21 CENTURY

ST

LITERATURE FROM
THE PHILIPPINES AND
THE WORLD
CANONICAL AUTHORS AND
NATIONAL ARTISTS
Alejandro Roces
Essayist, comic short story writer
 Country’s best writer
 Focuses on neglected Filipino Cultural Heritage

Literary piece
 My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken
 MY BROTHER’S PECULIAR CHICKEN
ALEJANDRO R. ROCES
My brother Kiko once had a very peculiar chicken. It was peculiar
because no one could tell whether it was a rooster or a hen. My
brother claimed it was a rooster. I claimed it was a hen.
We almost got whipped because we argued too much.
The whole question began early one morning. Kiko and I were
driving the chickens from the cornfield. The corn had just been
planted, and the chickens were scratching the seeds out for food.
Suddenly we heard the rapid flapping of wings. We turned in the
direction of the sound and saw two chickens fighting in the far
end of the field. We could not see the birds clearly as they were
lunging at each other in a whirlwind of feathers and dust.
“Look at that rooster fight!” my brother said, pointing exactly at one of the chickens.
“Why, if Ihad a rooster like that, I could get rich in the cockpits.”
“Let’s go and catch it,” I suggested.
“No, you stay here. I will go and catch it,” Kiko said.
My brother slowly approached the battling chickens. They were so busy fighting that
they did not notice him. When he got near them, he dived and caught one of them by the
leg. It struggled and squawked. Kiko finally held it by both wings and it became still. I
ran over where he was and took a good look at the chicken. “Why, it is a hen,” I said.
“What is the matter with you?” my brother asked. “Is the heat making you sick?”
“No. Look at its face. It has no comb or wattles.”
“No comb and wattles! Who cares about its comb or wattles? Didn’t you see it in fight?”
“Sure, I saw it in fight. But I still say it is a hen.”
CANONICAL AUTHORS AND
NATIONAL ARTISTS
Bienvenido Lumbera
 Poet librettist, and scholar.
 As a poet,he introduced to Tagalog literature what is now known as Bagay poetry, a land mark aesthetic
tendency that has helped to change the vernacular poetic tradition.

Literary Pieces
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
 KA BEL
BIENVENIDO LUMBERA
Ang lider ay isang sangkap lamang ng tagumpay,
Ang masa ang siyang tunay na mapagpasiya.
Maraming beses na nating sinabi sa kanila,
Subalit makunat talaga ang kanilang utak,
Ayaw nang talaban ng ating katotohanan.
Iligpit ang lider at tuluyang mawawasak
Ang rebolusyong binabalak, iyan lamang
Ang kaya nilang paniwalaan.
 Ulianin ang katarungang atas ng Malakanyang,
Dinaklot ng batas na walang kinamuwangan
Ang lider ng Anakpawis, di-umano’y imbitasyong lang,
Proklamasyon 1017 ang mahigpit na dahilan.
Nang maikandado ang seldang kulungan,
Inakala nilang nalumpo na ang himagsikan,
Kaliweteng party-list di na makagagalaw.
 Subalit ang mga manggagawa, lahat ng anakpawis
Na walang pangalan sa mga pabrika at lansangan,
Ang mga pagtutol na isinisigaw, ang pagkakabigkis
Lalong tumitibay—Palayain si Crispin Beltran!
Ang masa, ang masa, pag nabuksan ang isipan,
Uugit ng landas tungo sa kalayaan.
Diwa ni Ka Bel di kayang ihiwalay ng rehas na bakal
Sa sambayang kanyang pinaglingkuran,
Naging sinag ng araw na tumimo sa kamalayan,
At ngayo’y liwanag na nagpupumiglas
Sa dilim at dagim na isinasabog ng Malakanyang.
Loob nati’y tibayan, likumin ang kaliwanagan,
Bukang-liwayway ng ating paglaya’y
Hinding-hindi na mapipigilan!
CANONICAL AUTHORS AND
NATIONAL ARTISTS
Virgilio S. Almario
 Poet and Literary historian
 revived and reinvented traditional Filipino poetic forms

The Monkey and the Turtle

ACTIVITY 1
If I were to be a literary writer, I would choose…
Poetry love
Short story mystery
Novel thriller
Comic short story horror
comedy
…and explain why.
ASSIGNMENT
The Cultural Center of the Philippines is hosting a
Filipino Fiction festival for the annual celebration
of the Literacy month. Read “The Sadness
Collector by Merlinda Bobis” and create a movie
poster. The visual element of the outputs should be
related to the chosen story as it will be used for
promoting the activity.