Power of the Will

Once in a time of war between the Samurais and the Japanese army, there was a Master training his comrades to equip themselves knowledge about combat and sword's mastery. The Japanese troop has thousands of soldiers with only a hundred on the other side. After two months the samurais have learned all the things a samurai must know but still, they have this feeling of fear. The Japanese soldiers were ready to pull the trigger of their guns directly to the hearts of their enemies. They went on and on trying to plan a strategy for victory to be tasted. They hunger for blood even though their enemies were also their fellowmen. One night, the samurais had a ritual to their Gods. They lit the bonfire. As the fire started to grow, the woods crackled down. It was a sign of a good omen. They drew their swords and begun to say the ritual prayer. All was in deep concentration. The fire could be seen in their eyes for a reason, they were really determined to win. Suddenly, "To die in a battle is such a great honor for us." they heard the voice of their master and they vowed their heads. It seemed that all the samurais were listening very carefully to their master. Then he continued. "Look at me." And the master drew a coin from his pocket. "I will toss this coin into the air. If the tails will show up, we will lose the war otherwise, we are going to win." Then he tossed the coin as high as he could until the coin landed on his palms. He opened it and he showed the result to his brothers. "It is heads." as the master rose it showing the head side. The Samurais rejoiced in happiness but were still focus and determined to win. The day came to witness the blood shed in the hallowed place of Mount Fate. Together with the samurais, Destiny rode the horses with each of them. Thousands of soldiers versus a hundred of men...the war lasted nine days. True soldiers thirst for water, some of them were on pain, some had a cut on their bodies and others were tired because of the fighting, hundred survived. The Samurais won. "All gather." Said their master and they formed a straight queue as their master had told them. "See this coin?" Then he got the coin from his pocket. "This coin did not foretell our destiny, it is us who fulfilled it! Try to look at it on both sides." A man approach and got the coin. He flipped it side by side and pause, again he flipped it side by side but he couldn't do anything but to pause and for the last time he flipped it again…side by side. "Look!" said the man who flipped the coin. Suddenly they saw the truth that the coin has two heads on both sides.

I believe in Destiny, but there is no Destiny alone. Remember that we are making our own destiny and for that reason, we never run out of choices. It’s just a matter of believing in ourselves and having faith to others, especially to God.

Quotes on Literature

These are the four quotes which I found out interesting:

1) "Beneath the rule of men entirely great, the pen is mightier than the sword." (G K Chesterton )

2) "Only those things are beautiful which are inspired by madness and written by reason."( Andre Gide)

3) "Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers." (Charles W Eliot)

4) "I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book." (Groucho Marx )

Even though all of them have good thoughts, I find the fourth one more unique than the rest. Aside from that reason, I also find the other quotes cliché because anyone would get what they were trying to say in one reading. Who would think that watching television is more educating than reading books? Groucho Marx led the way to this idea. If anyone will read this statement, he/she will surely uncover a way wherein people find doing other things as a way to educate them because actually the more they hate doing those things, not specifically watching television, is the more they will love to educate themselves by reading. But the biggest question that one shall face is: Where will I learn more, doing my stuffs or reading a book? I believe that learning is the greatest gift this world may give us. If we question others why they are not giving the education we need, come to ask yourself: Am I giving myself the education that I need? The role of others, specifically our parents is to guide and support us in our quest, but the challenge lies within us.

Here is how I look at Literature. “Reflection is one way to see the different sides of you, your personality...your character.” Literature may be compared to any surface where you see your reflection. Have you noticed that whenever you read a book there are times wherein you can relate to the story? It is just because in some point of our lives we have experienced that particular scene, though not exact but somehow there’s a connection. We look at it as if we are the one who ventures on the story. For short different situation means different characters. I believed that each and one of us has different personalities. Each has given a chance to portray a scene where it actually fits, whether it has to be the protagonist or the antagonist. The most important thing is in every up’s and down’s...we learn.

