Short Stories

Paz Márquez-Benítez
Paz Márquez-Benítez​ (3 March 1894– 10 November 1983) was a
Filipina​ short-story writer, educator and editor. Her career as a
woman educator as well as her contributions as a writer are seen as
an important step within the advancement of women in
professional careers as well as in the development of Philippine
literature
During her career as a writer, Paz Marquez-Benitez developed
fictional short stories criticizing American Imperialism. Paz is most known by her fictional
short story ​Dead Stars​ (1925) in which the two main characters are displayed as allegories to
American imperialism in order to portray the slow decay of Philippine heritage. Her only
other known published work is ​A Night in the Hills​ (1925). Even though she had only two
published works her writings would be regarded as the first steps of Philippine literature
moving into the mainstream
Paz Marquez-Benitez remains a prominent influence on Philippine literature through not only
her writing but her impact as an educator and editor. Her and her husband's establishment of
educational magazines, schools, and her contributions to the development of creative short
story writing courses within the Philippines is believed to have inspired generations of
Filipino writers.

Literary Contributions
Dead Stars (1925)
The short story revolves around one man, Alfredo Salazar and the affairs of his heart. He is a
man who believes in true love and hopes to find bliss in its wake. The first woman he falls in
love with is Esperanza.
Their families are acquainted with each other and thus they begin a passionate relationship.
But soon it fades away when Alfredo comes across another woman, Julia, who becomes the
object of his desire.
Esperanza and Alfredo have their engagement after three years of romance. Alfredo, a lawyer
is a man who wants warmth and compassion but Esperanza is a strong-willed, impassioned
and woman of principles.

A Night in the Hills (1925)

Gerardo Luna, a jewelry store salesman in his 30’s, has always dreamed of going to the forest
which he regards as a beautiful place. One day, when Ambo, an orchid gatherer who buys
some jewelry for his wife’s store, tells Gerardo about living in the forest for weeks at a time,
the latter gets more interested, and tells his wife about it. However, his wife is eyeing only the
business aspect of such an idea. Hence, he never mentions his dream again.
Then Gerardo’s wife dies. At last, he can fulfill his long-time dream, especially that Ambo
has come again, with stories regarding newly opened public land on a forest plateau. So, the
two of them plan to go to the forest.
Before actually going on the planned trip, Gerardo’s Ate Tere is not so keen on the idea. She
wants him to marry Peregrina who will surely take him the minute he proposes.
Ambo and Gerardo go to the hills, and it is among the foothills where they spend noontime.
Gerardo is tired and sweaty, and he asks for water, which, according to Ambo is ten minutes
away. They walk and walk, and along the way Gerardo experiences nature in a manner that is
not that wonderful for him.
Finally they enter the dim forest. Gerardo is uncomfortable on his bed of small branches and
twigs. He cannot sleep that night; he thinks of his wife, not fondly, though. He also thinks of
God. He is oppressed by nostalgia.
There is an eerie light in the forest, and Gerardo hears strange sounds that are caused by tree
worms. Then he hears water from afar. All in all, he feels that he will never understand the
forest.
Gerardo goes home, first getting his house’s key from his Ate Tere. There he meets Peregrina
whom he tells “Pereg, as soon as I get these clothes off I shall come to ask you a question that
is very—very important to me.”
As she smiled eagerly but uncertainty into his face, he heard a jangling in his hand. He felt,
queerly, that something was closing above his hand, and that whoever was closing it, was
rattling the keys.

Jorge Bocobo

Dr. Jorge Bocobo​ (October 19, 1886-July 23, 1965) was a much
traveled man, scholar, lawyer, writer, journalist, religious leader,
educator, political scientist and successful college executive. He
prepared himself well for any task that awaited him. Into any
undertaking, he always put the best of his energies and, to use his
own expression, "made the failure of any work which I undertake
my own failure, its success my own success."

