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Saturday, August 15, 2009

II. The Middle Period - 1930-1960

In Baguio, in 1958, an important national writers conference was held to discuss the role of the Filipino writer in society. Also in 1958, a chapter of International Pen was inaugurated in the Philippines with Alfredo T. Morales as its first president.

During the years 1930 to 1960 Philippine literature in English rapidly improved, especially in the areas of the essay, the short story, and poetry.
Essays: During the middle period of the Philippine literature in English, the essayists tried to capture Filipino life and culture. In the 1930s Salvador P. Lopez led the school of writers who stressed social consciousness. Others, following the view of Jose Garcia Villa wrote on art and literature. In 1940, Salvador P. Lopez expressed his views Literature and Society.

Under the pseudonym "Mang Kiko," Francisco B. Icasiano wrote, in 1941, Horizons from My Nipa Hut. This book included humorous essays which revealed a deep sympathy for the common tao. During the war years the essays improved in literary style but their content was severely limited by the Japanese censors. After 1945 the essayists again turned to themes of nationalism, politics, and literary criticism. For the next ten years or so these themes were treated with an ever growing proficiency. Among the important essayists of the Middle Period might be included: F. M. Africa, Francisco Arcellana, Solomon V. Arnaldo, Jorge Bocobo, Marcelo de Gracia Concepcion, Pura Santillan-Castrence, E. Aguilar Cruz, A. T. Daguio, Amando G. Dayrit, Eugenio Ealdama, Antonio Estrada, Ariston Estrada, Josefa Gonzalez-Estrada, Antonio S. Gabila, Alfredo Q. Gonzalez, Leon Ma. Guerrero, Jr. , J. M. Hernandez, V. M. Hilario, F. B. Icasinao, Maria Kalaw-Katigbak, J. A. Lansang, Jose P. Laurel, A. E. Litiatco, T. M. Locsin, Salvador P. Lopez, Maria Luna-Lopez, A. J. Malay, I. V. Mallari, Federico Mangahas, Ignacio Manlapaz, Camilo Osias, Vicente Albano Pacis, Carlos Quirino, Godofredo Rivera, Eulogio B. Rodriguez, Carlos P. Romulo, A. B. Rotor, Leon O. Ty, Jose Garcia Villa, Manuel A. Viray, and Leopoldo Y. Yabes.

Short Stories: The form of Philippine literature which showed the most rapid development seemed to be the short story. The early didactic stories and romantic tales quickly gave way to stories about farm life and city life, the problems of society, and human hardships. Local color was well used. Jose Garcia Villa was among the first Filipino writers to receive international recognition. In 1932 Villa's "Untitled Story" was selected by Edward J. O'Brien in New York for inclusion in the Best Short Stories of 1932. In 1933, Scribner's published Villa's Footnote to Youth and Other Tales. "The Fence," also by Villa, was included in O'Brien's Best Short Stories of 1933.

After Villa came several significant writers. Manuel E. Arguilla wrote excellent stories about the people of Nagrebcan in How My Brother Leon Brought a Wife and Other Stories. Delfin Fresnosa vividly depicted the hardships of the poor. In his short stories Nick Joaquin included allegories of cultural and moral situations in Philippine history. He frequently recreated the past to show its relevance and value for the present. Joaquin's book Prose and Poems (1952) was voted by a panel of critics led by Leonard Casper as the most distinguished book in fifty years of Philippine Literature in English.

In the 1950s another important writer was Nestor Vidali Mendoza Gonzalez. In Children of the Ash-Covered Loam and Other Stories (1954) and A Season of Grace (1956), Gonzalez dealt with such basic themes as loneliness, self-discovery, and hope amidst suffering.

The quality and depth of short story writing developed rapidly during the Middle Period. Among the writers who contributed to this growth are: T. D. Agcaoili, Manuel F. Arguilla, Estrella D. Alfon, Francisco Arcellana, Amante E. Bigornia, Consorcio Borje, Carlos Bulosan, Casiano T. Calalang, Fidel de Castro, Augusto C. Catanjal, Mario P. Chanco, Amador T. Daguio, Amando G. Dayrit, Morli Dharam, Delfin Fresnosa, Ligaya Victorio-Fruto, Antonio S. Gabila, Claro C. Gloria, N. V. M. Gonzalez, Sinai C. Hamada, Jose M. Hernandez, Francisco B. Icasiano, Nick Joaquin, F. Sonil Jose, Jose A. Lansang, Paz Latorena, A. E. Litiatco, Alvaro L. Martinez, A. G. Ner, Jose Villa Panganiban, Benjamin M. Pascual, Mariano C. Pascual, C. V. Pedroche, Isidro L. Retizos, Narciso G. Reyes, Vicente Rivera, Jr., Alejandro R. Roces, Arturo B. Rotor, Clemente M. Roxas, Bienvenido N. Santos, G. D. Sicam, Loreto Paras-Sulit, Silvestre L. Tagarao, Edilberto K. Tiempo, Edith L. Tiempo, Arturo M. Tolentino, J. Capiendo Tuvera, Kerima Polotan Tuvera, Nita H. Umali, Jose Garcia Villa, and Manuel Viray.

