New Writing from the Philippines: A Critique and Anthology.

by Leonard Casper
Review by: Donn V. Hart
The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Feb., 1967), pp. 354-355
Published by: Association for Asian Studies
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2051990 .
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354 JOURNAL OF ASIAN STUDIES
vades othersectionsof the book as well. De- ("nor do the patterns of childtrainingfunc-
spite the editor'sfulsomerecognitionthat tionin a structure of enculturation to produce
"windsof changeare blowing,evenin remote gentle, trusting and 'happy'adults,"p. 89 etc.),
Sensuron"(p. vi) and the author'sown ref- carelessarithmetic (pp. 8, 48, 52), faultyref-
erenceto recentchangescaused by (among erences(pp. 3, io, glossary),inconsistent or-
others)Christian missionaries (pp. 9I-92), thography (pp. 68, 73), and even internally
his accountof religiondeals exclusively with inconsistent data (pp. 54,76). Whileprobably
thetraditional elements-many apparently de- not theauthor'sfault,thesprinkling of spell-
rivedfromfolktale analysis.In orderto credit ing and typographicerrors increasesthe
fullyeitherthispictureor manyof thebook's reader'sdifficulty.
curiouslystaticgeneralizations (such as "I5 This book will be of some value to the
households. . . regularly borrowrice. . . , p. waryand well read Malaysiaspecialist. For
6I; "normsare feltneverto change"in the him it certainly containsprovocative, if often
village,p. 63) anycareful anthropologist would fragmentary, materials-as,for example,the
surelyrequiremorebalancedexplication than briefdataon kinobligations, indebtedness, and
is generallyprovided.Known linguisticand reciprocity. It is onlyregrettable thattheover-
culturaldiversityamong Sabah's scattered extended, frequently unfocused, and partially
Dusun speakingpopulations will also prompt misleading use of data undermines confidence
himto challengeWilliams'consistent equation in the studyas a whole.Thus even the spe-
of one village's"customary behavior"(among cialist-letalonethecollegestudent-must be
Sensuron's947 regularinhabitants) withthat emphatically cautiousin acceptingits picture
of"Dusunsociety" writlarge(I45,000 inhabi- of Sensuroncultureeitherpastor present.
tants).Equallydisturbing, he will note,is the PETER R. GOETHALS
author'spenchantfor categoricalstatements University ofNorthCarolina
summarizing eitherundefined or suspiciously
a prioriculturalcategories-for example,the
"I80 separateritual formsused in Dusun
New WritingfromthePhilippines: A Critique
life"(pp.20, 23), thevarious "Dusun"classes and Anthology. BY LEONARD CASPER. Syra-
of"moveable" and"immoveable" property (pp.
cuse, New York: SyracuseUniversity
58-59),or the "6 generalclassifications" into
Press,I966. xv, 4II pp. Notes on Con-
which "Dusun traditionallaw" is grouped tributors, SelectedBibliography, Checklist,
(pp. 63-64). As a scholar he could hardly
Acknowledgments, Glossary/Index. $7.95.
overlookthe negligence and pretentious pseu-
do-precision in data-handling indicatedor im- Nowhereelse in SoutheastAsia have the
pliedby theseand otherexamples.Nor could shortstoryand thenovelbeendevelopedmore
he ignoresucha terse,unsupported conclusion skillfully than in the Philippines.Moreover,
as thevillagers'havingbeendeprivedof "po- theliterary achievements of contemporary Fili-
and
litical personal freedoms" during the Brit- pino writers are bestexhibited in their English
ish Colonial period (I946-I963), (p. 92). fiction.In thelastdecade,through thesupport
Pedagogicallythe book is also a dubious ofThe Asia Society, a fewadventurous Ameri-
resource.Its use of important anthropologicalcan publishers, and Professor LeonardCasper,
terms(especiallythoseof social structure in a growingcorpusof Filipinowritingin Eng-
Chaps. 6, 7) is oftenobscureor incoherent. lishhasbeenprinted in theUnitedStates.The
This is aggravatedby a virtuallycomplete firstAmericanpublishedbook of Tagalog
absenceof basic references to assista reader poetrytranslated into Englishappearedthis
checkoriginsor comparative usage. Further- year under the editorship of Professor E. San
more,the seventeentitlesof "recommendedJuan,Jr.(Rice Grains.By Amado V. Her-
reading"on northernBorneo (pp. 98-99), nandez.New York: International Publishers.
while includingnine papersby the author, 64 pp. $2.50). For thismodestyetexpanding
inexplicablyomitthegenuinely basicstudiesby accumulation ofnewU. S. imprints ofFilipino
Woolley,Tregonning, and Glyn-Jones. More fictionin English, our greatestdebt is to Pro-
immediately discomfiting to an alertstudent is fessorLeonardCasper,Department ofEnglish,
the author'sproclivity for vacuous rhetoric BostonCollege.

