Canonical Authors & Works

CANONICAL AUTHORS & WORKS
PHILIPPINE NATIONAL ARTIST IN LITERATURE
CANONICAL AUTHORS
- Writers whose works have been well appreciated and considered representatives of
certain genres of literature.
Canon – in literature, this is a collection of works considered representative of a certain genre

and period.
If something has canonical status, it is accepted as having all the qualities that a thing of its kind
should have. ... Ballard's status as a canonical writer. Synonyms: authorized, accepted,
approved, recognized More Synonyms of canonical.
When we study canonical authors and their works, we can glean new appreciation for them in
modern perspective
NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE

It is the highest national recognition given to Filipino writers who made significant
contributions to the development of the Literature.
modern perspective
(1) EDITH L. TIEMPO

(April 22, 1919- August 21, 2011)
NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE -1999
Born in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya.
She is a poet, fictionist, teacher and literary critic.

Her works are characterized by a remarkable fusion of style and substance, of craftsmanship
and insight.
Her poems “The Little Marmoset” and “Bonsai” are intricate verbal transfigurations of significant
experiences.
Founded and directed the Silliman National Writers Workshop in Dumaguete City, which has
produced some of the country’s best writers.
(1) EDITH L. TIEMPO

(April 22, 1919- August 21, 2011)
Tiempo’s published works includes:
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).
modern perspective
BONSAI
-Edith L. Tiempo
All that I love

I fold over once
And once again
And keep in a box
Or a slit in a hollow post
Or in my shoe.
All that I love?

Why, yes, but for the moment-
And for all time, both.
Something that folds and keeps easy,
Son’s note or Dad’s one gaudy tie,
A roto picture of a queen,
A blue Indian shawl, even
A money bill.
It’s utter sublimation,

A feat, this heart’s control
Moment to moment
To scale all love down
To a cupped hand’s size
Till seashells are broken pieces
From God’s own bright teeth,
And life and love are real
Things you can run and
Breathless hand over
To the merest child.
READ:
The poem “Bonsai” by Edith Tiempo is basically a poem talking about love. At first, it will be
hard understanding the poem as it is, but as one reads this poem further the more one would
understand what this poem or what the poet is trying to convey to its readers. This poem talks
about how one could have that ability seize such a huge thought and compact them down to
something small to be able to hand them over to one person to another. This poem is about a
love of a mother and this love is now being passed on or being handed over to her daughter.
One could be wondering or asking himself why the author used “Bonsai” as its title when a
bonsai is just defined as an ornamental tree or shrub grown in a pot and artificially prevented
from reaching its normal size in the dictionary. The poem was entitled “Bonsai” because one
loves just as something that could be kept much like a bonsai. This poem, Bonsai, is about how
love is simplified and reduced so that one can give it out to others. Since this love is now
compacted or shrunk down to something small that can be given, it is much like a bonsai which
is a simplified version of a huge and enormous tree that could be given away and handed over
to others. Thus, this love is now being passed down to generations.
(2) DR. BIENVENIDO LUMBERA

Lipa, Batangas (1932-present)
He is a poet librettist, and scholar.
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.
Librettist- a person who writes the text of an opera or other long vocal work.
Aesthetic-concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty.
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 Anthology, Revaluation: Essays on Philippine Literature,
Writing the Nation/Pag-akda ng Bansa.

(3) NESTOR VICENTE MADALI GONZALEZ

Romblon (1915- 1999)
Better known as N.V.M. Gonzalez
Filipino novelist, short story writer, essayist and poet
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

Romblon (1915- 1999)
He became U.P.’s International-Writer-In-Residence and a member of the Board of Advisers of
the U.P. Creative Writing Center. In 1987, U.P. conferred on him the Doctor of Humane Letters,
honoris causa, its highest academic recognition.
Distinclively wrote of the Filipino life and of the Filipino in the world.
He said: “There is no such thing as children’s literature.