Poems: The poetry of the Middle Period developed slowly. In the 1930s most poetry was still romantic in character. Under the influence of Salvador P. Lopez, some poets like R. Zulueta da Costa became more conscious of their environment and dealt with themes of injustice and oppression. Jose Garcia Villa continued to lead the way for all poets with his creative innovations. In the late 1930s Angela Manalang Gloria emerged as a promising poet. She published her works in Poems just before World War II.

From 1942 to 1945, few poems were written because of the war conditions and censorship. However, a few poets living in the mountains managed to write verses. These poems were later published in 1946 by Juan L. Raso in Guerilla Flower.

The experiences of war seemed to add wider vision and greater depth to Filipino poetry in English. Several new poets published their works. In 1951 Jose Del Castillo's Antiphonal Earth: Coins of Song was published in London. Dominidor I. Ilio published in 1955. Ricaredo Demetillo published Diplomat and Other PoemsNo Certain Weather in 1956 and La Via in 1959. Among the poets who contributed to the Middle Period of Philippine Literature in English are: T. D. Agcaoili, Aurelio Alvero, Carlos A. Angeles, R. Vinzons Asis, Jorge Bocobo, G. Burce Bunao, Reuben R. Canoy, Guillermo Castillo, Jose del Castillo, Fidel de Castro, Rafael Zulueta da Costa, Amador T. Daguio, Luis Dato, Ricaredo Demetillo, Ramon Echevarria, Gregorio Estonanto, Cornelio C. Faigao, Rodrigo T. Feria, Virgilio Floresca, Vicente L. del Fiero, Angela Manalang-Gloria, N. V. M. Gonzalez, J. M. Hernandez, Alejandrino G. Hufana, Dominador I. Ilio, Nick Joaquin, A. E. Litiatco, Toribia Mano, Felizardo Martelino, Hernando R. Ocampo, Conrado V. Pedroche, Maximo D. Ramos, N. G. Reyes, Conrado B. Rigor, Alfonso P. Santos, Bienvenido N. Santos, Guillermo V. Sison, Abelardo Subido, Trinidad L. Tarrosa, Edith L. Tiempo, Francisco G. Tonogbanua, Amado L. Unite, Celestino M. Vega, H. C. Veloso, Jose Garcia Villa, Manuel L Viray, Amado Yuson, and Oscar de Zuniga.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Defying Limits Through Passion

(An interview with Dr. Lourdes S. Anonas)

It was an apparent glistening of the eyes as the daughter spoke about a man close to her heart. The words came out as excited as possible, as vivid as her story's content. That encounter with Dr. Lourdes S. Anonas, Executive Vice President of the University of Nueva Caceres, introduced us to the life of a prominent writer, a loyal family man, a deserving person - Bienvenido Nuqui Santos, her father.

The life of this man entailed responsibility and discipline at the same time. A poor boy should reach out more to achieve his dreams, and that is what this man had done in his life, except that he chose the path where he could apply his passion and God-given gift.

Nobody should be hindered by poverty in learning. Nobody should practice procrastination when it comes to making dreams come true. Bienvenido "Bening" Santos' childhood proved that even a 4th grader could make a way to ensure his future through knowledge he gained from indulging himself to reading in a public library. These efforts were witnessed by his teacher who herself was impressed by the unfathomable eagerness of her student to learn despite poverty which deprived him from purchasing books.

Growing up in the Sulucan slums in Antonio Rivera, Tondo, Manila, he found how meaningful life could be. The people became his inspiration in writing short stories. In this time, he entered his profound place in the world of writing. Reading...reading...reading... That is the secret of this great man. All you have to do is read when you have time. Transform ideas into words and attach them to papers through your pen. After writing, you may set it aside. However, according to the principle he lived for, real writing is rewriting. For when you rewrite, you improve what you've written. What you have set aside should be reopened and nourished for enhancement, if not for perfection.

