With this content, you will be able to recognize who the Filipino National Artists in Literature are; and to become familiar with some of these national artists' body of literary works.
Who are the Filipino National Artists in Literature? What are some of their literary works?
Before knowing who these Filipino National Artists in Literature are, let us know the four fundamental criteria in the selection of the Filipino National Artist in Literature, and the different entities that select the Filipino National Artist in Literature.
The four fundamental criteria define what is a Filipino National Artist in Literature. First, a Filipino National Artist's writings have form and content that created a sense of nationhood or instilled nationalism. Second, he or she pioneered a unique style of creative expression in the literary arts that inspired younger generations of writers. Third, he or she displayed consistent excellence in the quality of their works. Lastly, he or she gained recognition and awards from prestigious national or international literary institutions.
The different entities involved in the selection of the Filipino National Artist in Literature are the following: panel of literary experts, Commissioners of the National Commission on Culture and Arts (NCCA), Board of Governors of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), and the President of the Republic of the Philippines. In the selection process, the panel of literary experts, together with both the commissioners of NCCA and board of governors of CCP nominate potential candidates and confer with each other in a panel after which they come up with their list of recommendations that will be forwarded to the President of the Republic of the Philippines for final approval.
Now, let us get to know the National Artists of the Philippines in Literature.
1. Amado V. Hernandez was first selected in 1973. He was born in Hagonoy, Bulacan, but grew up in Tondo, Manila. His poems and novels written purely in the Filipino mother tongue tackle issues of the poor and working class. One of his works is the book titled Luha ng Buwaya.
There were two National Artists in Literature selected in the year 1973. One for Filipino language and the other for the English language.
2. Jose Garcia Villa was the other National Artist in Literature who got selected for the English language in the year 1973. He was also a Manileño, from Malate's Singalong St.; he was known in the country and abroad as the "master of the comma poem" a unique style he created.
"Footnote to Youth" is one of his works.
3. Nick Joaquin was the 1976 National Artist of the Philippines in Literature. He was a versatile Filipino from San Juan. He was a journalist, poet, novelist, historian, playwright, scriptwriter and biographer. But it was his mysterious and suspense-filled novels that became his trademark style like "May Day Eve."
4. Carlos P. Romulo, a 1982 National Artist of the Philippines in Literature was a World War II soldier. He was 4' 11" in height. He's a son of Camiling, Tarlac. He was a UN diplomat and foreign affairs secretary under eight Philippine presidents. He wrote 18 books, mostly memoirs about him, Douglas McArthur, Pres. Quezon and especially Russian Andre Vishinky who he silenced with this quote in a UN Assembly: "It is the duty of the little Davids of this world to fling the pebbles of truth in the eyes of the blustering Goliaths and force them to behave!"
"My Brother Americans" is one of Romulo's works.
5. NVM Gonzales, a native of Romblon island was the 1997 National Artist in Literature. He was a poet, essayist, novelist and teacher who depicted with his pen the Filipino spirit in rural and urban settings. "Of the Ash-Covered Loam and Other Stories" is his work. His other works also focus in nature like The Bamboo Dancers, The Winds of April, Seven Hills Away, and Work in the Mountains.
6. Edith Tiempo was the 1999 National Artist for Literature in the Philippines. She was from Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya. She was a poet, novelist, literary critic, teacher and the only female National Artist for Literature. Her masterpieces are famous for her use of vivid metaphors and vibrant description that are fluid and not burdened with trite details.
"His Native Coast" is one of her works.
7. F. Sionil Jose is a native of Rosales, Pangasinan. He's the 2001 Philippine National Artist for Literature. He often gleans local legends and epics from his hometown as well as from the Ilocos region to include in his short stories and novels. His works are also consistent in depicting the themes of class struggle, colonialism, social justice and national sovereignty.
"The Feet of Juan Bacnang" is one of his works.
8. Francisco Arcellana was the National Artist for Literature in 1990. He was a writer, poet, essayist, critic, journalist, and teacher. He's 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. For Arcellana, the pride of fiction is “that it is able to render truth, that is able to present reality”. Arcellana 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. A brilliant craftsman, his works are now an indispensable part of a tertiary-level-syllabi all over the country.
Arcellana’s published books are Selected Stories (1962), Poetry and Politics: The State of Original Writing in English in the Philippines Today (1977), The Francisco Arcellana Sampler (1990).
9. Levi Celerio was the National Artist for Literature and Music in the year 1997. He was a prolific lyricist and composer for decades. He effortlessly translated/wrote anew the lyrics to traditional melodies: “O Maliwanag Na Buwan” (Iloko), “Ako ay May Singsing” (Pampango), “Alibangbang” (Visaya) among others.
Born in Tondo, Celerio received his scholarship at the Academy of Music in Manila that made it possible for him to join the Manila Symphony Orchestra, becoming its youngest member. He made it to the Guinness Book of World Records as the only person able to make music using just a leaf.
10. Rolando S. Tinio was the National Artist for Theater and Literature in the year 1997. He was a playwright, thespian, poet, teacher, critic, and translator who marked his career with prolific artistic productions. Tinio’s chief distinction is as a stage director whose original insights into the scripts he handled brought forth productions notable for their visual impact and intellectual cogency.
He staged productions for the Ateneo Experimental Theater as its organizer and administrator as well. Then, he took on Teatro Pilipino where he left a considerable amount of work reviving traditional Filipino drama by re-staging old theater forms like the sarswela and opening a treasure-house of contemporary Western drama.
