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Lesson 2: Texts and Authors from Each Region

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
 Write a short paragraph summarizing Dalisay’s argument.
Taboan, the Philippine International Writers Festival, will be making the rounds of the
regions from year to year before returning to manila. The festival got off to a lively start with a
keynote speech by Cebu’s own Dr. Resil Mojares, a formidable, internationally recognized
scholar of Philippine literature, history, and society.

He chose a deliberately provocative subject and title for his talk: “Will Magdalena Jalandoni
Ever Be a National Artist?”.

Jalandoni (1891-1978), is an Iloilo-born, prolific writer in Hiligaynon of fiction, poems,

and plays. Her novels alone totaling an astounding 36.

Resil stated that he wasn’t making a brief for Jalandoni’s selection as a National Artist. He is
using Jalandoni’s case to draw attention to the gross disadvantage at which Filipin writers
working in languages other than English and Filipino lie, particularly when it comes to
recognition on a national or international level.

Dalisay (2010) made his point clear by stating some evidences that supports Jalandoni’s case.
Dr. Mojares noted that in the discussion of the nominees of Jalandoni last year, all the 10 or 12
members of the ‘council of elders’ had not read Jalandoni’s works, either due to language,
unavailability of texts or translations, or simply because Jalandoni did not fall within their area
of expertise. Resil is concerned by the inequality of popular perceptions. Dalisay (2010), stated
in his essay, that someone who publishes in Hiligaynon in a periodical with circulation of 50,000
is a ‘regional writer’. A writer in manila who publishes a 500-copy of English poems is a ‘national
writer’. Clearly, before we begin recognizing Filipino writers in all parts of the country, we
should lay the critical groundwork and first develop and support translators and critics, who can
give literary judges a fairer basis for their evaluations, to avoid injustice towards Filipino writers
who write in their own dialect.
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Lesson 2: Texts and Authors from Each Region

 Is Dalisay’s essay convincing? Why or why not? How does Dalisay use
evidence?
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Lesson 2: Texts and Authors from Each Region

What I Can Do

Filipinos are known for being excellent in writing poetry and other literary works. As I was
getting to know the Filipino writers, there is one author who caught my attention, I was
curious on how he become who is right now, a famous poet, literary critic, a lecturer, and
an editor. He is Virgilio Senadrin Almario also known by his pen name Rio Alma.

Who is Virgilio Senadrin Almario?

Virgilio Senadrin Almario (born March 9, 1944), better known by his pen name Rio Alma, is
a Filipino artist, author, poet, critic, translator, editor, teacher, and cultural manager. He is
a National Artist of the Philippines and currently serves as the chairman of the Komisyon sa
Wikang Filipino (KWF), the government agency mandated to promote and standardize the
use of the Filipino language. On January 5, 2017, Almario was also elected as the chairman
of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

Growing up in Bulacan among peasants, Almario sought his education at the City of Manila and

completed his degree in A.B. Political Science at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
His life as a poet started when he took master's units in education at the University of the
East where he became associated with Rogelio G. Mangahas and Lamberto E. Antonio. He did
not finish the program.[3]
He only took his M.A. in Filipino in 1974 at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

A prolific writer, he spearheaded the second successful modernist movement in Filipino poetry
together with Mangahas and Antonio. His earliest pieces of literary criticism were collected
in Ang Makata sa Panahon ng Makina (1972), now considered the first book of literary criticism
in Filipino. Later, in the years of martial law, he set aside modernism and formalism and took
interest in nationalism, politics and activist movement. As a critic, his critical works deal with
the issue of national language.
Aside from being a critic, Almario engaged in translating and editing. He has translated the best
contemporary poets of the world. He has also translated for theater production the plays
of Nick Joaquin, Bertolt Brecht, Euripides and Maxim Gorki. Other important translations
include the famous works of the Philippines' national hero, José Rizal, namely Noli Me
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Lesson 2: Texts and Authors from Each Region
Tangere and El filibusterismo. For these two, he was awarded the 1999 award for translation by
the Manila Critics Circle.[4][5]
Almario has been a recipient of numerous awards such as several Palanca Awards, two grand
prizes from the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Makata ng Taon of the Komisyon sa
Wikang Filipino, the TOYM for literature, and the Southeast Asia Write Award of Bangkok.
He was an instructor at the Lagao Central Elementary School from 1969 to 1972. In 2003, he
was appointed Dean of the College of Arts and Letters at the University of the Philippines
Diliman. On June 25 of the same year, he was proclaimed National Artist for Literature. [6]
Almario is also the founder and workshop director of the Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika, at Anyo
(LIRA), an organization of poets who write in Filipino.[7] Award-winning writers and poets such
as Roberto and Rebecca Añonuevo, Romulo Baquiran Jr., Michael Coroza, Jerry Gracio, and Vim
Nadera are but some of the products of the LIRA workshop.
He was a founding member of the Gallan sa Arte at Tula (GAT), along with fellow poets Teo
Antonio nd Mike Bigornia.