Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources (although, under circumstances unpublished sources

can be exempt). Literally translated, the word literature means "acquaintance with letters" (as in the "arts and letters").
Philippine literature is the literature associated with the Philippines and includes the legends of prehistory, and the colonial legacy of the Philippines, written in both Indigenous, and Hispanic languages. Most of the notable literature of the Philippines was written during the Spanish period and the first half of the 20th century in Spanish language. Philippine literature is written in Spanish, English, Tagalog, and other native Philippine languages. Early Works "Doctrina Christiana", Manila, 1593, is the first book printed in the Philippines. Tomas Pinpin wrote and printed in 1610 "Librong Pagaaralan nang mga Tagalog nang Wicang Castila", 119 pages designed to help fellow Filipinos to learn the Spanish language in a simple way. He is also credited with the first news publication made in the Philippines, "Successos Felices", from 1637.. Classical literature in Spanish (19th Century) On December 1, 1846, La Esperanza, the first daily newspaper, was published in the country. Other early newspapers were La Estrella (1847), Diario de Manila (1848) and Boletin Oficial de Filipinas (1852). The first provincial newspaper was El Eco de Vigan (1884), which was issued in Ilocos. In Cebu City "El Boletn de Ceb" (The Bulletin of Cebu), was published in 1890. On 1863, the Spanish government introduced a system of free public education that had an important effect on the ability of the population to read in Spanish and further in the rise of an educated class called the Ilustrado (meaning, well-informed). Spanish became the social language of urban places and the true lingua franca of the archipelago. A good number of Spanish newspapers were published until the end of the 1940s, the most influential of them being El Renacimiento, printed in Manila by members of the Guerrero de Ermita family. Some members of the ilustrado group, while residing or studying in Spain, decided to start a literary production in Spanish with the aim of serving the autonomy and/or independence projects. Members of this group included Pedro Alejandro Paterno, who wrote the novel Nnay (first novel written by a Filipino); the Philippine national hero, Jos Rizal, who wrote excellent poetry and two famous novels in Spanish: Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not), and El Filibusterismo'. Modern literature (20th and 21st century) The greatest portion of Spanish literature was written during the American period, most often as an expression of pro-Hispanic nationalism, by those who had been educated in Spanish or had lived in the Spanish-speaking society of the big cities, and whose principles entered in conflict with the American cultural trends. Such period of Spanish literary productioni.e., between the independence of Spain in 1898 and well ahead into the decade of the 1940s is known as "Edad de Oro del Castellano en Filipinas." Some prominent writers of this era were Wenceslao Retana and Claro Mayo Recto, both in drama and essay; Antonio M. Abad and Guillermo Gomez Wyndham, in the narrative; Fernando Mara Guerrero and Manuel Bernab, both in poetry. The predominant literary style was the so called "Modernismo," a mixture of elements from the French Parnassien and Symboliste schools, as promoted by some Latin American and Peninsular Spanish writers (e.g. the Nicaraguan Rubn Daro, the Mexican Amado Nervo, the Spaniard Francisco Villaespesa, and the Peruvian Jos Santos Chocano as major models). Apart from the works in Spanish, the only remarkable and valuable Filipino writer writing in the English language is Nick Joaquin.

Notable Philippine literary works

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Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas Ninay, novela de costumbres filipinas Sampaguitas, poesias varias Noli Me Tangere El Filibusterismo Perfil de cresta Florante at Laura

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Ibong Adarna Tuwaang Bantugan Hinilawod Dekada '70 A Child of Sorrow A lo largo del camino

Notable Philippine literary authors

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T.D. Agcaoili Estrella Alfon Carlos Angeles Francisco Arcellana Gregorio Brillantes Carlos Bulosan Linda Ty Casper Gilda Cordero-Fernando Amador Daguio Luis Dato Ricaredo Demetillo N. V. M. Gonzalez Sinai C. Hamada Alejandrino Hufana Dominador Ilio Nick JoaquinF. Sionil Jos