Armored with skill, passion and determination, Bienvenido, a college student then, continued what he had started. Philippine Collegian opened its doors to him. The community of the University of the Philippines witnessed how his skill flourished through his writings in the school publication. There he met the apple of his eye, whom had kept all his letters and had cut out clips from their school's publication (a very touching act, isn't it?). Probably, caused by a little spell of the heavens, Bienvenido N. Santos married Beatriz Nidea which resulted to initials BNS both of them shared for the rest of their lives. The unity gave birth to four lovely children of three girls and a boy.

Sent by the Philippines to the United States of America as a pensionado, he had to leave his family behind. World War II broke out and he found himself an exile. Lourdes was still a little child that time thus admitted that she was closer to her mother whom she had most of her childhood with. During the time of war, Bienvenido was not hindered to continue writing. Provided with hope in his heart and love for his family back in the Philippines, he would write letters and birthday cards especially made for his children yearning for their father's return. It was only after the war when those letters were given to them. Then those were kept and preserved by his wife.

Much of his life story has been written in his autobiography Memory's Fiction.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Dead Star Poster


This is our version of the Dead Star movie poster starring the three main characters, Alfredo, Esperanza and Julia (image from left to right).

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Cantorne, Arlene M.

I 'm not into reading short stories which are actually lengthy. So when we are asked in our literature class to read "Dead Stars" by Paz Marquez Benitez, it takes few days for me to finish reading it. On the first part, it is very confusing. I have to read it for several times. Whew! At last i'd get it. For me, the story is just ordinary and simple. It is easy for anybody to come up with that kind of story. I didn't consider it as one of the best short stories that I read. However, I noted some lines there that stocked up in my mind. It motivates me to continue reading. In the story, what was Alfredo did is really the right thing to do because love goes through the test of time. His feelings for Julia is just a mere infatuation for me because of the long time engagement of his with Esperanza. Well, I don’t have any other comment about the story.

...My Reaction on DEAD STARS...

We are required to read the Paz Marquez Benitez story entitled DEAD STARS. It was her best short story, as they have said. At first, I was so bored to read it, but later on, I found myself having some sort of pleasure. I realized that the story was quite interesting that most of us were able to relate. It was a love story. It was all about Esperanza, Alfredo and Julia who became the victim of love, Esperanza who was engaged for three years with Alfredo, Alfredo who didn’t expect that in some point of his life, he will meet Julia and Julia who enjoyed the company of Alfredo. Their situation can be likened to a teenage story, a love triangle story, where the guy was somewhat committed with the girl, then this guy unexpectedly met another girl, getting to know each other, having mixed signals, having unsaid emotions, having sweet conversations as if they were committed and so on and so forth that both of them will sooner realize that they were both in love with each other. There was something they wanted to do but they don’t have to do, because the guy had something to do. After I read the story, I come to realize that even though you are committed for so many years and you thought that he was the perfect one, there will be a time that fate will play with you. He could change his mind maybe next year, next month, next week or even the next day, we can never tell when. I also realized that though you have a very nice conversation and though there was a spark or magic between the two of you, you don’t have to expect or assume something. I think, you need to have a very wise decision when it comes to love.=)

...[Nica Angela H. Atuan]...

Reaction to DEAD STARS by Paz Benitez

Kristine Jane Barcela

I do like the story intitled DEAD STARS by Paz Marquez Benitez because I really like to read love stories. In this story Julia Salas or having her in the relationship of Alfredo Salazar and Esperanza serves as a challenge. She was used by the author as the instrument in order for the story to be interesting. Even in real life this situations happens, everybody meets a challenge, challenge that shows how strong we are after realizing it in the end and which also developed our self-esteem. We are given a challenge to test how far we are, how ready we are in facing it, and strong we are to recover it.

VOCABULARY WORDS

Kristine Jane Barcela

insipid - not qualified to interest
sheer - deviate
deluded - to mislead the mind
spurt - a strong brief added effort
recalcitrant - actively
betoken - indicate
derided - laugh at
austere - simple and without decoration
desultory - aimless
indulge - to yield to
strayed - an area, group
sauntered - a slow aimless manner of walking
piquant - interesting

