† LITERATURE †


Topic: Filipino Literature
By Kim Valerie Francisco



Talking about Philippine Literature is ambitious, even impudent for someone who have only read two native books; one of which was given as a gift, the other, an academic requirement.

“Soo.. are you telling me you can’t do this?” I would probably mock myself if not for the sudden flashback of the horror-comedy film, Aswang, co-starred by Manilyn Reynes and Aiza Seguerra.

If Philippine Literature is irrefutably enriched by the natives’ heart-felt poems and poetry, it is the mythical creatures, however, that inspires thrill and gives the timely literature a kick.

The Aswang is probably the most popular of the evil mythical creatures of Philippine literature. Theoretically speaking, Aswang is the Philippine version of ghoul – creatures that steals cadavers and eats it. But in the country, Aswang is more of a general term applied to * balbals, manananggals, monsters, shapeshifters, and unglus.

*(taken from wikipedia.org and wikipilipinas.org)

balbal - a kind of witch that feeds on pregnant women, using its literally sharp reddish eyes to penetrate wombs. (Cyclops and the Powerpuff girls?)

mananaggal – self-segmenting vampires with huge bat wings and has snake like tongue that stealthily sucks blood, fetus, and organs

monster – any of those flesh eaters that cannot be classified in the other groups
kubot – a bat-like creature that resembles an umbrella with its huge, wide wings. It catches its victim by its claws and takes it home to be butchered.
mansusopsop – a ghoul that preys on pregnant women. Like the tik-tik, it hovers over the rooftop and seek any opening for its long, thread-like tongue to pass through until it reaches the stomach of its victim. It then sucks out all the blood, including the fetus, until the victim is lifeless.
sigbin – a kangaroo-like creature which has a wide mouth with large fangs. Some say that this is another form of the aswang, while there are other claims which identify it as the companion of the tik-tik. It kills people with its deadly sneeze.
tik-tik – a huge bird that flies at night. The tik-tik looks for a sleeping person. When it finds one, it extend its very long proboscis into the unsuspecting victim and proceeds to suck the blood.
wak-wak – a bird-like creature that comes out at night looking for its victim.
shapeshifter –can transform into other forms, and the local version of this eats human flesh (lycanthrope, Angel Locsin)
unglu – vampire

It is still unknown whether aswang is a myth fabricated to keep women and children from going out late or if it is a fact yet unproven because supposed witnesses are already eaten.

Anyway there is a mother who had this instance occurred when she was about 7mos. pregnant of her first kid:

Setting – the two were on the bed (they’re about to sleep)
M: Daddy may naririnig ako
D: Ano yun?
M: May tik-tik
D: Nako! Isara mo na yung mga bintana!


Well the man is an outright coward
But who can blame him when there’s some super being out there, or perhaps they assumed.



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Any Woman Speaks
(By A.M. Gloria)
Analysis by Marielle Jo Medina

Half of the world's true glamour
Is held--you know by whom?
Not by the gilt Four Hundred
Parading in perfume,


Nor by the silvered meteors
That light the celluloid sky--
But by these eyes that called you,
Blind fool who passed me by!


• Angela Manalang Gloria is a lyric poet, a pianist and an editor.

I found this poem while searching for poetry in the internet. I liked the poem, because it was very honest and feminine. From what I have read about Mrs. Gloria, she used to be idealistic when she was young. She became a realist when she was able to learn that life is not all ups but most of the time downs.

I think the poem “Any Woman Speaks” touches the topic of inner beauty for women. The true beauty that can’t be measured by wealth or grace, but only if learned to be appreciated. The poem may mean “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” But this is just my interpretation…

“These eyes that called you,” mean these eyes that can own the “world’s true glamour.” But the blind fool who passed by would never answer the question anymore.

The poems of Angela Manalang Gloria essentially carry the voice of her desires and moods. as a practical woman, the poem “Any Woman Speaks” may reflect some of her beliefs and part of her tragedies.

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everyw(her)e
(By Angelo V. Suarez)
Analysis by Marielle Jo Medina

partly it’s because she reminds you
of an old lover, the way she stares blankly
into space, chin up & eyes in stasis
as if searching for a lost molecule of air,
a missing memory, a misplaced scene
in the vault of her head that keeps
playing itself in the cycle of a dream.


but you just can’t help but look at her,
reminding yourself she is a different woman
she is a different woman she is
a different woman…


and how different she is, really--
this you can tell by her height alone,
the length of her hair, how her back
arches like the body of bamboo.
but does it even matter now?


you close your eyes & imagine
your old lover sprawled on the sofa,
looking as if she fell from the sky,
sleeping--and how long has it been?
when was the last time you watched her sleep?
when was the last time she held you?
you open your eyes but the image
doesn’t change: your old lover,
still lost in a dream.

you rush to the restroom to wash your face
and look at yourself in the mirror.
it’s just stress, you whisper to no one--
but it isn’t. it’s not even your face.
you touch your brow but the fingers
you raise are hers. the air you breathe
passes through her mouth, her nostrils.
it’s her hair you comb with her own two hands--


and you close your eyes again,
conjuring yourself on a street
where all the passersby are her.
the boy riding a bike is her.
the man with the messy mustache is her.
she is the woman vending icons,
the manang on her way to church,
the bus conductor shouting ayala! ayala!


she is every person you have shaken
hands with, every streetchild you’ve ignored,
as now she is the woman whose back
arches like the body of bamboo,
eyes in stasis, chin up & cheeks
of saxophone tones,


she whose face you taste each time
you press a grape into your mouth,
whose eyes your eyes have never met
but always known to be true, whose waist
and weight are yggdrasil brahman
the unbroken totality of the universe--


and instantly you want her,
knowing well enough
there isn’t any difference really:


that she is you and you are her
as both of you are everyone else,


waiting only to love yourselves

because there is no one else to love.



