Regional Literature

in the

21st CENTURY
Regional Literature
It refers to the local color of
prose and poetry that focus
on the characters, dialect,
customs, topography, and
other features particular to a
specific region.
Notable Regional Literature
Tagalog Literature
Cebuano Literature
Ilokano Literature
Hiligaynon Literature
Bikol Literature
Waray Literature
Tagalog Literature
It has been born, cradled,
nourished and peaked into
fruition in the provinces of
Southern Luzon, Central
Luzon and the present
Metropolitan Manila or the
National Capital Region.
Tagalog Literature
Cavite Manila City
Batangas Quezon City
Laguna
Pasay City
Quezon
Rizal
Caloocan City
Aurora Mandaluyong City
Oriental Mindoro Pasig City
Occidental Mindoro Marikina City
Marinduque Muntinlupa City
Palawan Malabon
Romblon
Navotas
Nueva Ecija Valenzuela
Bataan Pateros
Bulacan Taguig
Tagalog Literature
The literary tradition in the
Tagalog regions specially
outstanding in the field of oral
literature like bugtong(riddle),
proverbs, native songs.

These oral literatures are always

in poetic forms, usually seven-
syllabic rhymes, so Asian in
form and perspective.
Tagalog Literature
Tradition of Tagalog literature has
been bequeathed upon the national
consciousness of the Filipinos all
over the Philippines.

Manila being the center of the

country in all aspects of national life
of the Filipinos becomes the logical
conduit of national consciousness
emanating from the literary legacy
of the region’s gifted minds.
Mookie Katigbak
She has authored four books, including
the two poetry collections The Proxy
Eros (2008) and Burning Houses
(2013). She is the coeditor of Fast Food
Fiction Delivery (2014).

She earned a BA from Ateneo de

Manila University in the Philippines and
an MFA from the New School
University and has received a number
of prizes for her work, including the
2014 Carlos Malanca Memorial Award
for Poetry, which is the Philippines’
foremost literary award, and the
Philippines Free Press Award for
Poetry in 2007.
 Lourd De Veyra
Author of Subterranean Thought
Parade (2008), Shadowboxing in
Headphones and Insectissimo. This is
a Crazy Planets (2011) is a collection of
essays from his Spot.ph blog.
SuperPanalo Sounds! is his first novel.

He is know for his caustic humor that

takes off from national issues and
Filipino pop culture.

Recipient of 3 Palanca Awards and the

host and writer of TV5's Word of the
Lourd.
Lourd de Veyra Books
Rolando Tolentino
He is Dean of the University of the
Philippines College of Mass
Communication and faculty of the
University of the Philippines Film Institute.

Author:
National/Transnational: Subject Formation
and Media in and on the Philippines
(2001), and the editor of positions’ special
issue “Vaginal Economy: Cinema and
Sexuality in the Post-Marcos Post-Brocka
Philippines” ( 2011), and Geopolitics of the
Visible: Essays on Philippine Film
Cultures (2002)

Recepient of 2 Carlos Palanca Awards.

Rolando Tolentino Books
 Jessica Zafra
She is a fiction writer, columnist, editor,
publisher, and former television and radio
show host who is known for her sharp
and witty writing style.

Her most popular books are the

Twisted series, a collection of her essays
as a columnist for the newspaper Today
(now Manila Standard Today), as well as
from her time as editor and publisher of
the magazine Flip.

Author of: 500 People You Meet in Hell

(2006), Geeks vs Jocks (2016) and The
Stories So Far (2016).
Jessica Zafra Books
 Joselito Delos Reyes
He teaches Literature, Pop Culture,
Periodism and Creative Writing at the
University of Sto Tomas.

He is the author of iStatus Nation (2014),

Paubaya (2014), Titser Pangkalawakan
(2015) and Troya: 12 Kwento (2017).

He is a member of Linangan sa Imahe,

Retorika at Anyo (LIRA), UMPIL, Oragon
Poet’s Circle and Bolpen at Papel. He was a
fellow at the 1999 Rio Alma Poetry Clinic
and recepient of two National Book Awards.
Joselito Delos Reyes Books
Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo
She is a renowned teacher, editor, writer
and pioneer of creative nonfiction. Current
Director of the UST Publishing House.

Recipient, Gawad Balagtas, Graphic,

Free Press, Focus, Manila Critics Circle,
UP President Awards for Outstanding
Publication and Gawad Palance for Novel

Author: Looking for the Philippines

(2009), Fabulists and Chroniclers (2008),
Over a Cup of Ginger Tea (2006), Stella
and Other Friendly Ghosts (2012).
Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo Books
 Dr. Jose Dalisay, Jr.
He has published more than 25 books of
fiction and nonfiction, winning many awards
for his writing both in the Philippines and
overseas.

Recepient of 16 Palanca Awards, National

Book Awards, Man Asian Literary Prize
Shortlistee, FAMAS, Urian and American Poet
Prize.