Literary Contributions
● A Vision of Beauty
● Filipino Contact with America
● College Uneducation.
(no reference on published works)

Amador Daguio
Amador T. Daguio​ was a Filipino writer and poet during pre-war
Philippines. He published two books in his lifetime, and three more
posthumously. He received a Republic Cultural Heritage award for his
works.
When Daguio was a third year high school student his poem "She Came
to Me" got published in the July 11, 1926 edition of ​The Sunday Tribune​.
After he graduated from UP, he returned to Lubuagan to teach at his former alma mater. He
then taught at Zamboanga Normal School in 1938 where he met his wife Estela. During the
Second World War, he was part of the resistance and wrote poems. These poems were later
published as his book ​Bataan Harvest.​
He was the chief editor for the Philippine House of Representatives, as well as several other
government offices. He also taught at the University of the East, University of the
Philippines, and Philippine Women's University for 26 years. He died in 1967 from liver
cancer at the age of 55.

Literary Contributions
● Hudhud hi aliguyon (a translation of an Ifugao harvest song, Stanford, 1952)
● The Flaming Lyre (a collection of poems, Craftsman House, 1959)
● The Thrilling Poetical Jousts of Balagtasan (1960)
● Bataan Harvest (war poems, A.S Florentino, 1973)
● The Woman Who Looked Out the Window (a collection of short stories, A.S
Florentino, 1973)
● The Fall of Bataan and Corregidor (1975)

Pilar Hidalgo-Lim
Pilar Hidalgo-Lim​ (1893–1973) was a Filipino educator and civic
leader. She was married to Brig. General ​Vicente Lim​, World War II
hero.
Pilar Hidalgo-Lim graduated from the University of the Philippines,
Bachelor of Arts, cum laude. She joined both the UP and Centro
Escolar as a mathematics instructor. She married Lt. Vicente Lim, a
West Point graduate, on August 12, 1917. They had six children: Luis,
Roberto, Vicente Jr, Patricio, Eulalia, and Maria.
Hidalgo-Lim was active in civic affairs. She became President of the National Federation of
Women's Clubs, and was an active supporter for women's suffrage, which President ​Manuel
Quezon​ signed into law in 1937. In 1940, with ​Josefa Llanes Escoda​, Hidalgo-Lim helped
found the Girl Scouts of the Philippines.​]​ She also worked as a line producer for Parlatone
Hispano-Filipino Studios, a Manila movie production company. Hidalgo-Lim and her
children were in the United States when World War II started.

Literary Contributions
● The Influence of Filipina Women

Paz Latorena
Paz M. Latorena​ (pseudonym, ​Mina Lys​; January 17, 1908 – October
19, 1953) was one of the notable writers of the first generation of
Filipino English writers, in both literary writing and education. She was
a poet, editor, author, and teacher.
Paz Manguera Latorena was born on Jan. 17, 1908 in Boac,
Marinduque. She was the oldest among the ten children of Magda
Manguera and Ricardo Latorena
She finished basic schooling at St. Scholastica’s College in Manila and the Manila South
High School (as the Araullo High School). In 1926, she took up Education at the University
of the Philippines (UP) in Manila where she also attended a short story writing class under
Paz Márquez-Benítez​.
In 1927, Latorena received an invitation from Benitez to write a column for the ​Philippines
Herald Magazine,​ of which Benitez was the literary editor. That same year, Latorena, along
with other campus writers, founded the UP Writers’ Club. ​The Literary Apprentice​, the UP
Writers’ Club’s publication, then ran a short story by Latorena, “A Christmas Tale.”
Latorena also wrote poetry under the pseudonym, Mina Lys, which, according to Tanlayco,
had a “romantic significance,” for the then young writer.
Before the year ended, she won the third prize in Jose Garcia Villa’s Roll of Honor for the
Best Stories of 1927 for her story, “The Small Key.”
For her final year of college, in 1927, Latorena transferred to UST to finish her Education
degree. She became the literary editor of the ​Varsitarian​ and published her poems, “Insight”
and “My Last Song,” under her nom de plume, Mina Lys.
She shortly earned her master’s and doctorate degree while teaching literature courses in
UST. In 1934, her doctoral dissertation, “Philippine Literature in English: Old Voices and
New,” received the highest rating of sobresaliente.
Latorena’s former students include F. Sionil Jose, Nita Umali, Genoveva Edroza Matute,
Zeneida Amador, Ophelia Dimalanta and Alice Colet-Villadolid, to name a few.