• this poem entitled “Everyw(her)e” by Angelo V. Suarez was part of his collection that won third prize for poetry in the 2004 Palance Awards. I first read the poem when I bought his first collection entitled “The Nymph of MTV”. The poem chronicles the feelings of a man missing his partner, a love that he lost. Everywhere he looks, he keeps seeing her. The poem tells the story of a relationship that had shared everything. Now that it has ended already, he cannot erase the memories anymore. Everything in his life had been related or associated with the girl.

The poem seemed typical in my interpretation, but Angelo Suarez has a talent of weaving words to tell the story and to express emotion. The way he compared the past lover to the girl he is now with is tragic. The poem is really meaningful for me, as it caters to either hopeless romantics or passive individuals.

The poem talks about the regret, but not in a straightforward way. It is tangled with the pain of uncertainty, of imagining something that cannot happen anymore.

The poem touches the feeling of not being complete anymore after meeting a person who made you feel you are missing something before she came. This feeling is hard to express in poetry, but Angelo Suarez effectively delivered.

He is one great poet!

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Panagimpan
(Vic P. Yambao)
Analysis by Camille Ross Parpan

Sambayanang nahihimbing sa dilim nang kamangmangan,
Nangangarap sa isang bukas na puro kasinungalingan.
Habang ikaw ay naghihilik ang mga anak mo ay lumilisan,
Sa paghabi nang panaginip ay alipin sa ibang bayan.

Kailan ka magigising sa iyong kahibangan?
Na ang timbulan sa lusak ay haring mayabang.
Ang kanyang karangyaan ang hukay sa libingan.
Kapag ang mga timawa ay lunod na sa putikan.

Kailangan bang ugain ang iyong punong nakaratay,
Upang isilang mo ang makatarungang kabuhayan?
At kung din a masungkit ang bung among kayamanan,
Isang bayan nang mga ulila ang iyong magiging bukas.

Kung dugo na ang mga agos nang batis at kailugan,
At mga libingan na lamang ang mga tumana’t parang
Kung ang tunog nang habagat ay nagging punebre’t palahaw
Sa bangungot magmumulat ang mga swapang ng lipunan.

Analysis:
Contemporary artists like Vic Yambao manage to infuse in their art matters of political and social experiences, and this poem proves exactly that. The poem is addressed to the Filipino people with the hope of awakening a sleeping nation. And I think that the author is also talking to the politicians as though warning them of what may happen when the people awake from their deep slumber.

The voice and tone of the poem seems to be coming from that of a forceful and violent source. The number of syllables brings about a particular effect when reading the poem aloud, as though it was intended for a specific rhythm and manner of being read.

Unlike some poets, this particular artist did not pay too much attention in form, or with the way the words has been placed. In this case it seems, form follows function as the visual presentation of the poem is very ordinary, thereby leaving the need for interpreting its visual feature. But no matter, the glaring content of this poem is enough for Filipinos (and non-Filipinos) to appreciate this poem. ++++++++++++++++++++

Filipino postmodernists
By Karla Eliza Verzonilla

Bob Ong

No one knows who he really is. The name “Bob Ong” is actually, only a pseudo name. His real identity is known only to a few and is kept hidden even by his publisher. People have become more intrigued with his works and his identity, due to his . His postmodern writing has very much appealed to us Filipinos, especially the youth. Bob Ong’s books are very popular among the youth. He has started a website called Bobong Pinoy that even received a People’s Choice Philippine Web Award for Weird/Humor in 1998.

He has written five books – “ABNKKBSNPLAKO?,” “BAKIT BALIKTAD MAGBASA NG LIBRO ANG MGA PILIPINO,” “ALAMAT NG GUBAT,” “STAINLESS LANGGONISA,” and “ANG PABORITONG AKLAT NI HUDAS.”

I’m a great fan of Bob Ong. Though I’ve only read two of his books, (“ANG PABORITONG AKLAT NI HUDAS,” and “BAKIT BALIKTAD MAGBASA NG LIBRO ANG MGA PILIPINO,”) I’ve immediately become a fan of his.

I really like the book, “ABNKKBSNPLAKO?” because I was able to relate to the story. It was a really inspiring story. As a college student, I have felt and experienced some of the challenges and tough times that he also had in college.

Bob Ong is also very playful with words. His terminologies and phrases are not hard to understand, but are still very eloquent.

His books are humorous but will really make you think at the same time.

Eros Atalia

Aside from being my favorite professor, he is also one of the writers that I really look up to. I really love his book entitled, Manwal ng mga Napapagal(Manwal ng Pagpapakamatay). It’s a book on how to kill yourself at the same time, blaming others for your death.

He is a Filipino professor at the Faculty of Arts and Letters of the University of Santo Tomas. He has won countless awards for his works.

His works are really impressive. Some writers focus on fashion. Many others focus on romance and sci-fi fiction stories. Well, not Eros. He takes the road not usually taken. Like the two writers that I’ve mentioned earlier, he focuses on serious social issues – poverty, third sex relationships, death, and the extraordinary.

He really reminds me of Bob Ong.