Friday, July 3, 2009

Personal Reaction on "DEAD STARS" by Joanne D. Organis

I agree that Dead Stars is a classic story of love and sacrifice. Well, I admit that I'm no fan of Filipino writers, first because I find their story very ordinary and very common at the same time and, there's nothing really significant about their works. It was always in my impression that foreign writers are much better than Filipino writers. Maybe not, I guess because after reading the story, I'm impressed on how well the writer wrote it because some writers just write stories without knowing how will the story go. She focused on the important details and gave life to the characters involved. The important thing that the writer had done was to be able to convey the idea in such a way that the readers will understand it. Although there are vocabulary words that seem unfamiliar, I still managed to understand the gist of the story and that should have been the purpose of it; to fully understand the story. The story is basically a compilation of the complicated circumstances that every man has to go through in life. I found out that life is full of inequities, although possibly not intentionally, it is forced upon everyone by themselves. The will of the mind is stronger than the invisible judge that is society, therefore if one should wish to be different then it is important that they push through with the change. It is important to free one's self, and claim individuality. Hence, I believe, that this story is a remonstration against the present system that we abide by. It is a clear objection to the dehumanization that most members of society suffer from.

VOCABULARY WORDS (DEAD STARS)

Curry - to use flattery
Shrug
- to draw up as a sign of about
Repose
- restless/serenity
Dapple
- to mark with; any of numerous usually cloudy and rounded spots or patches of a color or shade different from their background
Perfervid
- passionate/ardent
Insipid
- uninteresting; dull
Tumultuous
- restless; disorderly
Haste - urgency
Delude - mislead
Resonan
t - echoing
Verge
- margin
Recalcitrant
- actively disobedient
Wayward
- stubborn; unpredictable
Spurt
- a burst of activity
Exuberant
- joyously unrestrained and enthusiastic
Derided - imitated; to laugh at contemptuously; to subject to usually bitter or contemptuous ridicule

Immutable - not capable of or susceptible to change
Filigree - ornamental openwork of delicate or intricate design
Lugubrious - exaggeratedly or affectedly mournful
Capitulation -
a set of terms or articles constituting an agreement between governments; the act of surrendering or yielding
Prosaicalness -
dull; uninteresting; commonplace; prosy; as, a prosaic person
Exasperation - the act or an instance of exasperating; the state of being exasperated; frustrated annoyance
Ebbing - a period of decline or diminution; to fall away or back; decline or recede
Desultory - lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful; digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random
Fastidious - scornful; having high and often capricious standards : difficult to please
Prying -
insistently or impertinently curious or inquisitive; eager to investigate and learn or learn more
Poignantly - in a poignant or touching manner; profoundly moving; keenly distressing to the mind or feelings
Lurking - to lie in wait, as in ambush; to exist unobserved or unsuspected; to move furtively; sneak
Errant - roving, especially in search of adventure; straying from the proper course or standards
Averred - to affirm positively; declare
Covert - not openly practiced, avowed, engaged in, accumulated, or shown
Elusive - tending to elude capture, perception, comprehension, or memory; difficult to define or describe

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Personal reaction (Dead star)-frenzy azcarraga

-Frenzy Marie L. Azcarraga-

We are
assigned by our Phil. Lit. 1 professor to read the short story written by the pride of Filipino authors, Paz-Marquez Benitez's--the "Dead Star". It is a beautiful and a typical love story which is about the confusions on the relationship between the three characters--Alfredo, Esperanza and Julia.I found out that even you are engaged to your husband/wife-to-be for a long period,there are times that you must have to face some conflicts/ circumstances in your lives, as what happened to Alfredo,Esperanza. After I read the whole article, I realize that it is not easy to fall in love between two person, 'coz it is not easy also to choose and sacrifice between them.It is difficult also to be inlove to a person who you don't know the background of his/her life :).What I learned is that, when the time comes, you have to be careful to enter in this world of "love"
.

Reaction on Dead Stars

I read the story entitled Dead Stars by Paz Marquez Benitez because it was our first task in our Phil. Lit1 class. After reading the entire story, I can say that I liked it because it has given me a sort of advice. It also gave us some implications that we should not be expecting of too much and that time has the capability of changing things or life especially feelings as it pass by. We should be aware that people change, so, we must not always expect for something to happen. Today, a man loves a woman but maybe next week he may find another one because he doesn't love her anymore.. (^-^) (Jennyfer SJ. Nono)

Monday, June 29, 2009

Philippine Literary History: The Early Period - 1900 to 1930



On August 13, 1898, the American forces occupied Manila. A few years later, in April of 1900, President William McKinley directed the Philippine Commission to make English the official medium of instruction for all public schools. The first teachers of English were members of the United States Army. In August of 1901 six hundred American teachers arrived on the transport Thomas. They replaced the soldiers as teachers. In that year, 1901, the Philippine Normal School was founded. Its purpose was to train Filipino in the art of teaching so that they could eventually take charge of elementary education.

