Philippine National Artists

Canonical authors and

in literature works
She is a poet, fictionist, teacher and literary critic. She is one of the

Edith L. Tiempo
finest Filipino writers in English whose works are characterized by a

remarkable fusion of style and substance, of craftsmanship and insight.

Born on April 22, 1919 in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, her poems are

intricate verbal transfigurations of significant experiences as revealed,

in two of her much anthologized pieces, “The Little Marmoset” and

“Bonsai”. As fictionist, Tiempo is as morally profound. Her language

has been marked as “descriptive but unburdened by scrupulous

detailing.” She is an influential tradition in Philippine literature in

English. Together with her late husband, Edilberto K. Tiempo, she

founded and directed the Silliman National Writers Workshop in

 Published works
Tiempo’s published works include the novel A Blade of

Fern (1978), The Native Coast (1979), and The Alien

Corn (1992); the poetry collections, The Tracks of

Babylon and Other Poems (1966), and The Charmer’s

Box and Other Poems(1993); and the short story

collection Abide, Joshua, and Other Stories (1964).

Bienvenido Lumbera, is a poet, librettist, and

B. Lumbera
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

Nestor Vicente Madali Gonzalez, better known as N.V.M.

NVM Gonzalez
Gonzalez, fictionist, essayist, poet, and teacher, articulated the

Filipino spirit in rural, urban landscapes. Among the many

recognitions, he won the First Commonwealth Literary Contest

in 1940, received the Republic Cultural Heritage Award in 1960

and the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining in 1990. The awards attest to

his triumph in appropriating the English language to express,

reflect and shape Philippine culture and Philippine sensibility.

He became U.P.’s International-Writer-In-Residence and a

member of the Board of Advisers of the U.P. Creative Writing

 Works
Major works of N.V.M Gonzalez include the following: The

Winds of April, Seven Hills Away, Children of the Ash-

Covered Loam and Other Stories, The Bamboo Dancers,

Look Stranger, on this Island Now, Mindoro and Beyond:

Twenty -One Stories, The Bread of Salt and Other

Stories, Work on the Mountain, The Novel of Justice:

Selected Essays 1968-1994, A Grammar of Dreams and

Other Stories.
Virgilio S. Almario, also known as Rio Alma, is a poet, literary historian and
V.S. Almario
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. In these works, his poetic voice soared

from the lyrical to the satirical to the epic, from the dramatic to the

incantatory, in his often severe examination of the self, and the society.

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

Many Filipino writers have come under his wing in the literary workshops

V.S. Almario
he founded –the Galian sa Arte at Tula (GAT) and the Linangan sa

Imahen, Retorika at Anyo (LIRA). He has also long been involved with

children’s literature through the Aklat Adarna series, published by his

Children’s Communication Center. He has been a constant presence as

well in national writing workshops and galvanizes member writers as

chairman emeritus of the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL).

He headed the National Commission for Culture and the Arts as Executive

Director, (from 1998 to 2001) ably steering the Commission towards its

goals.

But more than anything else, what Almario accomplished was that he put
Cirilo F. Bautista is a poet, fictionist and essayist with
C.F. Bautista
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.

Throughout his career that spans more than four decades,

he has established a reputation for fine and profound

artistry; his books, lectures, poetry readings and creative

writing workshops continue to influence his peers and

As a way of bringing poetry and fiction closer to the people who
C.F. Bautista
otherwise would not have the opportunity to develop their creative

talent, Bautista has been holding regular funded and unfunded

workshops throughout the country. In his campus lecture circuits,

Bautista has updated students and student-writers on literary

developments and techniques.

As a teacher of literature, Bautista has 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
Thus, Bautista continues to contribute to the development
Works
of Philippine literature: as a writer, through his significant

body of works; as a teacher, through his discovery and

encouragement of young writers in workshops and lectures;

and as a critic, through his essays that provide insights into

the craft of writing and correctives to misconceptions

about art.