Virgilio Almario

Virgilio S. Almario

Virgilio S. Almario, better known by his pen name, Rio Alma, is a Filipino artist, poet, critic, translator, editor, teacher, and cultural manager. He is a National Artist of the Philippines. He grew up in a farming community in Camias, San Miguel de Mayumo, Bulacan and spent his entire boyhood among peasants amidst the Hukbalahap insurrection in the 1950s. He completed his A.B. Political Science at the University of the Philippines in 1963 and immediately accepted a teaching job in San Miguel High School, his alma mater. A prolific writer, he spearheaded the second successful modernist movement in Filipino poetry together with Rogelio G. Mangahas and Lamberto E. Antonio. His earliest pieces of literary criticism were collected in Ang Makata sa Panahon ng Makina (1972), now considered the first book of literary criticism in Filipino. Later, in the years of martial law, he set aside modernism and formalism and took interest in nationalism, politics and activist movement. As critic, his critical works deal with the issue of national language.

The earliest pieces of Almario's literary criticism were also published in the Dawn, the University of the East's weekly organ. Some of them were collected in Ang Makata Sa Panahon ng Makina (1972) and now considered as the first book of literary criticism in Filipino. He later shed off his modernist and formalist interests in favor of a nationalist and politically engaged orientation and joined the activist movement. He was eased out of his teaching job when martial law was declared, married Emelina B. Soriano in the afternoon of New Year 1973, and busied himself with research projects on literary history and the search for native traditions in Philippine literature while blacklisted by the military. This library work resulted in a seminal essay on the novel and some major critical studies including Taludtod at Talinhaga (1965; 1991), Balagtasismo Versus Modernismo (1984), Kung Sino ang Kumatha Kina Bagongbanta, Ossorio, Herrera, atbp. (1992), and Panitikan ng Rebolusyon (g 1896) (1993).

His critical works encompass vital studies on the issue of a national language, some of which are gathered in the books Filipino ng mga Filipino (1993) and Tradisyon at Wikang Filipino (1998). He also produced a stylebook, the Patnubay sa Masinop na Pagsulat (1981), and has produced the biggest monolingual dictionary in Filipino which he initiated while director of the U.P. Sentro ng Wika in 1996.

The sustained superior quality of his literary outputs and his vision of a national literature in Filipino have been rewarded by awards and recognitions, including several Palanca awards, two grand prizes from the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Makata ng Taon of the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino, the TOYM for literature, and the Southeast Asia Write Award of Bangkok. He was recognized as an outstanding citizen by his own province in Dangal ng Lipi Award (1993), by Manila in its Gawad Patnubay ng Sining (1992), and by Quezon City in its Gantimpalang Quezon (1993). He was declared one of the outstanding writers and artists of the century during the CCP centennial celebration.

Aside from being a critic, Almario engaged in translating and editing. He has translated the best contemporary poets of the world. He has also translated for theater production the plays of Nick Joaquin, Bertolt Brecht, Euripedes and Maxim Gorki. Other important translations include the famous works of the Philippines' national hero, José Rizal, namely Noli Me Tangere and El filibusterismo. It was deemed as the best translation by the Manila Critics Circle.

Since 1973, he has also dedicated his weekends for young writers. He opened his apartment for workshops and consultations that helped develop younger generations of poets. In 1985, he opened the Rio Alma Clinic which is now managed by the organization LIRA (Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika, at Anyo) while he serves as head lecturer.

Reference:

January 14, 2010 1:20pm

<http://nationalartists.panitikan.com.ph/>

January 14, 2010 1:34pm

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgilio_Almario>

Nick Joaquin

Nick Joaquin

(Nicomedes Marquez Joaquin) aka Quijano de Manila b. Paco, Manila 4 May 1917. National Artist in Literature. In 1935, at the age of 17, he published his first poem in the Tribune , the WWII Manila Times . Serafin Lanot, the Tribune's poetry editor, liked the poem very much and went to congratulate the poet when he came to collect his fee, but the shy and elusive Joaquin ran away. St the time, the boy was a proofreader in the composing department at the T-V-T (Taliba Vanguardia Tribune).

