SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

21st Century Literature: Philippines and the World

Module 1
Lesson 1: Of Poems and Poets
Poets play a very good role in expanding literature and making it a fun and interesting way to learn history as well. Here are list of poets and their
works.
I. Reverent Isidiro Dino, a bikol-based writer, is a prolific writer who was cited as Poet Laureate by the United Poets International. In 1941,
he produced a book entitled My Lyre, which contains 101 poems. The following are three of his short lyric poems which are included in
the Bikol literary works cited in Realubit’s book, Bikols of the Philippines, in 1983.

Grief Joy Death of the Just

Grief is Sweet Joy! Death isn’t mere turning to dust

A piercing thorn
That wounds the human heart
A germ that eats the life away
Of man
Tis soothing balm
That heals life – tearing wounds
Inflicted by the deadly sword
Of grief
Men into which return they must,
Nor taking rest beneath the sod;
But one’s return to his own God
To reign with Him and with the
blest
And to take one’s eternal rest.

II. Jose Garcia Villa was conferred in 1973 the title National Artist of the Philippines in Literature for his poetic creations. Originally
considered an award, this title was elevated in 2003 to an Order – the highest state honor accorded those who have significantly contributed
to their artistic fields. The following are two poems by Villa:
First a Poem Must be Magical Proem

First a poem must be magical, The meaning of a poem is not the meaning of words
Then musical as a seagull. The meaning of a poem is a symbol like the
 It must be a brightness moving breathlessness of birds
And hold secret a bird’s flowering. A poem cannot be repeated in paraphrase
It must be slender like a bell, A poem is not a thought but a grace
And it must hold fire as well.
It must have the wisdom of bows. A poem has no meaning but loveliness.
And it must kneel like a rose A poem has no purpose but to caress.
It must be able to hear
The luminance of dove and deer.
It must be able to hide
What it seeks like a bride
And over all I would like to hover
God, smiling from the poem’s cover

III. Here is a 21st century poem that reflects a reaction to the traditional norms of poetic creations. It is made by Arthur L. Amansec.
Taunt me not Fill to the brim
Be Gentle With Me, O Poet With inscrutable My cup of madness
Riddles and With ancient wine
Be Gentle Metaphors Distilled from
With Me, O Poet Spare me please The age’s winery
Be soft as the Your imponderables Not too strong
Whisper of dew Not too sweet
Into the rose’s Rather find me
Drowsy ears An enchanted river Be gentle
Merciful as At rainbow’s end With me, O Poet
Rain showers upon Not too deep For I am
The scorched earth Not too shallow Mild of mind
For I am Sweet water swirling And faint of heart
Mild of mind Around my Leave not
And faint of heart Throbbing angst My parched cup

ACTIVITY 1:
Some poems have scientific definitions that follow a pattern: term defined + verb to be + general classification + specific characteristic. In
this type of definition, comparisons are made only after the term has been defined. Here is how grief could be defined – scientifically first –
before following it up with the comparisons made in the poem to come up with an extended definition and description of the term.

Grief is an intense feeling of loss and sadness over the deal of a

beloved. It may be compared on one hand to a thorn that pierces or a
 Write out in full an extended definition and description of “joy” and “death”. Introduce the concepts first using a scientific definition.
Afterwards, expand that definition using metaphorical definitions of those terms found in the poems.

ACTIVITY 2 :
Write a 500-word essay stating your own views about the form, features and purpose of the poems of each writer. One paragraph for each
poem that you’ll choose for each writer.

Lesson 2: From a Journalist’s Pen

One issue which extensively discussed nowadays is the gender issue. This lesson features an excerpt from an essay which tackles the Filipino’s
perceived roles of father and mother in the upbringing of their children, which may result in childhood deprivation. One good example story is given
by Gilda Cordero Fernando
 Activity 3:
The text cites six cases of childhood deprivation. These results from the attitude of parents regarding what is suitable for boys and girls.
Complete the following table to show the incident mentioned, the children involved in it, the parent’s response to the situation, the effect of the
discrimination, and what results from it. The first one is done for you.
Incident Children Involved Parent’s response Effect on the child Result
A. Chin-chin’s Io – a two – year Io’s mother brought Io would not be Mother realized Io
birthday old male cousin Io’s helicopter toy distracted and went saw Father at times
party where was more involved to distract him. on cooking. cooking breakfast
the children in the cooking than and so she let
did some the female guests things be
cooking
using the
kitchen gift
set of Chin-
chin
 B.