Author:Soledad's Sister (2008), In Flight: Two

Novels of the Philippines (2011), Man
Overboard (2005), The Filipino Flag (2004).
Jose Dalisay, Jr. Books
 Gina Apostol
two-time winner, Philippine National Book
Award for Bibliolepsy and The Revolution
According to Raymundo Mata (2009).

Her American debut, Gun Dealers’

Daughter (2010), won the 2013 PEN/Open
Book Award. She also wrote The Thirdest
World (2007).

Her stories and essays have appeared in

Massachusetts Review, Gettysburg Review,
Charlie Chan is Dead, Volume 2, the New
York Times, the Los Angeles Review of
Books, Foreign Policy, and other venues.
Gina Apostol Books
 Bob Ong
It is the pseudonym of a contemporary
Filipino author known for using
conversational writing technique to
create humorous and reflective
depictions of Philippine life.

Author: ABNKKBSNPLAko?! (2001),

Stainless Longganisa (2005), Kapitan
Sino (2009) at Lumayo Ka Nga Sa Akin
(2011).

Recipient, People's Choice Philippine

Web Award for Weird/Humor in 1998
Cebuano Literature
Cebuano literature refers to the
body of oral and written
literature of speakers of
Cebuano, the mother tongue of
a quarter of the country’s
population who live in Cebu,
Bohol, Siquijor, Negros
Oriental, and parts of Leyte and
Mindanao. As such, it is an
important part of Philippine
literature.
Cebuano Literature
Among the early poetic
forms are garay (verses),
harito (shaman’s prayers),
tigmo (riddles) and
panultihon (proverbs). The
generic form for poetry is
balak, characterized by the
presence of enigma or
metaphor called balaybay or
sambingay.
Cebuano Literature
The prose narratives developed
into the sugilanon or short story,
the first example of which is
“Maming”(1901) by Vicente
Sotto, the “father of Cebuano
letters”; and later into the
sugilambong or novel. The press
contributed much to the
development of literature by
regularly publishing works of
local writers, especially in the
three decades before World War II.
 Resil Mojares
This essayist and scholar authored such
award-winning books as Origins and Rise
of the Filipino Novel (1979), Theater in
Society, Society in Theater (1985), House
of Memory (1997 ), Waiting for Mariang
Makiling (2002), Isabelo's Archive (2013),
The War in Cebu (2015) and Brains of the
Nation (2006).

Long-time member of the Manila Critics

Circle, he is currently general editor of the
Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation and
professor emeritus at the University of San
Carlos in Cebu City
Resil Mojares Books
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard
She is an author and editor of nineteen
books.

She co-founded PAWWA or Philippine

American Women Writers and Artists and
founded Philippine American Literary House.

Brainard's works include the World War II

novel, When the Rainbow Goddess Wept
(1991), Magdalena (2002) and Vigan and
Other Stories (2011), Out of Cebu (2012) and
Angelica's Daughter (2010).

She edited several anthologies including

Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary
Fiction by Filipinos in America, and two
volumes of Growing Up Filipino I and II, books
used by educators.
Cecilia Brainard Books
Marjorie Evasco
She is an award- winning Filipino
poet born in Maribojoc, Bohol

 She writes in two languages:

English and Cebuano-Visayan and is
a supporter of women's rights,
especially of women writers.

Marjorie Evasco is one of the

earliest Filipina feminist poets.

Author: A Life Shape by Music

(2001), Ani (2006), Skin of Water
(2009), Dreamweaver (2012), The
Bohol We Love (2016).
Marjorie Evasco Books
Hiligaynon Literature
Hiligaynon is the lingua franca
of the West Visayas in Central
Philippines. Politically labeled
Region 6, West Visayas is
composed of the provinces of
Iloilo, Capiz, Antique and Aklan
on the island of Panay; Negros
Occidental, the western half of
the island of Negros; and the
new island-province of
Guimaras.
Hiligaynon Literature
Folk literature ranges from brief
riddles, proverbs, ditties, ritual
chants to elaborate love songs,
tales and extensive epics.

A poem is called binalaybay

and the tale is the asoy or the
sugilanon.
Hiligaynon Literature
Two theater forms developed
during the Spanish times.

The moro-moro is full of action

but is no more than a morality
play celebrating the victory of
the Christians against the
Moros.

The zarzuela is a musical but

later made a vehicle for
subversive activities.
Alice Tan Gonzales
She has produced critically-acclaimed
masterpieces evidencing her passion for
both Philippine and Hiligaynon literature.

She has received numerous writing grants

from the Cultural Center of the Philippines
and is an authority on West Visayan folk
literature, particularly the Hiligaynon
komposo or ballad.

Author:
2002 Sa Taguangkan Sang Duta,”
2003 “Esperanza,” Short Story-Hiligaynon
2012 “Lanton,” Short Story-Hiligaynon
2014 “Balay sang Monyeka,” Short Story-
Hiligaynon
Alice Tan Gozales Book
Peter Solis Nery-
Peter Solis Nery is a Filipino poet,
fictionist, author, and filmmaker. Writing in
Hiligaynon, he is a Carlos Palanca
Memorial Awards for Literature Hall of
Fame Awardee, the Cultural Center of the
Philippines (CCP) Literary Grant, and the
All-Western Visayas Literary Contest
(National Commission for Culture and the
Arts) winner.