Literary Contributions
● Sunset
● A Christmas Tale
● The Small Key
● Myrrh
● Years and a Day
● Desire

Tarcila Malabanan
Born in Lipa,Batangas to Servando Malabanan and Romana Librea.
Married to notable writer Jose Ma. Katigbak.

Literary Contributions
● Macario’s Noche Buena
● Songs of the peasants of Lipa, Batangas
Jose Villa Panganiban

Jose Villa Panganiban​ (12 June 1903 – 13 October 1972 ) was

a ​lexicographer​, professor, linguist, essayist, poet, playwright,
author, and lyricist. Panganiban was a prolific writer, with over
1,000 works to his name (textbooks, dictionaries, books,
poems, short stories, articles, plays, etc.). Among his textbooks
were Pagsusuring Pambalarila; Panitikan ng Pilipinas;
Comparative Semantics of Synonyms and Homonyms in the
Philippine Language, and publications such as Diksyunaryong Pilipino-Ingles; Concise
English-Pilipino Dictionary; Thought, Language, Feelings; Isip, Wika, Damdamin; a
collection of poetry, Mga Butil na Perlas; 101 Tanong at Sagot na Pangwika; 90 Painless
Lessons in Pilipino; Tanaga, Haiku, Pantun and many more. Thirty-two years of research
produced two Thesaurus-Dictionaries: Diksyunaryo-Tesaurong Pilipino-Ingles and the
Thesaurus-Dictionary English-Pilipino, considered to be his magnum opus.

Literary Contributions
● The literature of the Filipinos
● Diksyunaryong Pilipino-Ingles
● Mga Butil na Perlas

Arturo Belleza Rotor

Arturo B. Rotor​ (June 7, 1907 – April 9, 1988) was a Filipino
medical doctor, civil servant, musician, and writer.
Rotor was born in the ​Philippines​ and attended the University of the
Philippines. He graduated simultaneously from the Conservatory of
Music and the College of Medicine. He trained further at ​Johns
Hopkins University​'s medical school, publishing a paper on a rare form
of hyperbilirubinemia (jaundice) now known as "​Rotor syndrome​".

Rotor was an internationally respected writer of fiction and non-fiction in English. He is

widely considered among the best Filipino short story writers of the twentieth century. He
was a charter member of the Philippine Book Guild; the guild's initial publication (1937) was
Rotor's ​The Wound and the Scar,​ despite Rotor's protests that someone else's work should
have been selected. In 1966, the Philippine government recognized his literary
accomplishments by awarding him the Republic Cultural Heritage Award. Rotor's
best-known literary works are ​The Wound and the Scar​ (1937), ​Confidentially, Doctor
(1965), ​Selected Stories from the Wound and the Scar​ (1973), ​The Men Who Play God
(1983), and the short stories "Dahong Palay" (1928) and "Zita" (1930).
Literary Contributions
● The Wound and the Scar (1937)
● Confidentially, Doctor (1965)
● Selected Stories from the Wound and the Scar (1973)
● The Men Who Play God (1983)
● Dahong Palay (1928)
● Zita (1930)

Loreto Paras-Sulit
Loreto Paras-Sulit​ (December 10, 1908 – April 23, 2008)
was a Filipino writer best known for her English-language
short stories.
Paras-Sulit was born in Ermita, Manila. After finishing her
secondary education in Manila, she entered the University
of the Philippines, where she first gained notice for her short
fiction. While at the University, she co-founded the U.P.
Writer's Club in 1927 along with other student-writers such
as Arturo Rotor and Jose Garcia Villa. She graduated with a
Bachelor of Science degree in education, magna cum laude,
in 1930.
Paras-Sulit would join the faculty of Florentino Torres High School as an English teacher
while maintaining an active writing career. She was a member of the Philippine Writers
Association and the Literary Guild of the Philippines. In the 1940s, she joined the Philippine
National Red Cross, of which she served as secretary-general for several decades. While at
the Red Cross, she shifted her focus to short stories for children, publishing several works of
that variety at the Philippine Junior Red Cross Magazine. She retired from public life after
retiring from the Red Cross, dying in April, 2008 at the age of 99.