C.

D.

E.

Answer the following questions:

1. Of the six cases of childhood deprivation, which ones have to do with the Filipino parents’ attitudes concerning the gender of their children?
 2. Which ones result from the parent’s own past experience of deprivation when he or she was young?

Lesson 3: Hail to Novel Literary Creations

This lesson shows unique way of authors to showcase a story. One genre is flash fiction, which refers to stories told using minimal number of words
ranging from six-words short stories in the extreme to not more than three to five hundred words. This lesson also features two texts classified under
the chick literature genre. Chick Literature Genre commonly known as chick lit, addresses the issues faced by modern, young, urban single women
and shows how they cope with the troubles they face, romantic or otherwise, in todays world. The following are five examples of Filipino flash
fiction.
Six-Word Stories

“I came but you’re not “Under the tree: “You stabbed me with
there.” childhood dreams built.” your promises.”
Story 1 Story 2 Story 3

“It’s not working, let me “I wish you would be

go.” mine.”
Story 4 Story 5

Activity 4:
Put an X on the following elements of a story which are not explicitly mentioned in the selection. Ernest Hemmingway’s six-word story – “For
sale: baby shoes, never worn” – is done as an example.
Six-word tales/ Hemingway’s Story 1 Story 2 Story 3 Story 4 Story 5
Elements of a six-word story
story

Setting or
background
(where and X
when the story
takes place)
Characters
(persons X
involved)

Problematic The child must

situation have died at birth
hence the
advertisement
Complication
(unforeseen X
development
takes place)
Crisis (problem
gets worse) X
Climax (point
of no return;
moment of X
truth)

Falling action
X

Resolution of
the problem
X
Be guided by the following example for Hemingway’s six-word tale.
Setting In a hospital delivery room
Characters After many miscarriages, a man and his wife are
finally awaiting the birth of their child who was
conceived through embryo implantation. During the
baby shower, the woman received a pair of baby
shoes from her best friend, the godmother, as a gift to
the baby.
Problematic Situation The child strangled by the cord around his neck and
dies during the delivery
Complication The woman cannot get over the loss. She starts to
develop psychological problems, brooding mainly
over the pair of baby shoes.
Crisis The husband decides to get rid of the baby shoes, and
he puts up an ad in the newspaper to sell the pair. The
shoes were bought by a mysterious buyer.
Climax The woman’s case worsens and her health declines
until she is on her death bed. Her dying wish is to be
buried with the baby shoes, which she will give to her
departed child for him to wear in the afterworld.
Falling Action The husband is at a loss as how to fulfill his wife’s
last request
Resolution It turns out that it was the woman’s best friend who
responded to the ad and bought the unworn baby
shoes. Learning about her friend’s dying wish, she
gives it to the grieving husband and the pair of baby
shoes finally reaches the child for whom it was
originally intended.

I. Following is a short-short story that features a language of gestures. Written by Bernice C. Roldan, this is among the stories included in
the anthology Fast Food Fiction: Short-Short Stories TO Go edited by Noelle Q. de Jesus and published by Anvil 2003.
Gestures
By Bernice C. Roldan
Someone knocked on the door this morning, and I opened it, still brushing my teeth, automatic as a robot. I forgot to look through the peephole to see
who it was. That’s what I do when there are too many kids singing several off-key lines caroling two weeks before Christmas and banging on the
door as though my house were burning. Or when people on my doorstep badger me into buying the most amazingly useless household contraptions,
or wave IDs and certificates probably crafted along Recto, asking for money. I’m not proud of it, but sometimes I plunge the room in darkness and
wait by the door for the insistent knocking to stop, a fugitive in my own apartment.
So today, a gray Tuesday, I was rendered mute with my mouth full of minty foam. A long-haired girl stood there. Big-boned, generic black blouse,
faded fit jeans, open-toed sandals, the heels of her shoes an inch high. She could have been my little sister. I watched her hands began tracing the air,
her face coming alive, no longer that of a stranger’s. She was speaking in gestures. A deaf-mute.

