Philippine Literature after EDSA Revolution, 1986 to 1995

1. Literature After EDSA Revolution
(1986 – 1995)
REPORTED AND PREPARED BY:
Ma. Bernadeth Garcia
Jessa Laure Anne Palo
Sarah Jane Badua
Alexandra Jane Banister
Richard De Jesus

2. 1986 EDSA Revolution
• The year 1986 demarcates the beginning of new scene in the
unfolding narrative of contemporary Philippine Literature.
– It saw the fall of the dictatorship that President Marcos set up on
September 21, 1972, when he placed the Philippines under martial
rule, initiating a regime that did not only suppress the writers’ right to
free expression but also created conditions that made collaboration
and cooptation convenient choices for artists struggling for recognition
and survival.

3. – Writing under the Martial Law Regime was characterized
by militancy and belligerence, even when it showed up in
the legal press. Especially after the assassination of Ninoy
Aquino in 1983, the temper of poetry and theatre derived
much of its heat and direction from the political culture of
the underground national democratic movement.
1986 EDSA Revolution

4. • However, when the enemy were overthrown
in 1986, the literary activity showed a certain
disorientation manifesting itself in a
proliferation of concerns taken up by
individual writers and groups.
1986 EDSA Revolution

5. • Post EDSA: 2 Creative Writing centers
o Academic institutions where Creative Writing is a part of the
curricular offerings.
o Writers’ organizations that periodically sponsor symposia on
writer and/or set up workshops for its members and other
interested parties
 Through these centers that writers get to hear about new
developments in writing, and derive enthusiasm for their crafts.
1986 EDSA Revolution

6. Writers’ Organizations
• UMPIL (Unyon ng mga Manunulat ng Pilipino)
• PANULAT (Pambansang Unyon ng mga
Manunulat)
• Panday Lipi
• GAT (Galian sa Arte)

7. Writers’ Organization
• Katha
• LIRA (Linangan sa Imahe, Retorika at Anyo)
• GUMIL (Gunglo Dagiti Manunurat nga Ilokano)
• LUDABI (Lubas sa Dagang Bisaya)
• PEN ( Pen, Essay and Novel)

8. Post EDSA
• La Tondeña, sponsors of the venerable Carlos Palanca
Memorial Awards in Literature, has made the name
“Palanca” a synonym for quality literary works in both
English and Filipino.
• The National Commission for Culture and the Arts
(NCAA) was created by law in 1992. It has a Committee
on Literary Arts which funds workshops, conferences,
publications and a variety of projects geared towards
the production of a “national literature”. The
committee has the aim of developing writing that is
multi-lingual, multi-cultural, and truly national.

9. Post EDSA
• Non-governmental organizations have helped hand in
hand with some institutions in giving recognition to
writers from specific sectors in the society. These
NGO's includes the Amado V. Hernandez Foundation;
the GAPAS foundation, and the KAIBIGAN.
• Campus publications are another group of outlet that is
of importance as a source of non-traditional,
experimental writing. These campus publications could
either be a weekly student newspapers, quarterly
magazines, or annual literary journals.

10. Post EDSA
• Overall, the character of the Philippine
literary scene after "EDSA" maybe pinpointed
be referring to the theories that inform
literary production, to the products issuing
from the publishers, to the dominant concerns
demonstrated by the writers' output, and to
the direction towards which literary studies
are tending.

11. Characteristics of Post EDSA Literature
1. There is in the academe an emerging critical orientation that
draws its concerns and insights from literary theorizing current in
England and the United States
2. Post-EDSA publishing has been marked by adventurousness, a
willingness to gamble on "non-traditional" projects.
3. The declining prestige of the New Criticism, whose rigorous
aesthetic norms has previously functioned as a Procrustean bed on which
Filipino authors and their works were measured, has opened a gap in the
critical evaluation of literary works.
4. The fourth and final characteristic of post-EDSA writing is the
development thrust towards the retrieval and the recuperation of writing
in Philippine languages other than Tagalog.

12. Characteristics of Contemporary
Literature
• English and Filipino continue to be the major media of literature.
• Literature as a venue for socio-politico-economic-religious discussions and
a vehicle for personal thoughts and feelings has become more marked.
• Literary themes cover a wide range of subjects most outstanding among
which are existentialism and the search for identity in varying levels and
settings, deception and violence perpetuated by those in power, grinding
poverty especially in the country-sides and in some cities, nationalism,
tenant-landlord relationship, human rights violation and the search for the
desaparecidos, and the Filipino diaspora and the experiences of overseas
Filipino workers(OFWs) and migrants.
• The Anglo-American tradition, which includes the free verse and the blank
verse, gained acceptance among writers.

13. Characteristics of Contemporary
Literature
• The Euro-Hispanic tradition was blended with the tradition of
propaganda and revolutionary literature to become a truly Filipino
tradition.
• The ‘60s and the ‘70s saw the resurgence of cause-oriented
literature. This militancy, although markedly toned down, has
continued to the present.
• Further development of regional literatures has been given a
stronger impetus through the inclusion of regional literary
masterpieces in the college curriculum.
• Filipino writers have become more conscious of their craft as
shown by the regular conduct of writing workshops (Godinez-
Ortega 6).

14. Contemporary Literary Types
• Modern Poetry – This is a new style of poetry writing in
Tagalog, a deviationfrom the highly rimed, declamatory
tradition known for many centuries.
• Modern Short Story – These are stories set in the
Philippines in the English language
• The Novel
• Essay
• Drama

15. Short Stories
• Ang Pinakahuling Kwento ni Huli (The Very Last Story of
Huli)
– Lilia Quindoza Santiago
• The Execution
– Charlson Ong
• Kabilang sa mga Nawawala (Among the Disappeared)
– Ricardo Lee
• Geyluv
– Honorio De Dios