INTRODUCTION TO

PHILIPPINE LITERATURE
By Katrina Melissa Cruz

Philippine literature withstood time and periods and has evolved through
generations. For every period that passed, different genres appeared, and these
literary works rooted from all regions reflecting their culture, society and lifestyle.

The early stages of Filipino Literature consist of the Pre-Spanish period, the Spanish
period and the Propaganda and Revolutionary Periods. In the Pre-Spanish period,
literature was in oral form as technology of printing wasn’t available yet. Works such as
epics, legends, folklore, salawikain, bugtong, sawikain, songs such as
the Oyayi or Hele are passed on from generations to generations and they are still well-
known up to this day as they are being taught in schools.

Philippine Literature changed during the Spanish Period. It was centered on Christian
faith. Pre-Spanish literary types continued to develop; however, there was a gradual
shift of interest from nature and natural phenomena to the lives of the saints, hymns,
miracles and invocations based on the teachings of the Catholic Church. The works
during this time are imitative of the Spanish theme, forms, and traditions. The corrido,
awit, dalit, cenaculo, moro-moro, duplo and karagatan, and zarzuela are reflective of the
said characteristics. Religious matters were in prose as novenas and prayer books,
biographies of the saints, tales and novels. The Filipinos were able to retain their native
traditions and poems in the field of poetry reflected as lyrical folksongs and riddles.

Some examples of songs are Bahay Kubo, kundiman, and tapat.

Francisco Baltazar also was popular during this time because of his “Florante at Laura”.
Events such as the exposure of the Filipinos to Europe’s liberal idealism, the opening of
the Suez Canal, the Spanish Revolution in 1868, and the martyrdom of Gomburza led to
Filipino nationalism.

This gave birth to two movements during this time – the Propaganda movement and the
Revolutionary movement. The Propaganda movement was reformatory in objective and
its members are college students mostly based in Spain. The primary propagandists
were Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, and Graciano Lopez-Jaena. The exposure of the
evils of the Spanish rule in the Philippines was because of Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and
El Filibusterismo and has paved the way to a revolution against Spain. Del Pilar’s
essays and editorials in Diariong Tagalogwhich he founded with Lopez-Jaena’s articles
in La Solidaridad which he was an editor reflected nationalism that was dominant at this
time.
The Revolutionary movement took over as the propagandists failed to get much
reforms. This was of course more violent, and it demands complete independence from
Spain. The Katipunan was founded by Andres Bonifacio who was inspired by Rizal’s
novels. The articles written in tagalog (which was a form of revolution) was published in
the Kalayaan, the newspaper of the society. The literature at that time was more
propagandistic than literary as the situation and events at that time needed such
purpose for liberation.

The three periods mentioned are the core of our history and literature. History has a
very important role in literature as literature not only reflects facts with aesthetic
language but more importantly, it displays the ideas and feelings of the people living at
that time. Not only does literature exhibit history but so as the hope that people have. It
shows what they hope for the nation, or for themselves, may it be about nationalism,
love, or other aspects going on in life. As the Philippines underwent a lot of history, as
well as changes, literature also evolved. In the similar case as the first three periods,
literary genres also evolve depending on the influence, state and the condition that our
country is in. From epics to folksongs, to the cenaculo and Noli Me Tangere, to Tagalog
and English short stories, essays, poetry, to the Palanca Awards entries, drama and
film, to Wattpad and blogs – these are all reflective of the history, evolution, and
developments or mishaps of the Filipino nation. Each period has its own distinct genre
and unique artists that everyone remembers.

21st century literature per se, is anything that was written and published in the year
2000s. It is a bit too early to give a definite and elaborate description of the 21st century
literature in the Philippines and the world. It is possible, however, to approach
contemporary literature as a reaction to and dialogue with existing forms of expressive
culture. As we engage in technology more and more, we create and discover more
existing forms of expressive culture as well. We have a wide range of resources through
the internet and this gave opportunities to people, especially the youth, to begin writing
and expressing their thoughts, ideas, and feelings. A perfect example would be
WattPad. It became popular to the Filipino youth in 2006.