She tried handling me what seemed to be a white envelope. Empty, I suspected. I stepped back, still brushing my teeth, the slightest whine escaping
my lips. She caught me. Forgetting to look through the peephole, I couldn’t act like nobody was home to give money.
It didn’t look like she was going away. She raised her eyebrows and nodded, waving the envelope at me. A sound issued from her throat, almost as if
to say, you know this is good for you. She seemed taller, almost imperious. As though she were my mother bidding me to come closer because my
hair was askew and my shirt wasn’t properly tucked.
So I took her envelope and shut the door. Beneath the dining light’s glare. I saw that it wasn’t an envelope but a letter. I scanned it, my gaze
carelessly wheeling down the page and catching words: handog, deaf-mute foundation. Grumbling around my toothbrush, I went to my bedroom and
fetch a crumpled ten-peso bill.
She was still waiting when I opened the door again. Looking away, her mind someplace else, I stood there for a moment, waving the letter and my
worn bill, feeling silly. I didn’t tap her on the shoulder. I was still a stranger. I wondered what she was thinking.
That was when I saw a light of cloak of raindrops on her shoulders, giving the slightest shimmer to her black blouse when she moved. I realized she
didn’t even have an umbrella. She turned seeing me at last. Mutely, I handed her the money, almost ashamed for not giving more.
Now that I think about it, she could have been a fake. Maybe she can talk and her as well as I can. But it doesn’t matter. Because at the moment
before I shut my door, I realized we were the same. We said goodbye in her language of gestures. With her open palms, she touched her chest, as
though her fingers wished to find something within her heart to share with me. I forgot that my toothbrush was dangling from my mouth as my smile
mirrored hers. From her heart, she offered something airy and unseen in her hands and I fumbled to do the same.
ACTIVITY 5:
Answer the following questions basing on the story above.
1. Describe the narrator at the beginning and at the ending of the story. How is he/she like?
2. What do you notice about the narrator towards the end of the story? Support your answer by citing instances from the text.
3. Towards the end of the story, why does the narrator say that it doesn’t matter if the stranger “could have been a fake”?
4. What does the narrator mean when he/she says that “at the moment before I shut my door, I realized we were the same?” What similarity does
he/ she find between himself/herself and the stranger?
5. The selection is entitled, “Gestures”. What does the title refer to?

II. Reg Khan, the author of the short-short story below, is a freelance writer who graduated from the University of the Philippines with a
bachelor’s degree in fine arts and a master’s degree in anthropology.

Road Mishaps
By Reg Khan

Kelly hated driving home alone in the wee hours. Her paranoia worked overtime whenever she was behind the wheel past midnight –
pedestrians become robbers, men on motorbikes became hired killers, and vans with tinted windows carried kidnap-for-ransom groups. Of
course there were also the more relevant concerns like junked up bus drivers, drunken teenagers and irate motorists with a gun in the
glove compartment. These were the kind of encounters where you almost always expect someone to end up dead.

The hazards of driving along after dark doubles for woman. Biologically, women are easier preys for those with evil intentions. While
Kelly was contemplating the myriad of evil intentions, she could fall victim to on a deserted road, she noticed a car with no headlights
drive up behind her. She was suspicious at first but, when the car pressed her, she just figured it was some idiot who didn’t realize his
headlights were off. When she watched the car zoom past, she got to think she was better off driving with one other car on the road. . .
even if the driver was an idiot. Kelly sped up to keep pace with the car. As she was driving alongside it, the car with no headlights
suddenly slowed down and trailed behind. Kelly decided to maintain her speed at 90kph. Pretty soon, the car was out her view. Kelly’s
vehicle was the sole car on the road again.