Literary Contributions

● Harvest and Other Short Stories

● (some work titles can’t be found)
 José García Villa

José 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 pen name Doveglion (derived from "Dove, Eagle, Lion"), based on
the characters he derived from his own works. These animals were also explored by another
poet, E. E. Cummings, in "Doveglion, Adventures in Value", a poem dedicated to Villa.

Literary Contributions
● Footnote to Youth: Tales of the Philippines and Others (1933)
● Many Voices (1939)
● Poems by Doveglion (1941)
● Have Come, Am Here (1942)
● Volume Two (1949)
● The Anchored Angel: Selected Writings (1999)
Poetry
Aurelio Sevilla Alvero
Aurelio Sevilla Alvero​ (October 15, 1913 — 1958). Lawyer, educator, poet, essayist,
novelist; after 1945 he wrote under the pen name ​Magtanggul Asa​. Son of Emilio de Vera
Alvero and Rosa Sevilla Alvero.
He was the son of Emilio Alvero y de Vera, painter, art-glass artist and interior decorator, and
Rosa Sevilla y Tolentino, writer, social worker and educator and founder of the Instituto de
Mujeres, one of the oldest schools for women in the Philippines. Alvero studied at the Centro
Educativo y Instructivo and completed his primary education at the Instituto de Mujeres. He
later graduated from the Ateneo de Manila high school and then went on to study law and
education simultaneously at the University of Santo Tomas. He received the A.A. degree in
1933, the B.S.E. in 1935 and his law degree cum laude in 1937.

Literary Contributions
● Tagala trilogy
● Moon shadows on the waters
● Nuances

Rafael Zulueta da Costa

Rafael Zulueta da Costa​ (born 1915-1990) was a Filipino poet. He
used the name R. Zulueta da Costa as a writer, and Rafael Zulueta as a
businessman.
He was a graduate of De La Salle College (now University) where he
specialized in business administration. He began writing poems in
Spanish and later he also wrote in English.His most famous work is
Like the Molave and Other Poems, which won the Commonwealth
Literary Award for Poetry in 1940.

Literary Contributions
● Like the Molave

Luis Dato
Luis G. Dato (4 July 1906 – 29 January 1985) was a Filipino poet,
writer, educator and politician from Baao, Camarines Sur. He was one
of the first Filipinos to write and publish works in English. Among his
poems are "The Spouse", "Day on the Farm" and "Among the Hills".
In 1927, his "Mi Ultimo Pensamiento" was the first good English
translation, in rhymes, of José Rizal's "Mi último adiós".
Literary Contributions
● The Spouse
● Day on the Farm
● Among the Hills

Vicente L. Del Fierro

“Del Fire”
(no information found)

Literary Contributions
● The dream that was yesterday
● Night
● The passing of a great poet : my impressions of the late Don Fernando Ma.
Guerrero.

Angela Manalang-Gloria
Angela Marie Legaspi Manalang was born on August 24, 1907, in
Guagua, Pampanga to parents, Felipe Dizon Manalang (born in Mexico,
Pampanga) and Tomasa Legaspi. However, their family later settled in
the Bicol region, particularly in Albay. She studied at St. Agnes
Academy in Legaspi, where she graduated valedictorian in elementary.
In her senior year, she moved to St. Scholastica's College in Malate,
Manila, where her writing started to get noticed.
Angela Manalang was among the first generation female students at the
University of the Philippines. Angela initially enrolled in law, as
suggested by her father. However, with the advice of her professor C.V. Wickers, who also
became her mentor, she eventually transferred to literature.