The students and the people in general learned English quickly. Even in 1899 there were English newspapers such as
The Courier, Insular Press, and Manila Freedom. In 1900 the Daily Bulletin was founded, while The Cablenews started in 1902. The Philippines Free Press began in 1905, edited by F. Theodore Rogers. At first it was a bilingual weekly in English and Spanish. In 1908 it published the first Filipino short stories in English.

In that same year, 1908, the University of the Philippines was founded. This school became the forerunner in the use of English for higher education. In October of 1910 the University of the Philippines'
College Folio was published. This magazine printed the works of the first promising writers in English. These early selections were mostly ghost stories or folk tales explaining natural phenomena. Often the authors taught a moral message which was evident even at a first reading.

Among the famous early teachers of English might be mentioned Professors Dean S. Fansler and his wife Harriott Ely Fansler, George Pope Shannon, Tom Inglis Moore, Harold P. Scott, and C. V. Wicker. In literature classes they taught the works of Chaucer, Milton, Donne, Shakespeare, Irving, Hawthorne, Emerson, Thoreau, Poe, Longfellow, Bryant, Harte, Holmes, Lowell, Shelley, Keats, Coleridge, Lamb, Joyce, Tennyson, Thackeray, Macaulay, and other famous writers.

For composition themes they encouraged the students to write about folk tales and their own experiences. In one college class of 1913 the students were asked to write speeches for these topics: The Building of a Modern Sanitary Market; A Speech at the First Banquet of the Philippine Normal School; An Appeal to the Moral Sense-Cockfighting; Primary Education in the Philippines; A Stump Speech before the People of a Certain Barrio; and The Unveiling of a Monument Dedicated to Apolinario Mabini; The student themes were carefully corrected and when a grammatical mistake was made students were required to write the corrected form five times. At the end of each theme, the student wrote a statement of originality testifying that "...this is my own original work." The skill and dedication of the early teachers was to produce rich results in the years to come.

At first Filipino writing in English was quite formal and imitative. Influences from the Spanish language could be seen in the use of Spanish expressions and in an ornate style. Grammatical expression was at times awkward and there was some difficulty in the use of prepositions and pronouns. But gradually the quality of writing improved. Between 1908 and 1914 some students at the University of the Philippines collected and retold, in English, old Filipino tales. These writings were gathered by Dean S. Fansler and published in
Filipino Popular Tales in 1921. In 1912 the graduates of the Manila High School published their English writings in The Coconut. The following year 1913, the Philippine Normal School introduced its publication, The Torch.

Aside from student publications, newspapers and magazines provided an early outlet for writers. In 1920 the
Philippines Herald began publication. It was founded by Manuel L. Quezon and its magazine section was edited by Paz Marquez Benitez. As distinguished writer herself, she helped to make familiar the names of Paz Latorena, Loreto Paras, Jose Garcia Villa, Casiano T. Calalang, and others. In 1924 A.V.H. Hartendorp became the editor of the Philippine Educator Magazine. Some four year later, he widened its content and renamed it the Philippine Magazine. The high quality of this magazine made it so popular that it became the most influential literary magazine in the country. It published some of the best Filipino writing in English.

Filipino writers received further encouragement in 1925. In that year The
Free Press began paying for original manuscripts and offered P1,000 for the best stories. The Manila Tribune was founded and, along with the Graphic, the Woman's Outlook, the Woman's Home Journal, and the Philippine Collegian, offered further incentives to promising writers. Also in 1925 the Philippine Writers Association was organized with Rizal G. Adorable as president. Among the early members were: Paz Latorena, Loreto Paras, Jose Garcia Villa, Jose Panganiban, Remedios Mijares, Mercedes Grau, Clemencia Joven, Casiano Calalang, Jose Dayrit, Sol H. Gwekoh, Arturo B. Rotor, D. H. Soriano, and Augusto C. Catanjal.

Perhaps an even more influential group was the Writer's Club founded in 1927 at the University of the Philippines. This group published
Literary Apprentice which became the leading college literary publication in the country. The Writer's Club stimulated and encouraged an artistic consciousness among the literary circles of the Philippines.

The first thirty years of Philippine Literature in English produced little in the fields of drama and the novel. Drama was hardly written because vernacular plays and the zarzuela still dominated the stage. The first Filipino novel in English was
A Child of Sorrow, written by Zoilo M. Galang in 1921. He later wrote Visions of a Sower in 1924 and Nadia in 1929. Another novelist of this period was Ernest Lopez who published His Awakening in 1929.

