The Pre-War Years
The founding of the University of the Philippines in 1908 triggered the development and flowering of Philippine –Literature in English, with the UP College Folio serving as vehicle for the first literary attempts. Along with this, later publications served to encourage such attempts, namely, The Philippine Review, The Philippine Free Press, the Philippine Herald, and still later, the Philippine Magazine. The U.P. Writers Club was organized in 1927 ' The Literacy Apprentice, its literary organ, became the most prestigious college literary publication in the country. It was also at about this time that the Varsitarian of the University of Santo Tomas began to see publication, existing side by side with its literary supplement, The Spectrum.
It was not therefore until the mid-20's that literary activities were stepped up, literary efforts were recognized and encouraged, and notable names in literature began to grace the literary scene.
understandably, the writers of this generation could not help writing under the shadow of their American tutors and inspiration who taught them the craft as well as motivated them. But at the same time they encouraged them to take pride in their own people, their own customs and traditions, applaud their own folk-wisdom with "unprejudiced eyes", they fed them with a surfeit of the sentimentalities" of Cooper, Bryant, Longfellow, Tennyson, Poe, Teasdale, etc. Thus, the early writings in English even up to the later pre-war years and on, borrowed much from the conventions or techniques of Anglo-American authors.
Aside fr0m their American teachers, sources of motivation were courses in Creative Writing, literary contests' as well as more literary magazines and supplements which printed literary pieces, maintaining strict standards which had to be met. To be published during those days was already supreme achievement for the budding writer.
It was not however until the establishment of the commonwealth in 1935 that the writers began to be more concerned with the creation of a "national literature." Prior to this, literary attempts were merely personal outpourings, most of the time about love, newly felt, lost or unrequited, or about the common sorrows and joys of life. At first, this concept of national literature was understood in terms of "local color" through the use of localisms and rustic landscapes, customs, traditions. Later, some few years before the war, the writer's view of nationalism intensified into a growing rejection of American influences which were mostly based on old romantic conventions, and an increasing emphasis on realism and social consciousness. This led to the famous literary conflict between Salvador P. Lopez on one hand and poet Jose Garcia villa on the other, between two opposing and rather extreme ideas on literature.
S.P. Lopez, prophet of socially committed literature, influenced as he was by the social protest movement sweeping the USA at about this time in the wake of the great economic collapse and the depression wrote:
“The real artist has a deep compassion for the suffering of the oppressed and anger of the oppressors. The highest form of art is that which springs from the wells of man’s deepest urges and longings…his love of his own kind and his longing to be free…of all the ends to which he (the artist) may dedicate his talents, none is more worthy than the improvement of the condition of man and the defense of freedom.”
-Literature Society, 1939
S.P. Lopez explained his side, “The 30’s comprised a period of intense political, social and intellectual activity in our country, mainly because of his independence movement which spawned problems…we who are just beginning to master English, were exposed to the literature of the social protest, which had become very powerful abroad.”
Jose Gracia Villa, on the other hand, believed in “art for art’s sake”; that in art, craft comes before meaning, that poetry should never be useful and propagandistic, that it must only arouse pleasure in the beautiful, must lead to contemplation, not action.
One significant benefit derived from such controversy was the attempt to strike a healthy balance between social commitment and artistic excellence. But since on cannot truly serve two masters the writer must set his priorities. One disadvantage of this conflict was it led to fanatic disciples for either camp, and bred social propagandists on one hand and effete, irrelevant artist on the other, the respective tags depending on which side of the fence one situated himself. The times however were more receptive to S.P. Lopez literary platform and Villa was considered anachronism, far beyond his time.
Generally, however, part of the literary ferment that appeared before World War II as it affected Philippine shores was enlivened by this dynamic tension in the history of our literary evolution, and the brush with Western culture and politics. The post-war years continued this lively conflict, but basically, the literary scenario began to change.
ref: Philippine Contemporary Literature in English, Ophelia A. Dimalanta, et.al.