Literary Contributions
● Revolt from Hymen (a poem protesting against marital rape)
● Old Maid Walking on a City Street

JOSE MA. HERNANDEZ

(1904-1982) Dramatist, Author and Educator. A distinguished man of letters, Jose Ma.
Hernandez was born on June 19, 1904. Hegraduated valedictorian from the Mabini
Intermediate School and received the degree of Bachelor of Science in education from the
University of the Philippines in 1928. After graduation, he enrolled at Columbia University
for the summer term of 1929. He earned his master’s degree in English, cum laude, from
the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. His thesis was, “The Philosophy of Joseph
Conrad.”
Literary Contributions
● White Sunday
● My Home

Fernando Mamuri Maramág

Fernando Mamuri Maramág was born on January 21, 1893 in
Ilagan, Isabela. He was educated in the Philippine Normal School,
and then transferred to the University of the Philippines. He
worked as a teacher at the Instituto de Manila, which later became
the University of Manila. He was also writer and editor at several
magazines, including Rising Philippines, Citizen, Philippine
National Weekly, Philippines Herald, and The Tribune. He also
served in the Publication Division of the Department of Justice, and then transferred to the
office of the President of the Senate under Manuel L. Quezon.
A poet and essayist, Maramág translated Ibanag folk songs into English, such as the
“Cagayanon Labor Song,” “A Translation of an Orphan’s Song,” and “Cagayano Peasant
Song”. His poems include “To a Youth,” “The Atheist,” and “Moonlight on Manila Bay”.
His essays were anthologized in Leopoldo Yabes’ Filipino Essays in English 1910-1954
(1954). He passed away on October 23, 1936.

Literary Contributions
● Cagayanon Labor Song
● A Translation of an Orphan’s Song
● To a Youth
● The Atheist
● Moonlight on Manila Bay
● The Rural Maid

Natividad J. Márquez
Natividad J. Márquez. Also Known As: "Naty" was born February 1901 in Lucena,
Tayabas, Philippines

Literary Contributions
● The Sea

Juan F. Salazar
Juan F. Salazar's biography was the history of the beginning of Filipino-English literature,
of the growth of English as the vehicle and it's triumph over the criterion that English is too
exotic to reflect the native mood, the mannerism, the idiosyncrasies of the Filipino mind.
Salazar was born in 1889 in San Roque, Cavite. He left Manila High-School for newspaper
work. In 1913, he joined The Philippine Republic, a Filipino weekly in Hong-Kong. The
following year, he returned to the country as a reporter for La Democracia and El
Renacimiento Filipino. He then left for America in 1915 as a mess boy on the transport
Thomas- the same transport that brought the first American school teachers to the
Philippines. He worked in the salmon canneries in Alaska and later joined The Sacramento
Union in California where he rose from reporter to copyreader to feature writer. But in the
year 1919, he succumbed to pneumonia.

Literary Contributions
● Air Castle

Abelardo Subido
Abelardo Subido is Poet, Journalist, Publisher, Author, Lawyer,
Diplomat, Civil Service Commissioner. Born at Biñan, Laguna on
August 1, 1912. Died of a heart attack on April 27, 1979 at the age of
66.
Studied at Santa Ana Elementary School, Manila East High School in
1931, United States army, working as a clerk. Graduated Bachelor of
Philosophy in 1935 but continued on to law school. During his term
as Civil Service Commissioner, Abelardo moved “to enforce, execute
and carry out the constitutional and statutory provisions on the merit
system.

Literary Contributions
● Soft Night

Trinidad Tarrosa-Subido
Trinidad Tarrosa-Subido was born in Shanghai where her father worked
as a musician. . After her father's death, she and her mother returned to
Manila in 1917. She graduated from Manila East High School, and in
1929, she took the civil service examination in order to work in the
Bureau of Education, and passed it with a grade of 97 percent, the
highest then on record. She enrolled as a working student at the
University of the Philippines Manila in 1932 and met her husband
Abelardo Subido. She became a member of the UP Writers Club and contributed her
sonnets.
She got married in 1936 and graduated magna cum laude the following year. She then
began to work at the Institute of National Language. In 1940, she published Tagalog
Phonetics and Orthography, which she co-authored with Virginia Gamboa-Mendoza. In
1945, she and her husband published poems titled Three Voices, with an introduction by
Salvador P. Lopez. After the war, the Subidos put up a daily newspaper, The Manila Post,
which closed in 1947 and made her a freelance writer. She then became editor of
Kislap-Graphic and Philippine Home Economics Journal. In 1950, her translation in English
of "Florante at Laura" by Francisco Balagtas was recognized. In 1954, she was
commissioned to write the "Brief History of the Feminist Movement in the Philippines."
She retired in 1971, and in 1984, she was invited by the Women in Media Now to write the
introduction to Filipina I, the first anthology consisting of works made exclusively by
Filipino women. She was honored in 1991 by the Unyon ng Mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas
(UMPIL).
She died in 1994.
In 2002, her family published a manuscript Tarrosa-Subido had been working on at the time
of her death. Titled Private Edition: Sonnets and Other Poems (Milestone Publication), the
retrospective volume contains 89 poems, a few of them revised and retitled versions of the
originals. One of them is "To My Native Land".