\
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.

Romblon (1915- 1999)
(4) VIRGILIO S. ALMARIO

San Miguel, Bulacan (1944- present)
Also known as Rio Alma
A poet, literary historian, critic who has revived and reinvented traditional poetic forms
In 34 years, he published 12 books of poetry.
His works reflected his often severed examination of the self and the society.

He founded LIRA (Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika at Anyo) and GAT (Galian sa Arte at Tula).
He put a face to the Filipino writer in the country, one strong face determinedly wielding a pen
into untruths, hypocrisy, injustice, among others.
He is the author of the following works:

Seminal Makinasyon and Peregrinasyon,
Doktrinang Anakpawis,
Mga Retrato at Rekwerdo, and
Muli, Sa Kandungan ng Lupa
.

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.
(5) CIRILO F. BAUTISTA

Sampaloc, Manila (1941- 2018)
Poet, fictionist and essayist with exceptional achievements and significant contributions to the
development of the country’s literary arts.
He held regular funded and unfunded workshops throughout the country to bring poetry and
fiction closer to people who otherwise would not have the opportunity to develop their creative
talent.
He’s a teacher of literature and realized that classroom is an important training ground for
Filipino writers.
Major works:
Summer Suns (1963),
Words and Battlefields (1998),
The Trilogy of Saint Lazarus (2001), and
Galaw ng Asoge (2003)
(5) CIRILO F. BAUTISTA

Sampaloc, Manila (1941- 2018)
(6) NICK JOAQUIN
Paco, Manila (1917- 2004)
The most distinguished Filipino writer in English Writing.
Known as Quijano de Manila
His contribution: exploration of the Philippine colonial past under Spain and his probing into the
psychology of social danger as seen by the young.
Major works:
The Woman Who Had Two Navels,
A portrait of the Artist as Filipino,
Manila, Manila: A History for the Young,
The Ballad of the Five Battles,
Rizal in Saga,
Almanac for Manileños, and
Cave and Shadows
(6) NICK JOAQUIN

Paco, Manila (1917- 2004)
(7) F. SIONIL JOSE

Rosales, Pangasinan (1924- present)
His writing since the late 60s when taken collectively can be described as epic. His works reflect
the consistent espousal of the of the aspirations of Filipino – for national sovereignty and social
justice.
His works, including his many short stories, have been published and translated into various
languages.
(7) F. SIONIL JOSE

He is also a publisher, lecturer on cultural issues, and the founder of the Philippine Chapter of
the International Organization.
Major works:
Rosales Saga (The Pretenders, Tree: My Brother, My Executioner, Mass, Poon) captures
Philippine History while simultaneously narrating the lives of generations of Samsons whose
personal lives intertwine with the social struggles of the nation.
(7) F. SIONIL JOSE
(8) AMADO V. HERNADEZ

Tondo, Manila / Hagonoy, Bulacan (1903- 1970)
Poet, playwright, and novelist
He practiced “committed art” and he was known as Manunulat ng Manggagawa”.
In his view, the function of s writer is to act as the conscience of the human spirit in the face of
inequity and oppression.
(8) AMADO V. HERNADEZ

Hagonoy, Bulacan (1903- 1970)
Other works:
Bayang Malay
Isang Dipang Langit
Luha ng Buwaya
Tudla at Tudling: Katipunan ng mga Nalathalang Tula 1921-1970
Langaw sa Isang Basong Gatas
Magkabilang Mukha ng Isang Bagol
He developed the social realist tradition in Philippine fiction.
His novels, now acknowledge classics of Philippine literature, embodies the author’s
commitment to nationalism.
(9) LAZARO A. FRANCISCO
His novels exposed the evils of the tenancy system, exploitation of farmers by unscrupulous
landlords and foreign domination.
He is known as the Master of Tagalog Novel.