The idea is to create an e-book reading application, as e-books are becoming in

demand during that time, however, the founders thought that it would be time
consuming to maintain their own catalog, so they decided to let the community decide
what they want to read, and they can also upload their works and content into the
application. This had made it possible for the youth to read more and to start creating
their own compositions.

It has become a network.

Here are more examples of literary genres in the 21st century Philippine literature:

Creative nonfiction
 It’s a rich mix of flavors, ideas, and techniques, some of which are newly invented and
others as old as writing itself. Creative nonfiction can be an essay, a journal article, a
research paper, a memoir, or a poem; it can be personal or not, or it can be all of these.

Some of the creative nonfiction in the Philippines are:

1. “The Cardinal’s Sins, the General’s Cross, the Martyr’s Testimony, and Other
Affirmations” by Gregorio C. Brillantes
2. “Manananggal Terrorizes Manila and Other Stories” by Jessica Zafra
3. “Sapay Koma” by Jhoanna Lynn Cruz

Hyper poetry

Hypertext poetry and hypertext fiction are new genres of literature that use the computer
screen as medium, rather than the printed page. The literary works rely on the qualities
unique to a digital environment, such as linked World Wide Web pages or effects such
as sound and movement. Hypertext “poetry” can consist of words, although not
necessarily organized into lines and stanzas, as well as, sounds, visual images,
movement or other special effects. Although the poem may be dazzling with sounds,
perhaps of a lawnmower, while the words “mowing,” “stop,” “Sunday,” and “morning”
float across your computer screen in pseudo-three-dimensional letters, one will have
been hard pressed to identify the use of any formal poetics.

Mobile phone text tula

A cell phone novel, or mobile phone novel is a literary work originally written on a
cellular phone via text messaging. This type of literature originated in Japan, where it
has become a popular literary genre. However, its popularity has also spread to other
countries internationally, especially to China, United States, Germany, and South Africa.
Chapters usually consist of about 70-100 words each due to character limitations on cell
phones.

Chick lit

This is genre fiction, which “consists of heroin-centered narratives that focus on the
trials and tribulations of their individual protagonists”. The genre often addresses issues
of modern womanhood – from romantic relationships to female friendships to matters in
the workplace – in humorous and lighthearted ways.

Some of the chick lit in the Philippines are:

1. Spotlight New Adult by Mina V. Esguerra

2. Tall Story by Candy Gourlay
3. All’s Fair in Blog and War by Chrissie Peria
 Speculative fiction

It covers all stories from fantasy to science fiction to slipstream to magic realism to
urban fantasy — so on and so forth. In other words (or in other worlds), it encompasses
all the stories that are removed from the reality that we are currently living in. As the
introduction states, “speculative fiction is a type of story that deals with observations of
the human condition but offers the experience through a different lens…and challenges
us to see what tomorrow could be like or what the mythic past of our imagination
actually is.”

Some of the speculative fiction in the Philippines are:

1. Smaller and Smaller Circles by FH Batacan

2. Sink by Isabel Yap
3. The Secret Origin of Spin-Man by Andrew Drilon

Flash fiction

Flash fiction goes by many names, including microfiction, microstories, short-shorts,

short short stories, very short stories, sudden fiction, postcard fiction and nanofiction.
While it can be difficult to pinpoint an exact definition of flash fiction based on word
count, consideration of several of its features can help provide clarity, like its brevity,
length, background and purpose.

Some of the flash fiction in the Philippines are:

1. 100 Kislap, by Abdon M. Balde Jr.

2. Karapote: Antolohia Dagiti 13 a Nasuerte A Sarita, by Ariel S. Tabag

Blog

A blog (shortening of “weblog”) is an online journal or informational website displaying

information in the reverse chronological order, with latest posts appearing first. It is a
platform where a writer or even a group of writers share their views on an individual
subject.

