NATIONAL ARTISTS

LITERATURE
FRANCISCO ARCELLANA
(SEPTEMBER 6, 1916- AUGUST 1, 2002)
 FRANCISCO ARCELLANA
(SEPTEMBER 6, 1916- AUGUST 1, 2002)

• A writer, poet, essayist, critic, journalist and

teacher.

• 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.
 FRANCISCO ARCELLANA
(SEPTEMBER 6, 1916- AUGUST 1, 2002)

• For him, the pride of fiction is “ that it is

able to render truth, that is able to present
reality”.

• He kept alive the experimental tradition in

fiction, and had been most daring in
exploring new literary forms to express the
sensibility of the Filipino people.
 FRANCISCO ARCELLANA
(SEPTEMBER 6, 1916- AUGUST 1, 2002)

• Published books:
Selected Stories
Poetry and Politics: The State of Original Writing in English in the
Philippines Today
The Francisco Arcellana Sampler

• Short Stories:
Frankie, The Man Who Would Be Poe
Death in a Factory
Lina
A Clown Remembers
Divided by Two
The Mats
 FRANCISCO ARCELLANA
(SEPTEMBER 6, 1916- AUGUST 1, 2002)

• Poems:
The Other Woman
This Being the Third Poem This Poem is
for Mathilda
To Touch You and I Touched Her
 FRANCISCO ARCELLANA
(SEPTEMBER 6, 1916- AUGUST 1, 2002)

• Poems:
The Other Woman
This Being the Third Poem This Poem is
for Mathilda
To Touch You and I Touched Her
EDITH L. TIEMPO
(APRIL 22, 1919-AUGUST 21, 2011)
 EDITH L. TIEMPO
(APRIL 22, 1919-AUGUST 21, 2011)

• A poet, fictionist, teacher and literary critic

• One of the finest Filipino writers in English whose

works are characterized by a remarkable fusion of
style and substance, of craftsmanship and insight.

• Her poems are intricate verbal transfigurations of

significant experiences as revealed, in two of her
much anthologized pieces, “The Little Marmoset”
and “Bonsai”.
 EDITH L. TIEMPO
(APRIL 22, 1919-AUGUST 21, 2011)

• She is morally profound. Her language has been

marked as “descriptive but unburdened by
scrupulous detailing”.

• She is an influential tradition in Philippine Literature

in English.

• She founded and directed the Silliman National

Writers Workshop in Dumaguete City together with
her husband, Edilberto K. Tiempo, which has
produced some of the country’s best writers.
 EDITH L. TIEMPO
(APRIL 22, 1919-AUGUST 21, 2011)

• Published works includes:

Novel:
A Blade of Fern
The Alien Corn
Poetry:
The Tracks of Babylon and Other Poems
The Charmer’s Box and Other Poems
Short Story:
Abide
BIENVENIDO LUMBERA
(NATIONAL ARTIST 2006)
 BUENVENIDO LUMBERA
(NATIONAL ARTIST 2006)

• A poet, writer and novelist.

• 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 pioneered the creative fusion of fine

arts and popular imagination.
 BUENVENIDO LUMBERA
(NATIONAL ARTIST 2006)

• His works includes:

Likhang Dila
Likhang Diwa
Balaybay
Mga Tulang Lunot at Manibalang
Sa Sariling Bayan
Apat n Dulang May Musika
Agunyas sa Hacienda Luisita
Pakikiramay
 BUENVENIDO LUMBERA
(NATIONAL ARTIST 2006)
• His works includes:
Tales of the Manuvu and Rama Hari
Taglaog Poetry
Tradition and Influences in its Development
Philippine Literature: A History and
Anthology
Revaluation: Essays on Philippine Literature
Writing the Nation/ Pag akda ng Bansa
NESTOR VICENTE MADALI GONZALES
(SEPTEMBER 8, 1915 – NOVEMBER 28, 1999)
 NESTOR VICENTE MADALI GONZALES
(SEPTEMBER 8, 1915 – NOVEMBER 28, 1999)

• A fictionalist, essayist, poet and teacher.

• Articulated the Filipino spirit in rural, urban

landscapes.

• 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.
 NESTOR VICENTE MADALI GONZALES
(SEPTEMBER 8, 1915 – NOVEMBER 28, 1999)

• The awards attest to his triumph in

appropriating the English Language to
express, reflect and shape Philippine culture
and Philippine sensibility.

• He became UP’s International-Writer-In

Residence and a member of the Board of
Advisers of the UP Creative Writing Center.
 NESTOR VICENTE MADALI GONZALES
(SEPTEMBER 8, 1915 – NOVEMBER 28, 1999)
His Major Works Includes:
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
A Grammar of Dreams and Other Stories
 VIRGILIO S. ALMARIO
(NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE 2003)
 VIRGILIO S. ALMARIO
(NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE 2003)

• Also known as Rio Alma

• A poet, literary historian and critic

• He revived and reinvented traditional Filipino

poetic forms even as he championed modernist
poetics.