From 1900 to 1930 there was some significant writing of essays, short stories, and poems. In the following paragraphs the development of these forms will be treated in more detail.

Essays. The essay was a popular form of expression for the early writers. Some essays were light or humorous, while others dealt with more serious subjects such as education, history, politics, and social problems. As early as 1926 essayists expressed the need for a literature that was native and national. Many essays first appeared as newspaper columns and later they were published in anthologies. In 1921 Zoilo M. Galang published Life and Success, the first volume of essays in English. Another collection of Filipino essays appeared in 1924, entitled Thinking for Ourselves, edited by Vicente M. Hilario and Eliseo Quirino. In that year Zoilo M. Galang also published another book of essays, Master of Destiny. Among the early essay writers might be mentioned F. M. Africa, Francisco Benitez, Jorge Bocobo, Amador Daguio, Leandro Fernandez, Zoilo M. Galang, Fernando Ma. Guererro, M. M. Kalaw, Pedro de la Llana, I. V. Mallari, Ignacio Manlapaz, Fernando Maramag, Camilo Osias, Claro M. Recto, Carlos P. Romulo, and Eulogio B. Rodriguez.

Short Stories. Virginia R. Moreno has described the literary years 1910-1924 as "...a period of novices with their experiences both in fiction-making and the use of the new language; 1925 to 1931 was the period of the phenomenal growth among the practitioners in the art." It is true that the early short stories were the work of novices. The tales were often romantic and the adventures, themes, and plots were sometimes imitated. There were difficulties in grammar and at times there was a tendency toward sentimentalism. But gradually, certain writers appeared who showed that the novitiate period was ending. Jorge Bocobo's "Horrible Adventure" in the Philippine Review for May 1916, and Paz Marquez Benitez's "The Siren of 34 Real" in the Philippine Review for July, 1917 were praised by critics for their high literary quality. On September 20, 1925 The Philippines Herald published "Dead Stars" by Paz Marquez Benitez. This story was quickly recognized as one of the best short stories yet written by a Filipino.

In 1925 Zoilo M. Galang published the first collection of short stories in book form under the title
Box of Ashes and Other Stories. Beginning with 1926, Jose Garcia Villa encouraged writers with his yearly selection of the best Filipino short stories. In 1927 the first anthology of Filipino short stories was edited by Paz Marquez Benitez. It was entitled Filipino Love Stories. In that same year, Jose Villa Panganiban published The Stealer of Hearts and Other Stories. In 1928 the best short stories were compiled by Jose Garcia Villa in Philippine Short Stories: The Best 25 Stories of 1928.

By 1930 original and significant stories were being written. "Zita," written by Arturo B. Rotor around 1930, has been called "...one of the finest love stories in Filipino Literature in English." Among the early short story writers were: Paz Marquez Benitez, Jorge Bocobo, Amador T. Daguio, Pilar Hidalgo Lim, Paz Latorena, Tarcila Malabanan, Jose Villa Panganiban, Arturo B. Rotor, Loreto Paras Sulit, L. B. Uichangco, and Jose Garcia Villa.

Poems. The first known Filipino poem in English is "Sursum Corda," by Justo Juliano. It appeared in the Philippines Free Press in 1907. This poem, along with others of that period, has been criticized as being too artificial and overwritten in order to achieve intensity. The early poems often borrowed images and similes from English or American poets. The first collection of poems in book form was Reminiscences, by Lorenzo Paredes, in 1921. In 1922 Procopio Solidum published Never Mind, a collection of Filipino poetry in English. Rodolfo Dato edited an anthology of Filipino poems in 1924 under the title Filipino Poetry. In 1926 he published his own poems in Manila.

Most critics agree that Marcelo de Gracia Concepcion was a leading poet of the early period. His
Azucena was published in New York in 1925. His poems reveal simple images with deep sensitivity and original thought. Some poets who belonged to the early period of Philippine Literature were: Aurelio S. Alvero, Marcelo de Gracia Concepcion, Rafael Zulueta da Costa, Luis Dato, Vicente L. del Fierro, Virgilio Floresca, Angela Manalang Gloria, Jose M. Hernandez, A. E. Litiatco, Fernando M. Maramag, Natividad Marquez, Conrado B. Rigor, Juan F. Salazar, Abelardo Subido, Trinidad Tarrosa Subido, Francisco G. Tonogbanua, L.B. Uichangco, and Jose Garcia Villa.