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Virginia Moreno Vicente Rivera Jr. Alejandro R. Roces Bienvenido Santos Abelardo and Tarrosa Subido Edilberto K. Tiempo Kerima Polotan Tuvera Manuel A. Viray Oscar de Zuiga Jos Rizal Francisco Balagtas Zoilo Galang Lualhati Bautista Genoveva Edroza-Matute Brigido Batungbakal Nicanor Abelardo Rommel Austria

PHILIPPINE LITERATURE
The variety and abundance of Philippine literature evolved even before the colonial periods. Folk tales, epics, poems and marathon chants existed in most ethnolinguistic groups that were passed on from generations to generations through word of mouth. Tales associated with the Spanish conquest also took part in the countrys rich cultural heritage. Some of these pre-colonial literary pieces showcased in traditional narratives, speeches and songs are Tigmo in Cebuano, bugtong in Tagalog, patototdon is Bicol and paktakon in Ilongo. Philippine epics and folk tales are varied and filled with magical characters. They are either narratives of mostly mythical objects, persons or certain places, or epics telling supernatural events and bravery of heroes, customs and ideologies of a community. Below are examples of ethno-epics popularized by different ethnic groups in the country: Biag ni Lam-ang (Life of Lam-ang) of the Ilocanos narrates the adventures of the prodigious epic hero, Lam-ang who exhibits extraordinary powers at an early age. At nine months he is able to go to war to look for his fathers killers. Then while in search of lady love, Ines Kannoyan, he is swallowed by a big fish, but his rooster and his friends bring him back to life. The Agyu or Olahing of the Manobos is a three part epic that starts with the pahmara (invocation) then the kepuunpuun ( a narration of the past) and the sengedurog (an episode complete in itself). All three parts narrate the exploits of the hero as he leads his people who have been driven out of their land to Nalandangan, a land of utopia where there are no landgrabbers and oppressors. Sandayo, of the Subanon tells of the story of the hero with the same name, who is born through extraordinary circumstances as he fell out of the hair of his mother while she was combing it on the ninth stroke. Thence he leads his people in the fight against invaders of their land and waterways. Aliguyon or the Hudhud of the Ifugaos tells of the adventures of Aliguyon as he battles his arch enemy, Pambukhayon among rice fields and terraces and instructs his people to be steadfast and learn the wisdom of warfare and of peacemaking during harvest seasons. Labaw Donggon is about the passionate exploits of the son of a goddess Alunsina, by a mortal, Datu Paubari. The polygamous hero battles the huge monster Manaluntad for the hand of Abyang Ginbitinan ; then he fights Sikay Padalogdog, the giant with a hundred arms to win Abyang Doronoon and confronts the lord of darkness, Saragnayan, to win Nagmalitong Yawa Sinagmaling Diwata. Reference-NCCA Other epics known to most Filipinos are the Ibalon of Bikol, Darangan which is a Muslim epic, the Kudaman of Palawan, the Alim of the Ifugao, Bantugan of the Maranao, the Hinilawod of Panay, the and the Tuwaang of Manobos. The Tagalogs pride their Myth of Bernardo Carpio, a folk hero said to hold the mountains of San Mateo apart with his powerful arms to prevent them from colliding. There are shorter narratives that tell the origins of the people, the stars, the sky and the seas. A famous story that tells of the origin of man and woman is that of Sicalac (man) and Sicavay (woman) who came out of a bamboo after being pecked by a bird. This, and other stories of equal birthing of man and woman throughout the archipelago assert a womans equal position with a man within the tribal systems. Reference-NCCA During the Spanish colonial period, the country has encountered transformations in their daily customs. It affected not only the countrys whole system but as well tainted the purity of their folklore traditions. And because of the westerns strong influence and forceful implication of their civilization, the locals forms of expression on national issues and selfconsciousness were replaced through political essays, novels, poems and religious prose- a form of learning, however, that led to ultimate awakening of Filipinos regarding the unreasonable colonial rule in the country. Famous examples of these Spanishadapted writings are the novels of Jose Rizal, El Filibusterismo and Noli Me Tangere. Nowadays, Filipino writers have continued to patronize the intellectual influence started by Rizal but to further aim at reviving the richness of the countrys very own folk traditions and introducing it to new generations as a significant form of art.