21st Century Literature from the Phillippines and the World

source:  http://www.dark-night.org/ Title: To Whom Shall I Tell My Sorrow Author: Anton Checkov Author's Background: Anton Chekhov was born on January 29, 1860, in Taganrog, Russia. Through stories such as "The Steppe" and "The Lady with the Dog," and plays such as The Seagull and Uncle Vanya, the prolific writer emphasized the depths of human nature, the hidden significance of everyday events and the fine line between comedy and tradegy. Chekhov died of tuberculosis on July 15, 1904, in Badenweiler, Germany. source:  https://www.biography.com/people/anton-chekhov-9245947 Vocabulary: Mare - an evil preternatural being causing nightmares. Hunchbacked - a person with a humpback. Nag - horse : one that is old or in poor condition. Kopecks - see ruble at money table Galosh - a shoe with a heavy sole. Epithet - a word or phrase that describes a person or thing. source: Merriam-Websters Dictionar, Google Characters:...

source:  http://www.sushidog.com/bpss/stories/hills.htm Title: A Night in the Hills Author: Paz Marquez-Benitez Author's Background:  Paz Marquez-Benitez (1894 - 1983) was a Filipina short-story writer. Marquez-Benitez authored the first Filipino modern English language short story,   Dead Stars,  published in the Philippine Herald in 1925. Born into the prominent Marquez family of Quezon province, she was among the first generation of Filipino people trained in the American education system which used English as the medium of instruction. She graduated high school in Tayabas High School now, Quezon National High School. She was a member of the first freshman class of the University of the Philippines, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1912. Marquez-Benitez later became a teacher at the University of the Philippines, who taught short-story writing and had become an influential figure to many Filipino writers in the English language, such as...

source:  https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GFC0p-tulCc/maxresdefault.jpg Title: Dead Stars Author: Paz Marquez-Benitez Author's Background: Paz Marquez-Benitez (1894 - 1983) was a Filipina short-story writer. Marquez-Benitez authored the first Filipino modern English language short story, Dead Stars, published in the Philippine Herald in 1925. Born into the prominent Marquez family of Quezon province, she was among the first generation of Filipino people trained in the American education system which used English as the medium of instruction. She graduated high school in Tayabas High School now, Quezon National High School. She was a member of the first freshman class of the University of the Philippines, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1912. Marquez-Benitez later became a teacher at the University of the Philippines, who taught short-story writing and had become an influential figure to many Filipino writers in the English language, such as Loreto Paras-Sulity, Paz...

source:  https://dahliasagucio.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/maria.jpg?w=650 Title: How my Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife Author: Manuel Estabilla Arguilla Author's Background: Manuel E. Arguilla was born on June 17, 1911 in Nagrebcan, Bauang, La Union to parents Crisanto Arguilla, a farmer, and Margarita Estabillo, a potter. Their mediocre living was not a hindrance for Manuel to attain his dreams especially in literature. He finished his elementary school in his hometown and his high school in San Fernando where he became the editor-in-chief of his school's newsletter, the La Union Tab. He was also an athlete where he became champion in swimming events he joined. He entered the University of the Philippines where he joined the UP Writers Club and later became the president and the editor of the UP Literary Apprentice. He finished Education in 1933. He married Lydia Villanueva, a fellow artist and writer and lived in Ermita, Manila. Upon graduation, he practice his...

source:  https://sg-dae.kxcdn.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/youth-faith-and-belief.jpg Title: Footnote to Youth Author: Jose Garcia Villa Author's Background: Jose Garcia Villa (August 5, 1908 - February 7, 1997) was a Filipino poet, literary critic, short story writer, and painter. He was awarded the National Artist of the Philippines title for literature in 1973, as well as the Guggenheim Fellowship in creative writing by Conrad Aiken. He is known to have introduced the "reversed consonance rhyme scheme" in writing poetry, as well as the extensive use of punctuation marks - especially commas, which made him known as the Comma Poet.  He used the penname Doveglion (derived from "Dove, Eagle, Lion"), based on the characters he derived from himself. These animals were also explored by another poet E. E. Cummings in Doveglion, Adventures in Value, a poem dedicated to Villa. source:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Garcia_Villa Vocabu...

source:  http://slideplayer.com/slide/9408508/ Title: Visitation of the Gods Author: Gilda Cordero-Fernando Author's Background: Gilda Cordero-Fernando is a multiawarded writer, publisher and cultural icon from the Philippines. She was born in Manila, has a B.A. from St. Theresa's College-Manila, and an M.A. from the Ateneo de Manila University. She started off as a writer and was awarded the Palanca Award for Literature several times. She has also written and illustrated children's books. Her short stories are collected in The Butcher, The Baker and The Candlestick Maker (1962) and A Wilderness of Sweets (1973). In 1994, she received a Cultural Center of the Philippines (Gawad CCP) for her lifetime achievements in literature and publishing. source:   https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3370901.Gilda_Cordero_Fernando Vocabulary: Assiduous - showing great care, attention, and effort. Languorous - refers to a certain kind of mood everyone...