include Quezon, Man of Destiny, Magsaysay of the Philippines, Lives of the Philippine
Presidents, Philippine Cartography,The History of Philippine Sugar Industry, Filipino Heritage:
The Making of a Nation, Filipinos at War: The Fight for Freedom from Mactan to EDSA.