LITERARY CANON

It refers to a body of
books, narratives
and other texts
considered to be
the most important
and influential of a
particular time
period or place.
LITERARY CANON
When a literary work
is entered into the
canon, thus
canonized, it gains
status as an official
inclusion into a group
of literary works are
also widely respected.
LITERARY CANON
Those who decide
whether a work will be
canonized include
influential literary
critics, scholars,
teachers and anyone
whose opinions and
judgements regarding
a literary work are also
widely respected.
 JOSE GARCIA VILLA
“ POPE OF GREENWICH VILLAGE “

• He is a Filipino poet, critic, short story writer

and painter.

• He was born in 1907 in the Philippine Islands.

His early path did not involve poetry. Instead
he began a pre-medical course of study at
the University of the Philippines, eventually
switching to pre-law. After some time, Villa
recognized that his true passion was in the
creative arts, and his career as a writer
began.
 JOSE GARCIA VILLA
“ POPE OF GREENWICH VILLAGE “

• In 1929, he published a collection of erotic

poems called Man Songs. This collection was
met with some controversy. But that same
year, he was selected for the Best Story of
the Year from the Philippine Free Press
magazine for his story called Mir-l-Nisa.
• He moved from the university in the
Philippines to attend the University of New
Mexico where he went on to found Clay, a
“mimeograph literary magazine.” After
finishing his BA there, he moved to Columbia
University for his post-graduate education.
 JOSE GARCIA VILLA
“ POPE OF GREENWICH VILLAGE “

• Aside from publishing various collections of

poetry, Villa also added to the world of poetic
style, introducing a new rhyme scheme called
“reversed consonance.” As Villa explained,
“The last sounded consonants of the last
syllable, or the last principal consonant of a
word, are reversed for the corresponding
rhyme. Thus, a rhyme for near would be run;
or rain, green, reign.”
 JOSE GARCIA VILLA
“ POPE OF GREENWICH VILLAGE “
• He also wrote something he called “comma poems,”
where a comma is included after each word in the
poem. As he explained in the preface to his Volume
Two, “The commas are an integral and essential part
of the medium: regulating the poem’s verbal density
and time movement: enabling each word to attain a
fuller tonal value, and the line movement to become
more measured on.

• He has won numerous awards, including the 1973

National Artist of the Philippines for literature. His
work in both poetry and challenging traditional poetic
style continues to have an impact in modern poetry,
both for members of the poetry community and other
Asian American writers.
AMADO V. HERNANDEZ
• He was born in Hagonoy, Bulacan but grew up Tondo,
Manila, where he studied at the Manila High School
and at the American Correspondence School. While
being a reporter, columnist and editor of several
newspaper and magazines including Watawat,
Mabuhay, Pilipino, Makabayan and Sampaguita, he
also honed his poetic craft.

• After World War II, he became a member of the

Philippine Newspaper Guild and his writings
increasingly dealt with the plight of the peasants and
laborers. Influenced by the philosophy of Hobbes and
Locke, he advocated revolution as a means of change.
In 1947, he became the president of the Congress of
Labor Organization (CLO). His activities and writings
led him to imprisonment from 1951 to 1956.
 AMADO V. HERNANDEZ
• Even in prison, he was still a leader and artist,
spearheading education programs and mounting
musical productions, plays and poetry reading. It was
during his incarceration that he wrote one his
masterpiece, Mga Ibong Mandaragit (Predatory
Birds). His prison writings were smuggled out by his
wife, zarzuela star Honarata “Atang” dela Rama, who
would become our National Artist for Music and
Theater.

• He died on 24 March 1970 in the wake of the First

Quarter Storm, whose leaders and activists recited his
words. He left a legacy that includes Isang Dipang
Langit (An Arm-Stretch of Sky), Kung Tuyo na ang Luha
Mo, Aking Bayan (When Your Tears Have Dried, My
Country), Panata sa Kalayaan (Pledge to Freedom),
and the novel Luha ng Buwaya (Crocodile Tears).
 AMADO V. HERNANDEZ
• He was posthumously honored as our
National Artist for Literature in 1973.
Together with poet Jose Garcia Villa, Amado
V. Hernandez was the first to receive the title
in literature.
• He gave voices to the oppressed peasants and
laborers, rendering them powerful verses and
plots that should have gone down as a compelling
chronicle of a struggle of a people, but still prove
to be an influential instrument in constituting
reform and empowerment. A literary artist that
he is, He remains to be a social and political
leader, fast becoming to be an icon of the
working-class.
 AMADO V. HERNANDEZ
• He was posthumously honored as our
National Artist for Literature in 1973.
Together with poet Jose Garcia Villa, Amado
V. Hernandez was the first to receive the title
in literature.
• He gave voices to the oppressed peasants and
laborers, rendering them powerful verses and
plots that should have gone down as a compelling
chronicle of a struggle of a people, but still prove
to be an influential instrument in constituting
reform and empowerment. A literary artist that
he is, He remains to be a social and political
leader, fast becoming to be an icon of the
working-class.
 NICK JOAQUIN
• Nicomedes "Onching" M. Joaquin was born
on May 4, 1917 in Paco, Manila. His mother
was a public school teacher and a colonel
father in the Philippine Revolution of 1896.