• In his 34 years, he published 12 books of poetry.

 VIRGILIO S. ALMARIO
(NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE 2003)

• 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
criticism and anthologies.
 VIRGILIO S. ALMARIO
(NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE 2003)

• Many 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 the Chairman emeritus of the Unyon ng

mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL)
 VIRGILIO S. ALMARIO
(NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE 2003)

• He headed the National Commission for

Culture and the Arts as Executive Director from
1998- 2001.

• But his exemplary work is that he

accomplished to put a face to the Filipino
writer in the country, one strong face
determinedly wielding a pen into untruths,
hyprocrisy, injustice, among others.
 VIRGILIO S. ALMARIO
(NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE 2003)

• His works includes:

Ang Makata sa Panahon ng Makina
Balagtasismo versus Modernismo
Walong Dekada ng Makabagong Tula
Pilipino
Mutyang Dilim
Barlaan at Josaphat
 CIRILO F. BAUTISTA
(NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE 2014)
 CIRILO F. BAUTISTA
(NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE 2014)

• A poet, fictionist and essayist with exceptional

achievements and significant contributions to the
development of the country’s literary arts.

• He has etablished a reputation of fine and profound

artistry.

• He holds regular funded and unfunded workshops

throughout the country, as a way of bringing poetry
and fiction closer to the people.
 CIRILO F. BAUTISTA
(NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE 2014)

• As a teacher in literature, he has realized that the

classroom is an important training ground for Filipino
writers.

• He was instrumental in the formation of the

Bienvenido Santos Creative Writing Center in Dela
Salle University.

• He also founded the Philippine Literary Arts Council in

1981 and the Iligan National Writers Workshop in 1993
and the Baguio Writers Group.
 CIRILO F. BAUTISTA
(NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE 2014)

• Thus, Bautista continues to contribute 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
 as a critic, through his essays that provide
insights into the craft of writing and
correctives to misconceptions about art.
 CIRILO F. BAUTISTA
(NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE 2014)

• His major works includes:

Summer Suns
Words and Battlefield
The Trilogy of Saint Lazarus
Galaw ng Asoge
 NICK JOAQUIN
(MAY 4, 1917 – APRIL 29, 2004)
 NICK JOAQUIN
(MAY 4, 1917 – APRIL 29, 2004)

• Regarded by many as the most distinguished

Filipino writer in English writing so variedly and
so well about so many aspects of the Filipino.

• He has enriched the English Language with

critics coining “Joaquinesque” to describe his
baroque Spanish-flavored English based on
Filipinisms.
 NICK JOAQUIN
(MAY 4, 1917 – APRIL 29, 2004)

• 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.

• He uses the “nome de guerre Quijano de Manila”.

•
 NICK JOAQUIN
(MAY 4, 1917 – APRIL 29, 2004)

• His Voluminous works includes:

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
 AMADO V. HERNANDEZ
(SEPTEMBER 13, 1903- MAY 24, 1970)
 AMADO V. HERNANDEZ
(SEPTEMBER 13, 1903- MAY 24, 1970)

• A poet, playwright and novelist.

• He 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.
 AMADO V. HERNANDEZ
(SEPTEMBER 13, 1903- MAY 24, 1970)

• 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.

• With his first novel written while in prison entitled

“Mga Ibong Mandaragit” was the first Filipino
socio-political novel that exposes the ills of the
society as evident in the agrarian problems of the
50s.
 AMADO V. HERNANDEZ
(SEPTEMBER 13, 1903- MAY 24, 1970)

• His other work includes:

Bayang Malaya
Isang Dipang Langit
Luha ng Buwaya
Amado V. Hernandez: Tudla at Tudling:katipunan
ng mga Nalalathang Tula
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
 LAZARO A. FRANCISCO
(FEBRUARY 22, 1898 – JUNE 17, 1980)
 LAZARO A. FRANCISCO
(FEBRUARY 22, 1898 – JUNE 17, 1980)

• 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.
 LAZARO A. FRANCISCO
(FEBRUARY 22, 1898 – JUNE 17, 1980)

• 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”.
 LAZARO A. FRANCISCO
(FEBRUARY 22, 1898 – JUNE 17, 1980)

• Bienvenido Lumbera also wrote, “When the

history of the Filipino novel is written,
Francisco is likely to occupy an eminent
place in it”.