Literary Contributions
● Manila bay at Night
● To My Native Land

Dr. Francisco G. Tonogbanua Sr.

DR. FRANCISCO G. TONOGBANUA SR. (December 1, 1900
– November 10, 1988) is one of the pioneers of Philippine
poetry in English and was one of the 13 original organizers
and founders of the Writers’ Club of the University of the
Philippines which was established in 1925. He was born in
1900 and finished his Ph.B. in Journalism at the University of
the Philippines where he was among the first five English
majors to graduate from the said State University. He comes
from Binalbagan town, Negros Occidental province in the
Philippines.

Literary Contributions
● Song of a Mad Man
● Autumn leaves
● To My Love

Francisco Benitez
Francisco Benitez was born on 1 June 1887 in Pagsanjan in Laguna
province. He was the third son of judge Higinio Benitez and Soledad
Francia and an older brother of Conrado Benitez. Benitez studied at the
Philippine Normal School in 1905. After he had worked as a teacher for
a short time he left for the United States, where he studied at the State
Fair with a Western Illinois State Normal School and earned a
bachelor's degree education at the Teachers College of Columbia.
Back in the Philippines from 1910 to 1912 he was headmaster of Paquil
Elementary School and gave lessons at the Philippine Normal School, followed by a year
and a year at the University of the Philippines (UP). In 1914, he moved again to the US for
his master-training at Columbia University. After his return in 1915, he was appointed
Director of the Department of child development. After the Division in 1918 had become a
separate faculty, Benitez was appointed as the first Dean.
That same year he founded the Philippine Journal of Education on. Benitez was editor of the
magazine. In 1929, he was awarded a "University Medal" from Columbia University for his
introduced improvements in the education of the UP. In 1935 was Benitez one of the
members of the Education Commission established by president Manuel L. Quezon that the
education system in the Philippines had to take a closer look. After theSecond World War ,
he was appointed by president Sergio Osmeña to the Ministry of education. At the end of
his period as a Minister, in May 1946, he was Dean of the Faculty of pedagogy.
Benitez died at the age of 64. He was married to writer Paz Marquez-Benitez and had four
children.

Literary Contributions
● Educational Progress in the Philippines
● Stories of Great Filipinos
● The Social and Economic Status of Our Teachers
● A Study in Individual Differences

Leandro Fernández
Leandro Heriberto Caballero Fernandez, also known as Leandro H.
Fernandez, (March 13, 1889 – 1948) was a Filipino historian who
will serve as a precursor for later historians in the ranks of Teodoro
Agoncillo and Gregorio F. Zaide. He is well known for being the
first Filipino chairperson of the University of the Philippines
Department of History. Notable among his works is A Brief History
of the Philippines, a textbook for Grade 7 students during the
American period.

Fernandez was born on March 13, 1889 at Pagsanjan, Laguna. He studied first at
Pagsawitan Elementary School, then at Laguna Provincial High School. He also studied at
Manila High School. As a ​pensionado,​ he was sent to the United States to study. In 1910, he
obtained a bachelor's degree in Pedagogy at Tri-State College in Indiana. In 1912, he
obtained a bachelor's degree in Philosophy. In 1913, he garnered his Master of Arts in
History at the University of Chicago and his Ph.D. in history at Columbia University. His
dissertation is entitled ​The Philippine Republic​, later to be published by Yale University.