• Nick Joaquin started to write short stories,

poems, and essays in 1934. Consider as a brilliant
kid, he did not get to finish high school, he
discovered that he could study more by reading
books on his own, and his father's library had
countless of the books he mind to read. He wrote
so variedly and so well about so many phase of
the Filipino throughout his entire life span.
 NICK JOAQUIN
• He was well known as a historian of the brief
Golden Age of Spain in the Philippines.

• He helps form and led the union of employees of

the pre-martial law Philippines Free Press.
Unidentified to the country, Joaquin wrote in
opposition to Martial Law for the subversive
press during that dim era..

• He primarily triumph national compliments with

his essay La Naval de Manila in 1943 in a
competition supported by the Dominican Fathers.
The University of Sto. Tomas (UST) afterward
awarded him an Associate in Arts certificate as of
his literary talents.
 NICK JOAQUIN
• In current years, Joaquin took to writing custom-
built biographies, among these are Jaime Ongpin
The Enigma: A Profile of a Filipino as Manager;
The Dance-drama That is Leonor Goquinco; The
Aquinos of Tarlac; Nineteenth Century Manila:
The World of Damian Domingo; La Orosa; and
Mr. FEU: The Culture Hero That was Nicanor
Reyes.

• Joaquin also acknowledged the following awards:

City of Manila's Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan
Award in 1964; the Harry Stonehill Novel Award in
1962; the Republic Cultural Heritage Award in
1961; and the Most Outstanding Young Man in
Literature in 1955.
FRANCISCO ARCELLANA
“ MASTER OF WORDS, MASTER OF STORY
TELLING“

• Zacarias Eugene Francisco Quino Arcellana

(September 6, 1916 — August 1, 2002) was a writer,
poet, essayist, critic, journalist, and teacher and one
of the most important progenitors of Filipino short
stories in English. In 1990, he was declared National
Artist of the Philippines for Literature.

• He was born September 6, 1916 in Sta. Cruz, Manila.