Aside from his collections of poetry (Sitsit sa Kuliglig, Dunung – Dunungan, Kristal na Uniberso, A Trick of Mirrors) among his works were the following: film scripts for Now and Forever, Gamitin Mo Ako, Bayad Puri and Milagros; sarswelas Ang Mestisa, Ako, Ang Kiri, Ana Maria; the komedya Orosman at Zafira; and Larawan, the musical.
11. Virgilio S. Almario
He is the National Artist for Literature in 2003.
He is also known as Rio Alma. He is a poet, literary historian and critic, who has revived and reinvented traditional Filipino poetic forms, even as he championed modernist poetics. In 34 years, he has published 12 books of poetry, which include the seminal Makinasyon and Peregrinasyon, and the landmark trilogy Doktrinang Anakpawis, Mga Retrato at Rekwerdo and Muli, Sa Kandungan ng Lupa.
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 criticisms and anthologies, among which are Ang Makata sa Panahon ng Makina, Balagtasismo versus Modernismo, Walong Dekada ng Makabagong Tula Pilipino, Mutyang Dilim and Barlaan at Josaphat.
12. Alejandro Roces was a 2003 National Artist for Literature as well. He was a short story writer and essayist and considered as the country’s best writer of comic short stories. He's known for his widely anthologized “My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken.” In his innumerable newspaper columns, he had always focused on the neglected aspects of the Filipino cultural heritage. His works had been published in various international magazines and have received national and international awards.
Ever the champion of Filipino culture, Roces brought to public attention to the aesthetics of the country’s fiestas. He was instrumental in popularizing several local fiestas, notably, Moriones and Ati-atihan. 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.
13. Bienvenido Lumbera is the National Artist for Literature in 2006. He is a a poet, librettist, and scholar. As a poet, 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 is the author of the following works: 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.
As a librettist for the Tales of the Manuvu and Rama Hari, he pioneered the creative fusion of fine arts and popular imagination.
As a scholar, his major books include the following: Tagalog Poetry, 1570-1898: Tradition and Influences in its Development; Philippine Literature: A History and Anthology, Revaluation: Essays on Philippine Literature, Writing the Nation/Pag-akda ng Bansa.
14. Lazaro Francisco was the National Artist for Literature in the year 2009.
He was a prize-winning writer who developed the social realist tradition in Philippine fiction. His eleven novels, now acknowledged classics of Philippine literature, embodies the author’s commitment to nationalism.
Francisco 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”. With his literary output in Tagalog, he contributed to the enrichment of the Filipino language and literature for which he is a staunch advocate. He put up an arm to his advocacy of Tagalog as a national language by establishing the Kapatiran ng mga Alagad ng Wikang Pilipino (KAWIKA) in 1958. His reputation as the “Master of the Tagalog Novel” is backed up by numerous awards he received for his meritorious novels in particular, and for his contribution to Philippine literature and culture in general. His masterpiece novels—Ama, Bayang Nagpatiwakal, Maganda Pa Ang Daigdig and Daluyong—affirm his eminent place in Philippine literature.
15. Cirilo Bautista was the 2014 National Artist for Literature. He was a poet, fictionist and essayist with exceptional achievements and significant contributions to the development of the country’s literary arts. He is acknowledged by peers and critics, and the nation at large as the foremost writer of his generation.
As a teacher of literature, Bautista realized that the classroom is an important training ground for Filipino writers. In De La Salle University, he was instrumental in the formation of the Bienvenido Santos Creative Writing Center. He was also the moving spirit behind the founding of the Philippine Literary Arts Council in 1981, the Iligan National Writers Workshop in 1993, and the Baguio Writers Group.
16. Ramon L. Muzones was a 2018 National Artist for Literature in the Philippines. He was a Hiligaynon poet, essayist, short story writer, critic, grammarian, editor, lexicographer, and novelist who authored an unprecedented 61 completed novels. A number of these represent groundbreaking “firsts’ in Hiligaynon literature such as the feminist Ang Bag-ong Maria Clara, the roman a clef Maambong Nga Sapat (Magnificent Brute,1940), the comic Si Tamblot (1946), the politically satirical Si Tamblot Kandidato Man (Tamblot is Also a Candidate, 1949), the 125- installment longest serialized novel Dama de Noche (1982-84), etc. Hailed by his peers as the longest reigning (1938-1972) among “the three kings of the Hiligaynon novel,” Muzones brought about its most radical changes while ushering in modernism. With a literary career that spanned fifty-three years (1938-1990), his evolution covers the whole history of the Hiligaynon novel from its rise in the 1940s to its decline in the 1970s.
17. Resil B. Mojares
He is the National Artist for Literature in 2018. He is a A teacher and scholar, essayist and fictionist, and cultural and literary historian. He is acknowledged as a leading figure in the promotion of regional literature and history. As founding director of the Cebuano Studies Center—an important research institution which placed Cebu in the research and documentation map—he pioneered Cebuano and national identity formation. As a leading figure in cultural and literary history, he networked actively in many organizations. For over 50 years, Mojares has published in diverse forms (fiction, essay, journalism, scholarly articles, and books) across a wide range of discipline (literature, history, biography, cultural studies, and others). To date, he has 17 published books (3 more in the press) and edited, co-edited, or co-authored 11 books, and written numerous articles for popular and scholarly publications.
For more information about the National Artists for Literature, visit this site https://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/culture-profile/national-artists-of-the-philippines/
Comentários