• He 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”
 LAZARO A. FRANCISCO
(FEBRUARY 22, 1898 – JUNE 17, 1980)

• With his literary output in Tagalog, he

contributed to the enrichment of the Filipino
language and literature for which he is a
staunch advocate and called to be the
“Master of Tagalog Novels and established
the Kapatiran ng mga Alagad ng Wikang
Pilipino (KAWIKA) in 1958.
 LAZARO A. FRANCISCO
(FEBRUARY 22, 1898 – JUNE 17, 1980)
• In 1997, he was honored by the UP with a special convocation as
the “foremost Filipino novelist of his generation” and
“champion of the Filipino writer’s struggle for national
Identity”.

His masterpiece novels include:

Ama
Bayang Nagpatiwakal
Maganda pa ang Daigdig
Daluyong
 F. SIONIL JOSE
(NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE 2001)
 F. SIONIL JOSE
(NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE 2001)

• A writer, novelist, publisher and lecturer on cultural

issues.

• He was also 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.

•
 F. SIONIL JOSE
(NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE 2001)

• His writings since late 60’s, are best

described as epic.

• Ultimately, it is the consistent espousal for

the aspirations of the Filipino- for
national sovereignty and social justice-
that guarantees the value of his oeuvre.
 F. SIONIL JOSE
(NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE 2001)

• 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.
 F. SIONIL JOSE
 His works have been published and
translated into various languages.

 He is also a publisher, lecturer on cultural

issues, and the founder of the Philippine
Chapter of the International Organization
(PEN).
 F. SIONIL JOSE

AWARDS:
CCP Centennial Honors for the Arts
Outstanding Fulbrighters Award for
Literature
Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism,
Literature, and Creative
Communication Arts
 CARLOS P. ROMULO
NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE- 1982
(JANUARY 14, 1899-DECEMBER 15, 1985)
• 50 years of public service as educator, soldier,
university president, journalist, and diplomat.
• The first Asian President of the United Nations
General Assembly
• Philippine Ambassador to Washington, D.C.
• Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Reporter at 16, a newspaper editor by the age
of 20, and a publisher at 32.
 CARLOS P. ROMULO)
• The only Asian to win America’s coveted
Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for a series of
articles predicting the outbreak of World War
II.
 CARLOS P. ROMULO)

Literary Works:
The United (novel)
I Walked with Heroes (autobiography)
I Saw the Fall of the Philippines
Mother America
I See the Philippines Rise
Forty Years: A 3rd World Soldier at the UN
The Philippine Presidents
 JOSE GARCIA VILLA
NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE – 1973
(AUGUST 5, 1908-FEBRUARY 7, 1997)

 Considered as one of the finest contemporary

poets regardless of race or language.
 Introduced the reversed consonance rime
scheme, including the comma poems that
made full use of the punctuation mark in an
innovative, poetic way.
 He used Doveglion (Dove, Eagle, Lion) s
penname.
 JOSE GARCIA VILLA

 His poem “Have Come, Am Here” received

critical recognition when it appeared in New
York in 1942.
 Villa is known for the tartless of his tongue.
 JOSE GARCIA VILLA

Books:
Footnote to Youth
Many Voices
Poems by Doveglion
Poems 55
Poems in Praise of Love
The Best Love Poems of Jose Garcia
 JOSE GARCIA VILLA

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
 ALEJANDRO ROCES
NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE – 2003
(JULY 13, 1924-MAY 23, 2011)

 a short story writer and essayist, and

considered as the country’s best writer of
comic short stories.
 Known for his widely anthologized “My
Brother’s Peculiar Chicken”
 In his newspaper columns, he has always
focused on the neglected aspects of the Filipino
cultural heritage.
 ALEJANDRO ROCES

 He brought to public attention the aesthetics of

the country’s fiestas.
 He was instrumental in popularizing several
local fiestas, notably, Moriones and Ati-atihan.
 ALEJANDRO ROCES

 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.
 ROLANDO S. TINIO
NATIONAL ARTIST FOR THEATER AND LITERATURE
(MARCH 5, 1937-JULY 7, 1997)
 Playwright, thespian, poet, teacher, critic
and translator, marked his career with
prolific artistic productions.
 A stage director whose original insights
into the scripts he handled brought forth
productions notable for their visual
impact and intellectual cogency.
 ROLANDO S. TINIO
 He revived traditional Filipino drama by
re-staging old theater forms like the
sarswela and opening a treasure-house of
contemporary Western drama.
 ROLANDO S. TINIO

Poems:
Sitsit sa Kuliglig
Dunung-Dunungan
Kristal na Uniberso
A Trick of Mirrors
 ROLANDO S. TINIO

Film Scripts:
Now and Forever
Gamitin Mo Ako
Bayad Puri
Milagros
 LEVI CELERIO
NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE/MUSIC – 1997
(APRIL 30, 1910-APRIL 2, 2002)
 Prolific lyricist and composer for decades
 He effortlessly translated/wrote anew the lyrics to
traditional melodies: “O maliwanag Na Buwan”