The Road to Mawab Group Activity

1. Research and write 10-12 sentences of biography of each of these authors: Edilberto K.
Tiempo and Leoncio Deriada. (Both are Sillimanians). - AGARRADO

Edilberto K. Tiempo
Edilberto K. Tiempo also known as E.K. Tiempo ( (1913-Sept. 1996), an alumnus of Silliman
University where became an editor of a school paper and a member of the English Department in
1940. When the University closed down because of the war, he flew back to America in 1946
and obtained his Master’s degree in Fine Arts from the University of Iowa and his Ph.D. in
English from the University of Denver where he became a Guggenheim and Rockefeller fellow,
a fellowship for creatives and their works.

Together with his wife and National Artist, Edith L. Tiempo, they studied literature and creative
writing in Iowa Writers Workshop. In his return to the Philippines in 1962, they founded the
Silliman National Writers Workshop, inspired by the objectives of the Iowa writers’ clinic,
which became the longest-running annual workshop in all of Asia.

In the 1960s he taught in two American schools, but it was the Silliman University which
Tiempo chose as his base, serving as department chair, graduate school dean, vice-president for
academic affairs, and writer-in-residence. He reaped numerous honors for his writing, among
them the Cultural Center of the Philippines Prize, Palanca Awards, the National Book Award,
and a prize in the U.P. Golden Anniversary Literary Contest.

Literary critics have listed Tiempo mong the other four or five best Philippine fiction writers in t
English. Writer and Hall of Famer, Alfredo Yuson says that ‘Tiempo ranks highly in the
company of Bienvenido Santos, N.V.M. Gonzalez, and F. Sionil Jose who have earned for
themselves an honorable niche in the Philippine Literature.’
Among his famous works include A Stream at Dalton Pass and Other Stories (1970); Snake
Twin and Other Stories (1970); and Literary Criticism in the Philippines and Other Essays
(1995).
Furthermore, he also is the author of novels like Cry Slaughter (1957); To Be Free (1972), the
award-winning More Than Conquerors (1982), and Cracked Mirror (1984). Tiempo died in
September of 1996, but his final novel, Farah, saw print in 2001.

Leoncio P. Deriada
Derioda was born in the municipality of Barotac Viejo in the province of Iloilo but grew up in
Mindanao, specifically in Davao del Norte and Davao city.
In his academic years, he finished his degree in A.B English with cum laude at the Ateneo de
Davao University in 1959; pursued his M.A English from Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro
City; and went off for Ph.D. in English and Literature from Silliman University in 1981.
Furthermore, Deriada became a professor at the University of the Philippines (UP) -the Visayas
also became the president of the Sentro ng Wikang Filipino and an associate of the Institute of
Creative Writing of the university.
He is well known for being a Hall of Famer in the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for
Literature and won 18 times, from 1975 to 2018.
Just like Tiempo, Deriada also conducted workshops for creatives focusing on the Hiligayanon,
Kinaray-a, and Aklanon dialects.

He also managed to explore and be active in writing for plays in the different theaters in the
country. Because of his contributions, he was recognized by the National Commission for
Culture and the Arts (NCCA) for a lifetime achievement award and as the Kampeon ng Wika of
the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF).
His creative and non-creative works have appeared in various national and regional publications,
including the Philippines Free Press, Philippines Graphic, Focus, Leader, Home Life, Sands and
Coral, Manila Review, José, and Asiaweek.
The award-winning fictionist, playwright, and poet is known for his famous works including,
The Man Who Hated Birds, Medea of Siquijor, Ang Pagbalik Sang Babaylan, The Road to
Mawab and Other Stories, The Dog Eaters and Other Plays, People on Guerrero Street
co-winner of the National Book Award for Novel in English in 2004; and Eerie.
2.Trace the journey of the consciousness – in four levels-- of the narrator in the story “The Road
to   Mawab” (1975) by Leoncio Deriada.  Make the chart concise.- SALVADOR

3. How is the attitude of the narrator dramatized at the early part of the story? - PANTONIAL
Give at least 6 examples. (2-3 sentences each. Please write in complete sentences).
One of the narrator’s attitudes can be described as the attitude of someone who is “grossed-out”
of the way of living in Mawab. This was only his second trip to Mawab, and he promised himself
to return only when the roads were fit for a taxi.

Examples of these attitudes appear on lines:

- (1) The narrator was commuting to get to Mawab. There were awful odors in the vehicle,
along with different dialects, crowds with bad tempers, and vehicles at the side splashing
mud all over.
- (15) The narrator had to traverse across puddles of mud and dirty streams. He was
disgusted because he had to step barefoot on the mud to keep his shoes from getting
stained. (15)

Another attitude that can be observed is his pridefulness.

Examples of these attitudes appear on lines:

- (4) The narrator described himself having no competition in his campus. He was a poet,
and even viewed the name Mawab offensive to his delicate sense of sound.
- (7) The narrator found Mawab to be unpleasant to his aesthetic sense. He was most
horrified especially with Sawsaw, his barangay destination. He found the environment
and behavior of people unappealing to his taste.

His last attitude observed was his meticulousness with the way he looks.

Examples of these attitudes appear on lines:

- (9) As the narrator arrived in Mawab, he was exteremely worried about his white socks
and school boy complexion. He already thought that mud from rainy days will stain his
socks, while the sunny days will darken his complexion.
- (13) The narrator was wearing an expensive Rolex watch. He even described it as
magnificent as if in comparison to the Mawabite’s simple style of living.

4. Does this story by L. Deriada have a similarity to Edilberto Tiempo’s “The Witch”?-
SABADO
No, because "The Witch" by Edilberto Tiempo is a reflection of the people. The story highlights
that this hypercritical nature comes from the herd mentality, which is shown through the
persona’s conflicting opinions regarding the witch, according to society and to his experience.
While L. Deriada's "The Road to Mawab", the narrator knows Manong Torio, and his relatives
also experienced the same thing—Manong Torio not paying back the borrowed money. This
story highlights a social issue that the Manong Torio family is experiencing. With poverty as a
social issue, it’s the source of conflicting opinions by people. The conflict arises as people are
getting mad at him because he lacks financial resources.

Sources:
Edilberto K. Tiempo (Author of To Be Free). (2014). Goodreads.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/346573.Edilberto_K_Tiempo
Edilberto Tiempo. (2014, June 7). Panitikan.Ph.
http://panitikan.ph/2014/06/07/edilberto-tiempo/
Galdon, J. (1993). Review: Edilberto Tiempo: Romantic Realist (Vol. 41). Ateneo de
Manila University. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42633392
Dacanay, A. I. (2019, April 4). Palanca Hall of Famer Leoncio P. Deriada, 81. The
Manila Times.
https://www.manilatimes.net/2019/04/04/second-headline/palanca-hall-of-famer-leonciop-
deriada-81/535322
Galdon, J. (1991). Review: Leoncio Deriada’s Road to Mawab: 1984–1988 (No. 1 ed.,
Vol. 39). Ateneo de Manila University. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42633231
Leoncio P. Deriada. (2020, July 9). Panitikan.Com.Ph.
https://www.panitikan.com.ph/authors/d/lpderiada.htm