(9) LAZARO A. FRANCISCO
Poet, librettist and scholar

He introduced to tagalog literature what is known as Bagay Poetry, a landmark aesthetic
tendency that has helped to change the vernacular poetic tradition.
(10) BIENVENIDO LUMBERA
Lipa, Batangas (1932- present)
(10) BIENVENIDO LUMBERA

Lipa, Batangas (1932- present)
His works:
Likhang Dila
Likhang Diwa; Balabay
Mga Tulang Lunot at Manibalang
Sa Sariling Bayan
Apat na Dulang May Musika
Agunyas sa Hacienda Luisita
Tales of Manuvu and Rama Hari
“ You cannot be a great writer; first, you have to be a good person”
Short story writer and essayist.
The country’s Best Writer of Comic Stories
Major work:
“My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken”
(11) ALEJANDRO R. ROCES
Manila (1924- 2011)
He wrote innumerable newspaper columns that focused on the neglected aspects of the Filipino
cultural heritage .
His works were published in international magazines.

Manila (1924- 2011)
His works have been published in various international magazines and has received national
and international awards.
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 they were stolen from
the National Archives.
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.
He 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 changed the independence Day from July 4-June 12.

Manila (1924- 2011)
He was instrumental in popularizing several local fiestas, notably, Moriones and Ati-atihan.
His career spanned 50 years of public service as educator, soldier, university president,
journalist and diplomat.
He was the 1st Asian President of UN General Assembly and the Philippine Ambassador to US.
(12) CARLOS P. ROMULO
Intramuros, Manila (1899- 1985)
\
He was a reported at 16, news editor at 20, and 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.
\

His works:
The United (Novel)
I Walked With Heroes (autobiography)
I Saw the Fall of the Philippines
Mother America
I See the Philippines Rise (war-time memoirs)
Forty Years: A Third World Soldier at the UN
The Philippine Presidents
Read:
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.
He is considered as one of the finest contemporary poets regardless of race and language.
He introduced the reversed consonance rhyme scheme, including the comma poems that made
full use of the punctuation mark in an innovative, poetic way.
(13) JOSE GARCIA-VILLA
Singalong, Manila (1908-1997)
\
The first of his poems “have Come, Am Here”
He used DOVEGLION (Dove, Eagle, Lion) as penname.

READ 1st BULLET:
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:
READ 2ND BULLET:
He used Doveglion (Dove, Eagle, Lion) as penname, the very characters he attributed to
himself, and the same ones explored by e.e. cummings in the poem he wrote for Villa
(Doveglion, Adventures in Value). Villa is also known for the tartness of his tongue.

His works:
Footnote to Youth
Have Come, Am Here
Many Voices
Poems in Praise of Love
The Anchored Angel
A playwright, thespian, poet, teacher, and translator, marked his career with prolific artistic
productions.
He was a stage director whose original insights into the scripts he handled brought forth
productions notable for their visual impact and intellectual cogency.
(14) ROLANDO S. TINIO
(1937-1997)
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 drama. It was the
excellence and beauty of his practice that claimed for theater a place among the arts in the
Philippines in the 1960s.
(14) ROLANDO S. TINIO

(1937-1997)
His works:
Sitsit sa Kuliglig
Dunung-Dunungan
Kristal na Uniberso
A Trick of Mirrors
Film Scripts for Now and Forever
Writer, poet, essayist, critic, journalist, and teacher.

He pioneered the development of the short story as a lyrical prose-poetic form.
The pride of fiction is “ that is able to render truth, that is able to present reality”.
(15) FRANCISCO ARCELLANA
Sta. Cruz, Manila (1916-2002)
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), Poetry and Politics: The State of
Original Writing in English in the Philippines Today (1977), The Francisco Arcellana
Sampler(1990).


