Antonio K.
Abad
Akasia
Jose Abreu
Kaibigan
Macario Adriatico
Amaori, C. Amabri and Felipe Malayo
Faustino Aguilar
Sinag-Ina
Emilio Aguinaldo
Magdalo
Virgilio Almario
Rio Alma
Pascual Alvarez
Bagongbuhay
Aurelio Alvero
Magtanggul Asa
Cecilio Apostol
Catulo, Calipso and Calypso
Francisco Arcellana
Franz Arcellana
Pedro de Govantes de Azcarraga
Conde de Albay
Francisco dela Cruz Balagtas
Francisco Baltazar
Asuncion Lopez Bantug (Rizal’s grand niece)
Apo ni Dimas
Jose Ma. Basa
Isaac Fernando delos Rios
Bautista
Ba Basiong
Gen. Vito Belarmino
Blind Veteran
Andres Bonifacio
Agapito Bagumbayan, while his inspiring Katipunan name was Maypagasa
Felipe Calderon
Simoun and Elias (names from Rizal’s novels)
José Corazón de Jesús
Huseng Batute
Jose dela Cruz
Huseng Sisiw
Marcelo H. Del Pilar
Plaridel, Dolores Manapat, Piping Dilat, Siling
Labuyo, Kupang, Haitalaga, Patos, Carmelo, D.A. Murgas, L.O. Crame D.M. Calero, Hilario,
and M. Dati.
Severino de las Alas
Di-kilala
Epifanio delos Santos
G. Solon
Valeriano Hernandez Peña
Ahas na Tulog, Anong, Damulag, Dating Alba, Isang Dukha, Kalampag and Kintin Kulirat
Severino Reyes
Lola Basyang
Mariano del Rosario
Tito-Tato
Salvador Vivencio del Rosario
X and Juan Tagalo
Domingo Gomez
Romero Franco
Nestor Vicente Madali Gonzalez
N.V.M. Gonzalez
Fernando Ma. Guerrero
Fluvio Gil
Amado Hernandez
Amante Ernani, Herininia de la Riva and Julio Abril
Emilio Jacinto
Dimas-ilaw and his Katipunan name was Pingkian
Nick Joaquin
Quijano de Manila
Jesus Lava
B. Ambrosio Rianzares
Sixto Lopez
Batulaw
Gen. Antonio Luna
Taga-Ilog
Juan Luna
J.B. and Buan (a translation of his surname Luna which means moon)
Apolinario Mabini
Bini and Paralitico
Jose Palma
Ana-haw, Esteban Estebanes and Gan Hantik
Rafael Palma
Hapon and Dapit-Hapon
Jose Maria Panganiban
Jomapa and J.M.P.
Pascual H. Poblete
Anak-Bayan
Mariano Ponce
Naning, Tikbalang, and Kalipulako
Dr. José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda
José Rizal, Dimas-alang (Tagalog for Touch me not), Laong-Laan (which means Ever-
prepared), Agno and Calambeño
Hugo Salazar
Ambut
Moises Salvador
Araw
Jose Turiano Santiago
Tiktik
Lope K. Santos
Anak-Bayan and Doctor Lukas
Juan Crisostomo Soto
Crissot
Luis Taruc
Alipato (which means spark that spreads a fireand one of Rizal’s pet dogs)
Jose Ma. Sison
Amado Guerrero
Dr. Pio Valenzuela
Madlang-Away
Clemente Jose Zulueta
M. Kaun
J. Zulueta
Juan Totoó
U. S. Colonialism
1898 - 1945
Philippine literature during the American rule was influenced by two factors, first of which
is, education. With the Americans providing free education, many were given the chance to
study and English was used as the language of instruction. Unlike the Spanish, the
foreigners were willing to teach their language to the Filipinos. Free education served as
the stepping stone for others to improve their social status.
Early literary works in English showed styles of which is American. It can also be seen that
writers who just started learning English cannot fully showcase their talent because of the
lack of mastery of the language.
The downfall of the Spanish colonialism freed the printing industry from religious
censorship. With the printing industry in the hands of patriotic investors, the printing
press was used to block the American culture from entering the Philippine lifestyle.
Newspapers in our different dialects flourished all over the archipelago. With some
newspapers having a space for literary pieces, writers were given the chance to show and
prove the true talent of the Filipinos. Some of these newspapers were Muling Pagsilang
(1903, Tagalog), Ang Kaluwasan (1902, Cebuano), Makinaugalingon (1913, Ilonggo), and
Nueva Era (1908, Ilokano). The best known magazines that capitalized on short stories and
poems were Liwayway (1922, Tagalog), Bisaya (1930, Cebuano), Hiligaynon (1934,
Ilonggo), and Bannawag (1934, Ilokano).