As she was cruising, a cat suddenly crossed the street. Kelly stepped in the brakes and swerved to avoid the cat but she hit something else.
Her car jolted forward. Shaken, Kelly reoriented herself and assessed the situation. Behind her was the car with no headlights. A man got
out of the car. He went towards Kelly with furrowed brows and crooked lips. Kelly’s heart was beating fast as the man approached her.
He was mouthing off expletives and flailing arms. Kelly stayed inside the car but the man banged on her hood, ordering her to come out.
She needed to defend herself from this enraged man. She reached down her seat slowly till the tips of her fingers felt the baseball bat she
kept handy at her side. The man banged her hood again. Kelly opened her door and, as the man came towards her, swung her bat hitting
him in the stomach. The guy bent over and she hit him at the back of his legs. He feel down on his knees, still cursing. She heaved once
more and hit him on the head. He feel to the ground, prostrate, unconscious, blood trickling from his ear. Kelly just stared. This was one
of the encounters where you almost always expect someone to end up dead.
 ACTIVITY 6:
Answer the following questions in relation to the story above.
1. What particular issue or problem faced by young, urban, single women is presented In this short-short story?
2. Give the setting and the characters of the story.
3. What serves as the inciting moment in the story where the plot starts to unfold?
4. What takes place in the rising action?
5. When the crisis set in?
6. What serves as the climax of the story?
7. How is the problem resolved? Who died?
8. What do you think of Kelly? Is she a damsel in distress or a strong independent woman? Why?
9. The story is entitled “Road Mishaps”. Go over the definition of “mishap” and show how the title applies to the selection in more than
ways than one.

III. M.D. Balangue’s novel, Mr. White, has to do with the experiences that its lead character, Teri – an urban middle-class graduate student –
goes through. It follows her from her search for a secret admirer, to her recovery from heartbreak, and her obsession with the possibility of
intimacy with an acquaintance. Like most Philippine chick lit, it is written in reader-friendly English, with a smattering of Taglish and gay
lingo.

Mr. White
By M.D. Balangue
*Excerpt from pp.37-38, Dialogue between Teri and her gay best friend Moose
“I remember genuinely disliking him that night at Sukiyaki Babe then I’d see him sa corridor and he’d always look so intense and shy, and before I
knew it I was nervous around him, I liked seeing him in the hallway, ewan! Maybe I’m ready to move on and maybe something inside me is –“
“subconsciously looking for a papa, and Gito is very papa-ble.”
Good old Moose, Teri thought. Always there to make sense of things that left her confused and bewildered.
*Excerpt from pp. 70 – 71, On Broken Hearts
What happens when someone breaks your heart?
When someone breaks your heart, first you are shocked. Someone will say you are heartbroken and you examine the words break and heart and
heartbroken and you immediately decide that it’s inaccurate. You feel pain in the region of your heart and you think it’s your heart breaking but one’s
heart doesn’t really break, something else does – faith. You stop believing.
No, not in the big things which are most of the time irrelevant. You still believe in God or Buddha or some Supreme Being, you still believe child
prostitution is bad. You just stop believing in the small things that you do, the small things that give meaning to your daily life, and you begin to
think everything is pointless. Why get up? Why dress up? Why breathe in and out? What for? What for?
<. . .> When someone breaks your heart, you turn into a small ball of self-pity. You lie in bed, in a ball. You hug your knees, keeping them close to
your chest, like a fetus. Freud said it’s human instinct to go back to the womb where we can feel safe.
But that’s what happens when someone breaks your heart – they steal the very thing that makes you feel safe, whole, intact.
ACTIVITY 7:
Accomplish the following tasks.
1. Colloquial terms are liberally used in the excerpt. List down these terms below, along with their meanings.
Colloquial Term Meaning

Colloquial -  informal and more suitable for use in speech than in writing

2. What effect is achieved by the use of Taglish (insertions of Tagalog terms and expressions in an English text) in the story?
3. In the first excerpt, why does Teri need the help of a friend to understand how she feels?
4. In the second excerpt, she comes to a conclusion about her feelings on her own. Was there an instance in your life when extreme feelings also
let you clearly understand yourself?
5. Do you find it easy to relate to what Teri feels in any of the instances in the excerpts? Why or why not?

References:
Tayao, M.L. et al. (2017). 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World. Q C, Philippines: C & E Publishing, Inc.
 Macmillan Dictionary. (2009). Colloquial. Retrieved on March 20, 2020 from
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/colloquial
Cruz, K.M. (2018). Introduction to Philippine Literature. Retrieved on March 18,2020 from https://21stcenturylitph.wordpress.com/

Prepared by:
Hannah Grace A. Dumlao

Checked by:
Daphne S. Ponso