His works:
Frankie
The Man Who Would Be Poe
Death in a Factory
Lina
A Clown Remembers
Divided by Two

His works:
The Mats
The Other Woman
To Touch You and I Touched Her
To touch you
-Francisco Arcellana
TO touch you
to kiss you
to press against you
anywhere
to break open your lips

to drink deep from your mouth
to feed long on your tongue
to root between your breasts

to brace against your body
to thrust between your thighs
powerfully
long
to die deep
and then to sleep
my right hand resting lightly on your left hip
(16) LEVI CELERIO

Tondo, Manila (1910-2002)
A prolific lyricist and composer for decades.
He translated/wrote a new the lyrics of traditional melodies: “ O Maliwanag Na Buwan” (Iloko),

“Ako ayMay Singsing” (Pampango), “Aibangbang” (Visaya).
He reeceived 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.
(16) LEVI CELERIO

Tondo, Manila (1910-2002)
He made it to the Guinness Book of World Records as the only person able to make music
using just leaf.
He wrote 4000 songs and he contributed in enriching Philippine music.
(17) CARLOS QUIRINO
He has the distinction of having written one of the earliest biographies of Jose Rizal titled The
Great Malayan.
His books Maps and Views of Old Manila is considered as the best book.
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 Press Institute.
(17) CARLOS QUIRINO
His works:
Quezon
Man of Destiny
Magsaysay of the Philippines
Lives of the Presidents
Philippine Cartography
The History of Philippine Sugar Industry
Filipino Heritage: The Making of a Nation
(17) CARLOS QUIRINO
His works:
Filipinos at War: The Fight for Freedom from Mactan to EDSA.

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CANONICAL AUTHORS & WORKS

PHILIPPINE NATIONAL ARTIST IN LITERATURE

Canon – in literature, this is a collection of works considered representative of a certain genre

NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE

(1) EDITH L. TIEMPO

Born in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya.

She is a poet, fictionist, teacher and literary critic.

(1) EDITH L. TIEMPO

The poetry collections:

All that I love

All that I love?

It’s utter sublimation,

(2) DR. BIENVENIDO LUMBERA

He is the author of the following works:

(2) DR. BIENVENIDO LUMBERA

As a scholar, his major books include the following:

(2) DR. BIENVENIDO LUMBERA

(3) NESTOR VICENTE MADALI GONZALEZ

Filipino novelist, short story writer, essayist and poet

(3) NESTOR VICENTE MADALI GONZALEZ

He said: “There is no such thing as children’s literature.

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

(3) NESTOR VICENTE MADALI GONZALEZ

(4) VIRGILIO S. ALMARIO

In 34 years, he published 12 books of poetry.

(4) VIRGILIO S. ALMARIO

He is the author of the following works:

(4) VIRGILIO S. ALMARIO

(5) CIRILO F. BAUTISTA

(5) CIRILO F. BAUTISTA

Known as Quijano de Manila

(6) NICK JOAQUIN

(7) F. SIONIL JOSE

(7) F. SIONIL JOSE

(8) AMADO V. HERNADEZ

He practiced “committed art” and he was known as Manunulat ng Manggagawa”.

(8) AMADO V. HERNADEZ

He developed the social realist tradition in Philippine fiction.

He is known as the Master of Tagalog Novel.

Poet, librettist and scholar

(10) BIENVENIDO LUMBERA

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

Short story writer and essayist.

The country’s Best Writer of Comic Stories

His works were published in international magazines.

He brought to public attention the aesthetics of the country’s fiestas.

He changed the independence Day from July 4-June 12.

He was a reported at 16, news editor at 20, and publisher at 32.

(12) CARLOS P. ROMULO

The first of his poems “have Come, Am Here”

He used DOVEGLION (Dove, Eagle, Lion) as penname.

(13) JOSE GARCIA-VILLA

(14) ROLANDO S. TINIO

Writer, poet, essayist, critic, journalist, and teacher.

(15) FRANCISCO ARCELLANA

(15) FRANCISCO ARCELLANA

(15) FRANCISCO ARCELLANA

to break open your lips

to root between your breasts