Writers during the American Period drew ideas from the Propaganda Movement and the
Revolutionary Movement to encourage the Filipinos to continue to fight against the U.S.
Colonialism. The demand for independence was supported by a campaign to make the
Americans aware of the Filipino culture. Some writers who use the Spanish language began
to shift to the American language for the fact that a larger population can now comprehend
the said language. It is a fact that Filipinos during the Spanish period were not given the
chance to learn the language, resulting in a very small population of people capable of
understanding the literary works.
The literary genres that flourished during the American Period were poetry, sarswela,
short story, and the novel. Poetry was written in the three languages - Filipino, Spanish,
English, and in the different dialects. Some of the known poets during the American period
were Maximo Kalaw, Carlos P. Romulo, Maria Agoncillo, Paz Marquez Benitez, Salvador
P. Lopez, Jose Garcia Villa, Carlos Bulosan, and many others. There were three collection
of poems printed namely Filipino Poetry edited by Rodolfo Dato, The English German
Anthology of Poets edited by Pablo Laslo, and a pre-war collection by Carlos Bulosan. The
balagtasan, named after Francisco F. Balagtas, is a debate in verse, a poetical joust done
almost spontaneously between protagonists who debate over the pros and the cons of a
certain issue. The first ever balagtasan was held in March 1924 at the Insituto de Mujeres,
with Corazon de Jesus and Florentino Collantes as rivals. Jose Corazon de Jesus, known
also as Huseng Batute, became the first ever king of the Balagtasan.
Short stories in English of early Filipino fictionists are marked with American style. This
all changed with the founding of the U. P. Writers Club in 1926 whose aim was to enhance
and propagate the "language of Shakespeare." With the publication of Paz Marquez
Benitez' "Dead Stars," it was made the landmark of the maturity of the Filipino writer in
English. Many writers followed Benitez like Icasiano Calalang, Arturo Rotor, A. E.
Litiatco, Paz Latorena, and Manuel Arguilla started publishing stories manifesting skills in
the use of the foreign language and a keen Filipino sensibility.
The combination of the foreign language and the culture of a Filipino enabled fictionists to
produce great literary works. The public can now relate to the story because the public also
experiences what the story has to say and they can now understand the language being
used by the writer. Works like "His Native Soil" by Juan C. Laya, "How My Brother Leon
Brought Home a Wife" by Manuel Arguilla, and many others depicted the Filipino life in
English. The other novelists of this period are Jose Garcia Villa, Francisco Arellana,
Fernando Maria Guerrero, Amador Daguio, and Sinai Hamada.
With the founding of the Philippine Writers League in 1936, Filipino writers began
discussing the value of literature in the society they live in. This move was led by Salvador
P. Lopez whose works centered on proletarian literature.
It was during the early American period that the sarswela gained popularity. Most of the
sarwelas if not all are directed against the American imperialists. The works of Severino
Reyes ("Walang Sugat") and Patricio Mariano ("Anak ng Dagat") are equally remarkable
sarwelas during the period. Here are the other noted sarswelistas: Aurelio Tolentino, Juan
Abad, Juan Matapang Cruz, and Juan Crisostomo Sotto.
Among the Ilokano writers, noted novelists were Leon Pichay, Hermogenes Belen, and
Mena Pecson Crisologo whose Mining wenno Ayat ti Kararwa is considered to be the
Ilokano version of Noli Me Tangere. Magdalena Jalandoni and Ramon Muzones are the
most prominent writers in the Visayas region. Their works depicted love, farm life, and the
social life the region is having.
The latter stages of the American period continued to produce great poets like Julian Cruz
Blamaceda, Florentino Collantes, Pedro Gatmaitan, Jose Corazon de Jesus, Lope K.
Santos, Alejandro Abadilla, Teodoro Agoncillo, and Inigo Ed. Regalado. They used a
modern style of poetry that is made up of free verse.
Liwayway Arceo and Genoveva Edroza Matute are two fictionist writers that became
popular during the American rule. Their works "Uhaw ang Tigang na Lupa" and "Ako'y
Isang Tinig" respectively are used as models for fine writing. Both writers use a style of
storytelling that uses language through poignant rendition. Teodoro Agoncillo's "25
Pinakamahusay na Maikling Kuwento" included the foremost writers of fiction before
World War II.