In 1970 labor problems brewed in the Free Press . Joaquin came out on the side of the workers and resigned over management's attempts to break the union. Together with the other staffers who left, he joined the Asia- Philippines Leader in 1971 and served as its editor- in- chief. Upon the declaration of Martial Law, Joaquin found himself out of regular job as the Leader and other newspapers and magazines critical of the Marcos administration were closed down. He kept himself busy compiling his Philippines Free Press articles for a series of books, writing new plays and stories, publishing feature articles from time to time, accepting commissions for biographies, and running a column, “Small Beer,” in one newspaper. In 1990 he assumed the editorship of the newly opened Philippine Graphic .

Joaquin has authored more than two dozen books. Among the more significant are: Prose and Poems , 1952, his first collection of poetry and fiction, which also include a play, A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino , 1966; Selected Stories , 1962; La Naval de Manila and Other Essays , 1964; and the Complete Poems and Plays of Jose Rizal , 1976, Translation of Rizal's works in English. In 1977 his compiled works as journalist and historian appeared in a pocketbook series: Nora Aunor & Other Profiles, Ronnie Poe & Other Silhouettes, Reportage on Lovers, Reportage on Crime, Amalia Fuentes & Other Etchings, Gloria Diaz & Other Delineations and Doveglion and Other Cameos . The book A Question of Heroes , a thought-provoking and controversial look into history, also came out in 1977.

Tropical Baroque , 979, is a collection of his often- performed plays. It includes A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino (An Elegy in Three Scenes), Tatarin, Father and Sons, and The Beateas. Portrait was first staged on 25 March 1955 at the Aurora Gardens in Intramuros, Manila and later produced in other parts of the Philippines and in other countries. It was also made into a film directed by the late Lamberto Avellana, National Artist in Film. Other important books by Joaquin include: Manila: Sin City and Other Chronicles and Language of the Street and Other Essays , 1980; Cave and Shadows, 1983; Collected Verse , 1987; Culture and History , 1988; and Manila, My Manila , 1991.

Joaquín deeply admired José Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines. Joaquín paid tribute to Rizal by way of books such as The Storyteller's New Medium - Rizal in Saga, The Complete Poems and Plays of Jose Rizal, and A Question of Heroes: Essays in Criticism on Ten Key Figures of Philippine History. He also translated the hero's valedictory poem, "Land That I Love, Farewell!"

Works

• Prose and Poems (1952)
• The Woman Who had Two Navels (1961)
• La Naval de Manila and Other Essays (1964)
• A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino(1966)
• Tropical Gothic (1972)
• A Question of Heroes (1977)
• Jeseph Estrada and Other Sketches (1977)
• Nora Aunor & Other Profiles (1977)
• Ronnie Poe & Other Silhouettes (1977)
• Reportage on Lovers (1977)
• Reportage on Crime (1977)
• Amalia Fuentes & Other Etchings (1977)
• Gloria Diaz & Other Delineations (1977)
• Doveglion & Other Cameos (1977)
• Language of the Streets and Other Essays (1977)
• Manila: Sin City and Other Chronicles (1977)
• Tropical Baroque (1979),
• Stories for Groovy Kids (1979)
• Language of the Street and Other Essays (1980)
• The Ballad of the Five Battles (1981)
• The Aquinos of Tarlac: An Essay on History as Three Generations (1983)
• Almanac for Manileños
• Cave and Shadows (1983)
• The Quartet of the Tiger Moon: Scenes from the People Power Apocalypse (1986)
• Collected Verse (1987)
• Culture and History: Occasional Notes on the Process of Philippine Becoming (1988)
• Manila, My Manila: A History for the Young (1990),
• The D.M. Guevara Story (1993),
• Mr. F.E.U., the Culture Hero That Was Nicanor Reyes (1995).
• Rizal in Saga (1996)

Awards

• José García Villa's Honor Roll (1940)
• Philippines Free Press Short Story Contest (1949)
• Ten Most Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines (TOYM), Awardee for Literature (1955)
• Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Literary Awards (1957–1958; 1965; 1976)
• Harper Publishing Company (New York, U.S.A.) writing fellowship
• Stonehill Award for the Novel (1960)
• Republic Cultural Heritage Award (1961)
• Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award from the City of Manila (1964)
• National Artist Award (1976).
• S.E.A. Write Award (1980)
• Ramon Magsaysay Award for Literature (1996)
• Tanglaw ng Lahi Award from the Ateneo de Manila University (1997)
• Several ESSO Journalism awards, including the highly-covetedJournalist of the Year Award.
• Several National Book Awards from the Manila Critics' Circle for The Aquinos of Tarlac: An Essay in History as Three Generations; The Quartet of the Tiger Moon: Scenes from the People Power Apocalypse; Culture and History: Occasional Notes on the Process of Philippine Becoming; The World of Damian Domingo: 19th Century Manila (co-authored with Luciano P.R. Santiago); and Jaime Ongpin: The Enigma: The Profile of a Filipino as Manager.