Author: 100 Erotic Sonnets from the

Hiligaynon (2010), The Prince of
Ngoyngoy (2001), Cory, Full of Grace
(2012), Peter’s Prize Love Poems in
Hiligaynon (2014).
Peter Solis Nery Books
 Rosario Cruz-Lucero
She is an author of short stories,
personal essays, and scholarly articles.
Her stories and essays have won the
Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards, the
Philippines Free Press Literary Award, the
Nick Joaquin Literary Award, and the CCP
Gantimpalang Ani.
She recently won the NCCA Writer's
Prize for a third collection of short stories,
entitled ‘Island of the Disappeared'.

Author: Feast and Feminine: Stories of

Negros (2003), La India or the Island of the
Disappeared (2012).
Rosario Lucero Books
 Miriam Defensor
Santiago-
Miriam Defensor Santiago, an Ilongga, has
been dubbed as the "Iron Lady of Asia" for her
no-nonsense drive against graft and corruption
when she served all the three branches of the
government—judicial, executive, and
legislative.

Santiago wrote at least 30 books, many of

which are about law and social sciences.

Author: Stupid is Forever (2014), Stupid is

Forevermore (2015), Christianity versus
Corruption (2001).
Miriam Santiago Books
Bicol Literature
Bikol is the language of
almost 5 million people in
the provinces of Albay,
Camarines Norte, Camarines
Sur, Catanduanes, Masbate
and Sorsogon that constitute
the Bikol Region.
Bicol Literature
The Bikol people have a writing
tradition with roots in its ancient
folkways. Still extant are charm
verses exploiting the
possibilities of words in folk
poems and narratives with
mythical content, and bound
with early historical fragments
which form part of the people’s
lives.
Bicol Literature
Corridos or metrical romances
became the main reading fare
for many years. Translation
from Spanish to Bikol were
eagerly awaited that writers
switched to translating for the
money it brought them. In time,
Bikolcorridos were written.
 Merlinda Bobis
A contemporary Philippine-Australian writer and
academic.

Her work integrates elements of the traditional

culture of the Philippines with modern immigrant
experience.

Winner, won the Steele Rudd Award for the Best

Collection of Australian Short Stories and the
2000 Philippine National Book Award for White
Turtle and recepient of Palanca Awards.

Author: Banana Heart Summer (2004), Fish-Hair

Woman (2012), Locust Girl: A Lovesong (2015),
The Solemn Lantern Maker (2008)
Merlinda Bobis Books
 Luis Cabalquinto
He was born in Magarao, the Philippines,
and moved to the United States in 1968,
where he studied at Cornell University, New
York University, and the New School.

He is the author of numerous collections of

poetry, including Mannahatta Mahal (2007),
Moon Over Magarao (2004), Bridgeable
Shores: Selected Poems (2001), and The
Dog-Eater & Other Poems (1989).

Cabalquinto writes in English, Pilipino, and

Bikol. His first collection in Bikol, Tignarakol
(2013), was published by Ateneo de Naga
University Press.
Luis Cabalquinto Books
Abdon Balde Jr.
He is an award-winning Filipino novelist. He
has written and published short stories,
poems and novels in English, Tagalog and
the languages of Bicol.

Recepient of National Bookstore Award,

Carlos Palanca Award and Rokyang Ibalong
Bicol Highest Award in Literature.

Author:
Mga Pangarap at Pangitain (2001), Sa
Kagubatan ng Isang Lungsod (2002),
Mayong (2003), Salbakuta ( 2003),
Hunyango sa Bato (2004), Uda Aksidente sa
Bway nikan Tau (2004), Calvary Road (2005)
Abdon Balde Jr. Books
Waray Literature
Eastern Visayas is composed
of the islands of Samar, Leyte,
Biliran and the smaller
outlying islands.

In terms of political divisions,

it is made up of six provinces,
namely Northern Samar,
Eastern Samar, Samar, Biliran,
Leyte, and Southern Leyte.
Waray Literature
The literature of Eastern
Visayas refers to the literature
written in Waray and Cebuano
by writers from the region.

Of the two, it is Waray

literature that has been
collected, recorded, and
documented by scholars and
researchers.
Waray Literature
The growing acceptance of
English as official language in
the country strengthened these
writers’ loyalty to the ethnic
mother tongue as their medium
for their art.

Fiction in Waray has not

flourished because it lacks a
venue for publication.
 Victor Sugbo
He writes poetry in English and Waray.
The selection chosen for this blog is a Waray
poem that he has kindly translated into
English.

His poems in English have been included in

national anthologies and journals. He has
edited four books published by the Philippine
National Commission for the Culture and the
Arts, and recently released his first collection
of poetry in Waray through the UP Press.

Author: Taburos Han Dagat (2014),

Tinipigan: An Anthology of Waray Literature
(2004)