Arcellana bloomed early in his craft and prospered
from his first schooling in Tondo until he entered the
University of the Philippines (UP) as a pre-medical
student in 1932. He developed an interest in writing
while he was studying at the Manila West High School
(now Torres High School) as an active staff of the
school organ The Torres Torch.
FRANCISCO ARCELLANA
“ MASTER OF WORDS, MASTER OF STORY
TELLING“
• He is considered an important progenitor of the
modern Filipino short story in English. Arcellana
pioneered the development of the short story as a
lyrical prose-poetic form within Filipino literature. His
works are now often taught in tertiary-level syllabi in
the Philippines. Many of his works were translated
into different languages. Arcellana won 2nd place in
the 1951 Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for
Literature, with his short story. His major
achievements included the first award in art criticism
from the Art Association of the Philippines in 1954,
the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan award from the
city government of Manila in 1981, and the Gawad
Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas for English fiction
from the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipino
(UMPIL) in 1988.
 N.V.M GONZALEZ
• Nestor Vicente Madali Gonzalez, familiarly known as
simply "N.V.M.," was born on September 8, 1915 in
Romblon, Romblon and moved to Mindoro at the age
of five. The son of a school supervisor and a teacher,
Gonzalez helped his father by delivering meat door-
to-door. Gonzalez attended Mindoro High School
from 1927 to 1930, and although he studied at
National University in Manila, he never obtained a
degree. While in Manila, Gonzalez wrote for the
Philippine Graphic and later edited for the Evening
News Magazine and Manila Chronicle. His first
published essay appeared in the Philippine Graphic
and his first poem in Poetry in 1934.
 N.V.M GONZALEZ
• "Literature is an affair of letters," N.V.M. Gonzalez
once said. A teacher, author, journalist and essayist,
Gonzalez is one of the most widely recognized,
anthologized and closely studied among Filipino
writers. His most notable works include the novels
The Winds of April, The Bamboo Dancers and A
Season of Grace, short story collections Children of
the Ash-Covered Loam and The Bread of Salt and
Other Stories and essay collections Work on the
Mountain and The Novel of Justice: Selected Essays.
Gonzalez distinctively wrote of the Filipino life, of the
Filipino in the world. Gonzalez is himself a Filipino in
the world, traversing between the United States and
the Philippines and exploring Europe and Asia. The
affair of letters Gonzalez created is more than
literature. It is the story of a Filipino in the world. It is
his story.
 N.V.M GONZALEZ
• "Literature is an affair of letters," N.V.M. Gonzalez
once said. A teacher, author, journalist and essayist,
Gonzalez is one of the most widely recognized,
anthologized and closely studied among Filipino
writers. His most notable works include the novels
The Winds of April, The Bamboo Dancers and A
Season of Grace, short story collections Children of
the Ash-Covered Loam and The Bread of Salt and
Other Stories and essay collections Work on the
Mountain and The Novel of Justice: Selected Essays.
Gonzalez distinctively wrote of the Filipino life, of the
Filipino in the world. Gonzalez is himself a Filipino in
the world, traversing between the United States and
the Philippines and exploring Europe and Asia. The
affair of letters Gonzalez created is more than
literature. It is the story of a Filipino in the world. It is
his story.
 N.V.M GONZALEZ
• Gonzalez received an honorary doctorate
from the University of the Philippines in 1987
and became its first international writer in
residence in 1988. He served as the 1998-
1999 Regents Professor at the University of
California at Los Angeles and continued to
receive distinctions such as the National
Artist Award for Literature in 1997 and the
Centennial Award for Literature in 1998
 ROLANDO TINIO
• He was born in Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila on
March 5, 1937. He was an active participant
in the Filipino movie industry and enjoyed
working with Philippine celebrities who he
himself had admired in his childhood. He
himself became a film actor and scriptwriter.
He is often described as a religious, well-
behaved and gifted person. He graduated
with honors (a "magna cum laude" achiever)
with a degree in Philosophy from the Royal
and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas at
age 18 in 1955 and an M.F.A. degree in
Creative Writing: Poetry from the State
University of Iowa.
 ROLANDO TINIO
• In Iowa, He was known as a great writer that used
English as the medium of the Filipino writer. He wrote
his poetic collection: Rage and Ritual which won an
award from the University of the Philippines.. At this
point in time, he believed that only English can hone
the themes that he wanted to communicate in his
works.
• In the mid-1960s, however, Tinio decided to try
writing in Tagalog and the product of this trial was the
collection of poems now called Bagay. Rolando Tinio
was the sole inventor of “Taglish” in Philippine
poetry. Through this, he gave an authentic tone to the
poetry of the native middle-class Filipino. In 1972,
Tinio wrote another poetry collection: Sitsit sa Kuliglig
and this showed the great contrast between his old
and new advocacy. He was conferred National Artist
status in 1997.
 EDITH TIEMPO
• Edith Tiempo was born on April 22 1919 in San Nicolas
, Bayombong , Nueva Viscaya. Her poems are intricate
verbal transfigurations of significant experiences as
revealed, in two of her much anthologized pieces,
"Halaman" 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, writer and
critic Edilberto K. Tiempo, they founded (in 1962) and
directed the Silliman National Writers Workshop in
Dumaguete City, which has produced some of the
Philippines' best writers.
FRANCISCO SIONIL JOSE
• He was born in Rosales, Pangasinan, the setting of
many of his stories. He spent his childhood in Barrio
Cabugawan, Rosales, where he first began to write.
He attended the University of Santo Tomas after
World War II, but dropped out and plunged into
writing and journalism in Manila. In subsequent years,
he edited various literary and journalistic publications,
started a publishing house, and founded the
Philippine branch of PEN, an international
organization for writers. He received numerous
awards for his work. The Pretenders is his most
popular novel, which is the story of one man's
alienation from his poor background and the
decadence of his wife's wealthy family.
FRANCISCO SIONIL JOSE
• José Rizal's life and writings profoundly influenced
José's work. The five volume Rosales Saga, in
particular, employs and integrates themes and
characters from Rizal's work. Throughout his career,
José's writings espouse social justice and change to
better the lives of average Filipino families. He is one
of the most critically acclaimed Filipino authors
internationally, although much underrated in his own
country because of his authentic Filipino English and
his anti-elite views.

• Sionil José also owns Solidaridad Bookshop, which

is on Padre Faura Street in Ermita, Manila. The
bookshop offers mostly hard-to-find books and
Filipiniana reading materials. It is said to be one of
the favorite haunts of many local writers
 ALEJANDRO ROCES
• Alejandro Roces was a Filipino author, essayist and
dramatist. He was better known for his humorous
short stories in English. He was born on July 13, 1924
in Manila, Philippines. He attended elementary and
high school at the Ateneo de Manila University. He
received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Arizona
State University. He was given a Master of Arts
degree from Far Eastern University. Also Alejandro
was given an honorary doctorates from Tokyo
University, Baguio's St. Louis University, Polytechnic
University of the Philippines and the Ateneo de
Manila University.
 ALEJANDRO ROCES
• He began his career as a dean at the Institute of Arts
& Science of Far Eastern University in 1955 and held it
for seven years. Also he was a captain in the
Marking’s Guerilla during World War II and a
columnist in Philippine dailies, including "Manila
Chronicle" and "Manila Times".

• He served as a secretary at the Department of

Education from 1961 to 1965. In 2001, Roces was
appointed a chairman of the Movie and Television
Review and Classification Board, where he served
until 2002. In addition, he published books, including
"Of Cocks and Kites", 1959, "Fiesta", 1980 and
"Something to Crow About", 2005.