Major works: Summer Suns (1963), Words and Battlefields

(1998), The Trilogy of Saint Lazarus (2001), Galaw ng

Nick Joaquin, is regarded by many as the most distinguished Filipino writer in

N. Joaquin
English writing so variedly and so well about so many aspects of the Filipino. Nick

Joaquin has also enriched the English language with critics coining “Joaquinesque”

to describe his baroque Spanish-flavored English or his reinventions of English

based on Filipinisms. Aside from his handling of language, Bienvenido Lumbera

writes that Nick Joaquin’s significance in Philippine literature involves his

exploration of the Philippine colonial past under Spain and his probing into the

psychology of social changes as seen by the young, as exemplified in stories such

as Doña Jeronima, Candido’s Apocalypse and The Order of Melchizedek. Nick

Joaquin has written plays, novels, poems, short stories and essays including

reportage and journalism. As a journalist, Nick Joaquin uses the nome de

guerre Quijano de Manila but whether he is writing literature or journalism, fellow

 Works
Among his voluminous works are The Woman Who Had

Two Navels, A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino, Manila,

My Manila: A History for the Young, The Ballad of the

Five Battles, Rizal in Saga, Almanac for Manileños, Cave

and Shadows.

Nick Joaquin died April 29, 2004.

F. Sionil Jose’s writings since the late 60s, when taken collectively
F. Sionil Jose
can best be described as epic. Its sheer volume puts him on the

forefront of Philippine writing in English. But ultimately, it is the

consistent espousal of the aspirations of the Filipino–for national

sovereignty and social justice–that guarantees the value of his oeuvre.

In the five-novel masterpiece, the Rosales saga, consisting of The

Pretenders, Tree, My Brother, My Executioner, Mass, and Po-on, he

captures the sweep of Philippine history while simultaneously

narrating the lives of generations of the Samsons whose personal lives

intertwine with the social struggles of the nation. Because of their

 F. Sionil Jose
F. Sionil Jose is also a publisher, lecturer on cultural issues,

and the founder of the Philippine chapter of the

international organization PEN. He was bestowed the CCP

Centennial Honors for the Arts in 1999; the Outstanding

Fulbrighters Award for Literature in 1988; and the Ramon

Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative

Communication Arts in 1980.

Amado V. Hernandez, poet, playwright, and novelist, is among
A.V. Hernandez
the Filipino writers who practiced “committed art”. In his view,

the function of the writer is to act as the conscience of society

and to affirm the greatness of the human spirit in the face of

inequity and oppression. Hernandez’s contribution to the

development of Tagalog prose is considerable — he stripped

Tagalog of its ornate character and wrote in prose closer to the

colloquial than the “official” style permitted. His novel Mga

Ibong Mandaragit, first written by Hernandez while in prison, is

the first Filipino socio-political novel that exposes the ills of the
 A.V. Hernandez
Hernandez’s other works include Bayang Malaya, Isang

Dipang Langit, Luha ng Buwaya, Amado V. Hernandez:

Tudla at Tudling: Katipunan ng mga Nalathalang Tula

1921-1970, Langaw sa Isang Basong Gatas at Iba Pang

Kuwento ni Amado V. Hernandez, Magkabilang Mukha ng

Isang Bagol at Iba Pang Akda ni Amado V. Hernandez.

Prize-winning writer Lazaro A. Francisco developed the social realist tradition in
L. Francisco
Philippine fiction. His eleven novels, now acknowledged classics of Philippine

literature, embodies the author’s commitment to nationalism. Amadis Ma.

Guerrero wrote, “Francisco championed the cause of the common man, specifically

the oppressed peasants. His novels exposed the evils of the tenancy system, the

exploitation of farmers by unscrupulous landlords, and foreign domination.”

Teodoro Valencia also observed, “His pen dignifies the Filipino and accents all the

positives about the Filipino way of life. His writings have contributed much to the

formation of a Filipino nationalism.” Literary historian and critic Bienvenido

Lumbera also wrote, “When the history of the Filipino novel is written, Francisco is

likely to occupy an eminent place in it. Already in Tagalog literature, he ranks

among the finest novelists since the beginning of the 20th century. In addition to a
 L. Francisco
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)

 L. Francisco
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. In 1997, he was honored

by the University of the Philippines with a special convocation,

where he was cited as the “foremost Filipino novelist of his

generation” and “champion of the Filipino writer’s struggle for

“You cannot be a great writer; first, you have to be a good
A. Roces
person”

Alejandro Roces, is a short story writer and essayist, and

considered as the country’s best writer of comic short

stories. He is known for his widely anthologized “My

Brother’s Peculiar Chicken.” In his innumerable newspaper

columns, he has always focused on the neglected aspects of

the Filipino cultural heritage. His works have been

published in various international magazines and has

 A. Roces
Ever the champion of Filipino culture, Roces brought to

public attention 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

 A. Roces
His unflinching love of country led him to become a guerilla

during the Second World War, to defy martial law and to

found the major opposition party under the dictatorship.

