FILIPINO CONTEMPORARY WRITERS

REGION II AUTHORS

1. Emmanuel Agapito Flores Lacaba (December 10, 1948 – March

18, 1976), popularly known as Eman Lacaba, was a Filipino writer,
poet, essayist, playwright, fictionist, scriptwriter, songwriter and
activist and he is considered as the only poet warrior of the
Philippines.

Works:

Lacaba wrote the lyrics of "Awit ni Kuala", the song sung by Lolita
Rodriguez in the classic Lino Brocka masterpiece 'Tinimbang Ka
Ngunit Kulang '. He also composed new revolutionary lyrics in
Cebuano for some well-known folk songs.

2. Fernando M. Maramag (1893-1936) Poet and Journalist

Fernando Maramag was an excellent poet and journalist in
English. He had a rich style and deep understanding of human
nature – qualities which made his poetry appealing to all readers.
On the other hand, his editorial writings “exerted great influence
on the various phases of the Filipino way of life, particularly in its
government, economics, education and politics,” according to a
critic.

3. Leona Florentino (April 19, 1849-October 4, 1884) was a Filipino

poet in the Spanish and Ilocano languages. She is considered as
the "mother of Philippine women's literature" and the "bridge from
oral to literary tradition".

Works:

Her lyrical poetry in Spanish, and especially that in Ilocano, gained

attention in various international forums in Spain, Paris and St.
Louis, Missouri. Her literary contributions - particularly 22 preserved
poems - were recognized when she was included in the
Encyclopedia Internationale des Oeuvres des Femmes
(International Encyclopedia of Women’s Works) in 1889. She is
believed to be the first Filipina to receive this international
recognition, an homage that occurred after her death at a young
age.

4. Alfred Yuson

Born on 23 February 1945 in Manila . (Also known as Krip Yuson.) He

has authored 23 books, including novels, poetry collections, short
fiction, essays, and children's stories, apart from having edited
various other titles. His bibliography includes the potry
collections:Sea Serpent, (Monsoon Press, 1980), Trading in
Mermaids (Anvil Publishing, Inc., 1993), Mothers Like Elephants
(Anvil Publishing, Inc., 2000) Hairtrigger Loves: 50 Poems on
Woman (University of the Philippines Press, 2002), and the
translation, Love's A Vice/ Bisyo ang Pag-ibig: Translations into
English of 60 Poems by mike L. Birgonia (National Commission for
Culture at the Arts, 2004).

5. Ado Vinuya was born in Manila in 1930. He studied in the

University of Santo Tomas and the Far Eastern University. He served
as editor and public information officer of the Manila Health
Department. A versatile worker, he has also been a laborer,
sanitary inspector, laboratory technician, clerk, and radio
announcer. Vinuya also wrote fiction. He has a poetry collection,
with preface written by Carlos P. Romulo, entitled Pregnant
Woman and Other Poems (1968).

6. Norman Wilwayco, aside from being a multiple Palanca award

winner (one being the prestigious Grand Prize for the novel in
2002), plays bass for a rock and roll band and designs multimedia
web sites. He also writes for Filmless Films. He previously wrote for
the popular television show Batibot and has contributed articles
to Liwayway, Manila Times and Inquirer. He was a fellow of the UP
Writers Workshop and won the first prize in the Amado Hernandez
Award for Literature in 1999.
7. Gregorio Aglipay Cruz y Labayan (Latin: Gregorius Aglipay; 5
May 1860 – 1 September 1940) was a former Roman Catholic
priest who became the first Filipino Supreme Bishop of the
Philippine Independent Church, a Christian Protestant sect in the
form of a national church in the country.

8. Naya S. Valdellon grew up in Manila, Philippines and has

worked as a magazine editorial assistant, freelance copy editor,
content writer for a website design company, and literature and
writing composition teacher. She graduated in 2002 with a BFA in
Creative Writing from the Ateneo de Manila University, where she
was Associate Editor of Heights -- the university's official literary
publication. She was a fellow for poetry in English in the 38th UP
National Writers Workshop (2001) and the 41st Dumaguete
National Writers Workshop (2002).

9. A BS computer science degree holder, Ana Maria Villanueva-

Lykes discovered the world of words only five years ago. Since
then she has been published in The Philippines Free Press,
Philippine Graphic, Reader's Digest, and several collections and
anthologies. She trained with the Philippine Daily Inquirer for two
years before she moved on to other publications. She currently
works as editor-in-chief for AsianTraveler Magazine and La Salle 's
Rektikano Magazine.
 REPRESENTATIVE TEXT FROM THE DIFFERENT REGIONS OF THE
COUNTRY

 Region 1
o Pedro Buc(k)aneg
• Acknowledged author of the epic Biag ni Lam-ang.
• A Filipino poet.
 Region 2
o Y Paggafuanan na Lunig
o The Nunuk on the Hill
 Region 3
o Francisco Balagtas
• Florante at Laura
 Region 4 A
o Jose Rizal
• Noli Me Tangere
• El Filibusterismo
 Region 4 B
o Mangyans
o Ambahan
 Region 5
o Teresita E. Erastain
• The Legend of Mayon Volcano
 Region 6
o Ambahan
o Balak
 Region 7
o Sicalac and Sicavay ( A Visayan Creation Myth)
o Legend of dumaguete
 Region 8
o Francisco Alvarado
•Hihaga
 Region 9
o The Kingdom of Keboklogan
o Bugtong
  Region 10
o Regino L. Gonzales Jr.
• The Flood Story
 Region 11
o Epic of Bagobo (Tuwaang)
 Region 12
o Epic of Livunganen (Ulahingan)
 Region NCR
o Vicente Paolo Langit
• Balete: Home of Spirits

HOW DO YOU SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION OF THE CANONICAL

FILIPINO WRITERS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL LITERATURE?

It has been the pride of the Philippines to have Filipinos who have
shown excellence in literacy. As a matter of fact, Philippines made
a great progress/ development making it a globally competent
country. Part of this big break was the Canonical Filipino writers
with exceptional achievements and significant contributions to
the development of National literature. Their works were
remarkable to the Philippine history and up until now it is still
existing making the recent works be based on the past works of
the writers. Now to give what is due to them, let them exist through
their works. They become beacon of excellence so the limelight
which they were placed to must still exist and in that way you are
giving them high regard.
 CONTEMPORARY

LITERATURE

•Includes a diverse number of

writers from different social

backgrounds.

•Is more free, and sometimes mixes

different qualities of literary work to form a

more creative and innovative piece.

•Tends to be a little more inclusive and

more representative of the diversity of

human experiences

TRADITIONAL LITERATURE

•Tend to be written by and for people

from high society or the elites

•Usually follow a strict set of rules in

writing.

•Tends to follow set conventions (even when

it sometimes parodies those conventions),

such as the epic or sonnet or letter.