Graphic novels

The ‘graphic novel’ has existed as an art form arguably from the time our species
learned how to paint. However, the term has only been in use since the 1960’s, and
though it’s often a hotly debated issue, it’s generally accepted that a graphic novel is a
longer work or collection of works presented in ‘comics’ style.
 Some of the graphic novels in the Philippines are:

1. The Mythology Class (Nautilus comics) by Arnold Arre

2. Light (Anino comics) by Rob Cham
3. Sixty Six (Anino comics) by Russell Molina
4. Maktan 1521 by Tepai Pascual

Contemporary writers often consciously draw inspiration and ideas from the writers who
have come before them. As an outcome, many works of 21st literature deal with the
events, movements and literature of the past in order to make sense of the current
times. In addition, the technological developments of the 21st century have directed
other writers to theoretically write about the future, usually to comment on the present
and suggest introspection.

There are various themes and topics that the contemporary literature addresses. One of
which is Identity. With increasing globalization, intersections of cultures and more vocal
discussions of women’s rights and LGBT rights, identity has become a common theme
in 21st century literature. In a world that is now able to exchange ideas more quickly
than ever before via the Internet and other technological advancements, people have
relatively more freedom to draw from multiple cultures and philosophies and question
the concept of the self and its relation to the body, brain and “soul.” Another theme is
history and memory. Often contemporary literature explores the notion of multiplicities of
truth and acknowledges that history is filtered through human perspective and
experience. Another main theme is technology. Today, technology is more integrated
into people’s lives than ever before. Dreams of what technology could potentially help
people become and anxieties regarding the demise of humanity because of technology
can be seen in 21st century literature. Additionally, many 21st century works of literature
explore what it means when all of humanity’s experiences are filtered through
technology. These are just among many themes that 21st century literature covers.
Among these are of course, love, sex, family, religion, but approached in a different
way. They are more liberal and unfiltered in a sense, just like the world we live in. For
this reason, the language and tone that are commonly used doesn’t really follow a rule
just like the traditional and classical works, as long as it is able to express and convey
the authenticity and the essence of the meaning of the work and the identity of the
characters. Examples of this would be the works of Bob Ong, Ricky Lee, and Bebang
Siy. The poems of Maria Cecilia dela Rosa are perfect examples of 21st century
literature as she conveys a different flavor and turn to her works.

The previous periods had already established canon writers and their works which, until
now, are being studied in schools and universities. As times change, people need to
innovate and become more aware of the present time and condition, as well as the
events that recently directed us to be at the current circumstances that we stand.
Modernization, invention, expression and a wider point of view are results of the arising
awareness people have. Modern day Filipinos, as well as the youth of today become
more conscious of what’s happening, primarily because of easier access to education
and technology. Print, we might say, is gradually dying but our appetite for information
continues to grow and of course literature, along with technology still thrives. All of this
paved the way to the 21st century Literature, with various genres, themes and
voices. The Philippines continues to develop in many aspects and as a liberal and
democratic country, we are part of the worldwide innovation of ways on how to
exchange and share ideas about the present events which have much similarities in
each country.

Since we are in the age of technology, we use them to impart and experience literature
to make it more interesting especially to the young ones. They grew up using
technology as a primary learning tool and for them to be more engaged in literature,
technology such as the internet and gadgets play a huge role for them in acquiring
knowledge and information.

Literature continues to change with society and although we are in the 21st century and
are binded with technology, authors are still trying to address absolute human questions
in new ways and therefore, reconcile them with the ever-changing technology that
surrounds us; hence, the birth of the different 21st century literary genres.

In the new educational system that the Philippines is currently under which is the K+12
program, students are also entitled to learn the new literary genres that we have in the
21st century. In this guide, we will find the different characteristics of the 21st century
literature in the Philippines and their genres, along with their representative texts that
tackles their relevance to our current situation.