His works have been published in various international

magazines and received numerous national and

international awards, including several decorations from

various governments.
Carlos P. Romulo‘s multifaceted career spanned 50 years of public

C. P. Romulo
service as educator, soldier, university president, journalist and

diplomat. It is common knowledge that he was the first Asian president

of the United Nations General Assembly, then Philippine Ambassador to

Washington, D.C., and later minister of foreign affairs. Essentially

though, Romulo was very much into writing: he was a reporter at 16, a

newspaper editor by the age of 20, and a publisher at 32. He was the

only Asian to win America’s coveted Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for a

series of articles predicting the outbreak of World War II. Romulo, in

all, wrote and published 18 books, a range of literary works which

included The United (novel), I Walked with Heroes (autobiography), I

 C.P. Romulo

His other books include his memoirs of his many years’

affiliations with United Nations (UN), Forty Years: A Third

World Soldier at the UN, and The Philippine Presidents,

his oral history of his experiences serving all the Philippine

presidents.
Jose Garcia Villa is considered as one of the finest contemporary
J.G. Villa
poets regardless of race or language. Villa, who lived in Singalong,

Manila, introduced the reversed consonance rime scheme, including

the comma poems that made full use of the punctuation mark in an

innovative, poetic way. The first of his poems “Have Come, Am Here”

received critical recognition when it appeared in New York in 1942

that, soon enough, honors and fellowships were heaped on him:

Guggenheim, Bollingen, the American Academy of Arts and Letters

Awards. He used Doveglion (Dove, Eagle, Lion) as penname, the very

characters he attributed to himself, and the same ones explored by

 J.G. Villa
Villa’s works have been collected into the following books:

Footnote to Youth,Many Voices, Poems by Doveglion,

Poems 55, Poems in Praise of Love: The Best Love Poems

of Jose Garcia Villa as Chosen By Himself, Selected

Stories,The Portable Villa, The Essential Villa, Mir-i-nisa,

Storymasters 3: Selected Stories from Footnote to Youth,

55 Poems: Selected and Translated into Tagalog by

Hilario S. Francia.
Rolando S. Tinio, playwright, thespian, poet, teacher, critic and
R.S. Tinio
translator, 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. Subsequently, after staging

productions for the Ateneo Experimental Theater (its organizer and

administrator as well), he took on Teatro Pilipino. It was to Teatro

Pilipino which 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

 R.S. Tinio
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.
Francisco Arcellana, writer, poet, essayist, critic, journalist and
F. Arcellana
teacher, is 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),

 F. Arcellana
Some of his short stories are Frankie, The Man Who Would

Be Poe, Death in a Factory, Lina, A Clown Remembers,

Divided by Two, The Mats, and his poems being The Other

Woman, This Being the Third Poem This Poem is for

Mathilda, To Touch You and I Touched Her, among

others.
Levi Celerio is a prolific lyricist and composer for decades.
L. Celerio
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

 L. Celerio
A great number of his songs have been written for the local

movies, which earned for him the Lifetime Achievement

Award from the Film Academy of the Philippines. Levi

Celerio, more importantly, has enriched the Philippine

music for no less than two generations with a treasury of

more than 4,000 songs in an idiom that has proven to

appeal to all social classes.

Carlos Quirino, biographer, has the distinction of having written
C. Quirino
one of the earliest biographies of Jose Rizal titled The Great

Malayan. Quirino’s books and articles span the whole gamut of

Philippine history and culture–from Bonifacio’s trial to

Aguinaldo’s biography, from Philippine cartography to culinary

arts, from cash crops to tycoons and president’s lives, among so

many subjects. In 1997, Pres. Fidel Ramos created historical

literature as a new category in the National Artist Awards and

Quirino was its first recipient. He made a record earlier on when

he became the very first Filipino correspondent for the United

 C. Quirino
His book Maps and Views of Old Manila is considered as the

best book on the subject. His other books include Quezon,

Man of Destiny, Magsaysay of the Philippines, Lives of

the Philippine Presidents, Philippine Cartography, The

History of Philippine Sugar Industry, Filipino Heritage:

The Making of a Nation, Filipinos at War: The Fight for

Freedom from Mactan to EDSA.