Fernandez began his academic career as an instructor of history at the University of the
Philippines Department of History in 1914. In 1921, he became a full professor. In 1926, he
succeeded Austin Craig to become the first Filipino chairperson of the University of the
Philippines Department of History. He would also become the longest serving chairperson
when his service as chairperson ended in 1947, when he was succeeded by Tomas Fonacier.
While serving as chairperson of the department, he also served as University Registrar in
1927 and Dean of the College of Liberal Arts from 1934 to 1947. In 1933, he succeeded
Maximo Kalaw as editor of the Philippine Social Science Review. In 1941, he was one of
the founding members of the Philippine National Historical Association. In 1948,
Fernandez died in his home in Pagsanjan, Laguna.
Literary Contributions
● A Brief History of the Philippines (1919; republished 1926, 1932, 1951)
● The Rise of Filipino Nationality (1920)
● Stories of the Provinces: A Brief History of Each of the Provinces in the Philippine
Islands (1925)
● The Philippine Republic (1926)
● Philippine History Studies (1926)
● The Story of Our Country (1927)

Zoilo Galang
Zoilo Galang​ (July 27, 1895 – 1959) was a Filipino writer from
Pampanga. He is credited as one of the pioneering Filipino writers
who worked with the English language. He is the author of the first
Philippine novel written in the English language, ​A Child of
Sorrow​, published in 1921. Galang was born on July 27, 1895 in
the town of Bacolor, Pampanga during the later years of the
Spanish colonial era in the Philippines and was influenced by both
Spanish and American culture in his youth. He finished studies at
the Pampanga High School. He initially worked as a stenographer
working in both Spanish and English languages. Galang also
pursued studies to pursue a career as a lawyer but there are no records to indicate if he did
finish his law studies.

Literary Contributions
● A Child of Sorrow (1921) – first Philippine novel in English
● Tales of the Philippines (1921) – first volume of Philippine legends and folktales
written in English
● Life and Success (1921) – first volume of Philippine essays in English
● The Box of Ashes and Other Stories (1924) – first volume of Philippine short stories
in English

Fernando María Guerrero

Fernando María Guerrero Ramírez (May 30, 1873 – June 12, 1929)
was a Spanish Filipino , poet, journalist, lawyer, politician, and
polyglot who became a significant figure during the Philippines'
golden period of Spanish literature, a period ranging from 1890 to
the outbreak of World War II in 1940. Guerrero was born to a
highly educated family. His father was Lorenzo Guerrero, a painter
and art teacher largely known for mentoring gifted artists like Juan
Luna, Felix Hidalgo, and Juan Arellano. His mother was Clamencia
Ramirez. He began writing literature at a young age. He excelled in
the facility of language and obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Ateneo
Municipal de Manila and the Bachelor of Laws degree at the University of Santo Tomas
and wrote journals during the years 1898 to 1900. He became a lawyer and he taught
criminology and forensic oratory. He served as chairman of the board of study at the law
school La Jurisprudencia (The Jurisprudence). He also became a counselor, secretary of the
senate and secretary of the Philippine Independence commission. He was also a director of
the Academia de Leyes (Academy of Regulation). Apart from Spanish, Guerrero spoke
Tagalog, Latin, Greek, and English.
During the revolution he was recruited by General Antonio Luna to serve as contributor and
editor for the newspaper, La Indepencia, together with Rafael Palma and Epifanio de los
Santos. During the early years of the American occupation, he would be reunited with
Rafael Palma at El Renacimiento (The Rebirth), a Spanish language daily. In a few years,
he would transition from the position of editor to director. As its director, El Renaciemento
would become the most influential and powerful paper in the Philippines—exposing and
speaking against the oppression and brutality of the constabulary.
After a brief stint in politics he became an editor at La Vanguardia (The Outer works) and
La Opinion (The Opinion). He was a member of the First Philippine Assembly, the
Academia Filipina (Philippine Academy) and also became a leader of the Municipal Board
of Manila. He was also a correspondent to the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language in
Madrid. His poetry book Crisálidas was published in 1914. Subsequently he published
another verse compilation called Aves y Flores. Guerrero died on June 12, 1929, coinciding
with that year's anniversary of the República Filipina (Philippine Republic). A school in
Paco, Manila was named after him in his honor.

Literary Contributions
● A Hispania