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 BOOK REVIEWS 355
New Writingfromthe Philippinesrepre- logicalcontent:"Resplendent detailsof dress
sentsmanyyearsof scholarly studyby Profes- and food,of landscapeand local customare
sor Casper of modernFilipinoliterature in providedgenerously [in EmigidioEnriquez's
English.His teachingand researchactivities novel,The Devil Flower:A Love Storyof the
in the Philippineshave given him intimate Philippines,I959], not as modes of charac-
knowledge of all majorcontemporary Filipino terizationbut as substitutes forcharacteriza-
authors. Casperhas written extensivelyon Fili- tion."
pino literature in English,and recently edited It is impossible to list,let alone discuss,all
ModernPhilippine ShortStories(University of theFilipinoauthorsand theselections of their
New MexicoPress,I962). Whereashis first writings thatformthesecondpartofthisbook.
anthology was limitedto one segment of Fili- The criterion forselection of theauthorswas
pinoliterature in English,New Writing from thattheyhad publishedone bookin English.
thePhilippines includesnotonlytheshortstory "Another principleof selection-literary worth
but also the essay,poetry,and drama. No -clearly had to be employed in therationing
Americanis betterqualifiedto have written of criticalcomment . . . Inferior writers have
thisbook;nonecouldhavedonesucha splen- been admittedonly for instructive purposes;
did job. otherwise, the veryreal 'conspiracy of medi-
New WritingfromthePhilippinesconsists ocrity,'whichobtainsin the Philippines just
of threemajor segments.First,a brilliant as it does elsewhere, has been ignored."Fur-
critiqueofmodernFilipinowriting in English. thermore, "Since a singlevolumecan hardly
This critique,to quotetheauthor,consists of containa wholeculture,the intention of this
a chapterthatfocuseson the "uneasyco-ex- collection is to complete, ratherthanto com-
istenceof traditional folk patternsand the petewith,whatever Philippine writinghas al-
impulsetowardsocialmobility." Caspershows readyappearedin the UnitedStates.For ex-
thatmostFilipinoauthorsare concerned with ample,althoughtheanthology is of a quality
the "deprivations and consolations"of the thatanyauthormightenvy,virtually noneof
peasant(barriofolk), be theyresidents of is- it duplicatespreviousAmericanpublications."
olatedfarmsor marginalcitizensof theurban Some authorscritically discussedare Manuel
slums."But the severestincrimination is re- Arguilla,N. V. M. Gonzalez,ArturoB. Rotor,
servedfor the new ilustrado,the ambitious CarlosBulosan,JuanC. Laya,CelsoAl. Caru-
and corruptible bourgeoisie thrustingitselfinto nufigan, Edilbertoand EthelTiempo,Wilfrido
positions ofeconomic and socialmanagement." Ma. Guerrero, F. SionilJose,KerimaPolotan,
The next chapter"attendsto contoursand JoseGarciaVilla,SalvadorP. Lopez,Ricaredo
dimensionsbeyondclass distinction, as the Demetillo,BienvenidoN. Santos,Linda Ty-
Filipino tries to synthesizeconflicting alle- Casper, Nick Joaquin,GregorioBrillantes,
giancesimpressed on himby a multiplicity of amongothers.
traditions and a complexof personalroles." The finalpartof New Writingfromthe
Contemporary behavioralscientistshave Philippinescontainsbriefbut excellentNotes
nearlyabandonedfictionas an informativeon Contributors, a SelectedBibliography of
source,supplementary, to be sure,on cultural Philippine Literaturein English,and a Check-
patterns and socialstructure. Casperliberally list of PhilippineLiterature Publishedin the
indicatesthenumerous insightsFilipinolitera- UnitedStates,I930-65.
turein Englishcan furnish thoseseekingdata Professor Casperwriteswithgrace,wit,and
on Filipinovaluesand attitudes, bothcovert a soundunderstanding of Philippineculture.
and overt.He writes,"Especiallyfromhis New Writingfromthe Philippinesis an an-
literature thereemergesa constant,if often thology forwhichthereis no singlesubstitute
unself-conscious, image of the Filipinoas a in thiscountry, norwill therebe a betterone
stranger in his own country and to muchof in the nextfew decades.This is not onlya
his own past; and thisrecurring imagecom- book thatmustbe in the libraryof anyone
pels an urgencyin him to accountforwhat interested in the Philippines; it mustbe read
he is, ratherthanforwhat he is not." The by them.
veryliterary flawsof a Filipinonovel,forex- DONN V. HART
ample,maybe thesourceof itsrichestethno- SyracuseUniversity

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