His journalism was markedly both intellectual and provocative, an unknown genre in the Philippines at that time, raising the level of reportage in the country.

Reference:

January 14, 2010 1:28pm

<http://nationalartists.panitikan.com.ph/>

January 14, 2010 1:41pm

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Joaquin>

F. Sionil Jose

José was of Ilocano descent whose family had migrated to Pangasinan before his birth. José was born in Rosales, Pangasinan. It is the setting of many of his stories. Fleeing poverty, his forefathers traveled from Ilocos towards Cagayan Valley through the Santa Fe Trail. Like many migrant families, they even brought their lifetime possessions, the only things which help them to live, with them, including uprooted molave posts of their old houses and their alsong, a stone mortar for pounding rice.

Some of the works of F. Sionil Jose are as follows: Jose's first novels were serialized in the Weekly Women's Magazine: The Chief Mourner, 1953, The Balete Tree, 1956, the second version of which was published in 1977. In 1962 he published the best known of all his novels, The Pretenders. His other novels are My Brother, My Executioner, 1979; Mass, 1982; Po-on, 1984; Ermita, 1988; and Viajero (Traveller), 1993. He has published the following short-story collections: The God Stealer and Other Stories, 1968; Selected Works, 1977; Waywaya: Eleven Filipino Short Stories , 1980; and Platinum: Ten Filipino Stories and Olvidon and Other Stories , 1988. He also wrote a novella, Two Filipino Women, 1981, and has authored a poetry collection, Questions, 1988. His writings have also appeared in literary journals and anthologies all over Asia and in American and German publications.

Jose is a multi awarded fictionist whose works have been translated into several languages: Russian, Latvian, Ukrainian, Dutch, Indonesian, and Ilocano.

• He has won three first-prize awards in the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature for the short stories, “The God Stealer,” 1959; “Waywaya,” 1979; and “Arbol de Fuego” (Firetree), 1980
• Grand prize in the CCP Literary contests for the novel Tree , 1979; three first-prize awards from the National Press Club, 1957, 1961 and 1962; the Fernando Ma. Guerrero Memorial Foundation Award for Literature from UST
• the Republic Cultural Heritage Award for Tree , and the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award from the city government of Manila, all in 1979
• Tawid Awardee for Cultural Nationalism from the Ilocano Heritage Foundation
• Palanca Awardee grand prize for his novel Mass , 1981.

· He became national Artist for Literature in 2001.

• Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts (1980)
• Pablo Neruda Centennial Award (2004)

(R.C. Lucero and M. Pulan)

"...The reader of his well crafted stories will learn more about the Philippines, its people and its concerns than from any journalistic account or from a holiday trip there. José's books take us to the heart of the Filipino mind and soul, to the strengths and weaknesses of its men, women, and culture. (Lynne Bundesen, Los Angeles Times)”

One of the greatest influences to José was his industrious mother who went out of her way to get him the books he loved to read, while making sure her family did not go hungry despite of poverty and landlessness. José managed to read the novels of José Rizal, Willa Cather’s My Antonia, Faulkner and Steinbeck.

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.

"Authors like myself choose the city as a setting for their fiction because the city itself illustrates the progress or the sophistication that a particular country has achieved. Or, on the other hand, it might also reflect the kind of decay, both social and perhaps moral, that has come upon a particular people." (F. Sionil José, BBC.com, July 30, 2003)

Reference:

January 14, 2010 1:17pm

<http://nationalartists.panitikan.com.ph/>

January 14, 2010 1:26pm

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F_sionil_jose>