2nd Assignment-The People

Nick Joaquin

(http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/ImgAwardees/ImgJoaquinNic.jpg)

Philippine novelist, poet, playwright, and essayist writing in English, the National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin (Nicomedes Marquez Joaquin) is widely considered the best postwar author in the Philippines. He also mastered the Philippines' most popular and widely-read literary form, the newspaper column. In offerings titled "Jottings," "Small Beer," and such, he dished out regular rounds of history, opinion, and gossip with such candor, flair and intelligence that he managed to raise this daily newspaper exercise to an art. He translated Spanish works into English, something he had done intermittently for years. His most important in this field was The Complete Poems and Plays of Jose Rizal(1976). Nick also returned to theater. He adapted the stories "Three Generations" and "Summer Solstice" as the plays Fathers and Sons (1977) and Tatarin (1978). He published many written works and he also received several awards. He had influenced and inspired generations of aspiring writers. English is his preferred field of work and he uses the language masterfully to convey his own quintessentially Filipino persona.

(Source: panitikan.com.ph: The National Artists for Literature.

<http://nationalartists.panitikan.com.ph/njoaquin.htm>)

(Source: Resil B. Mojares.The 1996 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts: BIOGRAPHY of Nick Joaquin.

<http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Biography/BiographyJoaquinNic.htm>)

Carlos Bulosan

(http://en.wikipilipinas.org/images/4/4c/CarlosBulosan.jpg)

Carlos Bulosan came from a poor family that’s why he went to Seattle at the age of seventeen. With only three years of education from the Philippines, he spoke little English and had barely any money left. In order to survive in Seatle, he took low cost jobs. Then he became an alcoholic, in result he underwent surgery for tuberculosis. In two years in the hospital, he read books every day. Despite of his health condition, he managed to write great works. In his written works, he records his aimlesstravelling, his odd jobs, his organizations of American Filipinos, his experiences of the horrors of victims of discrimination and suffering poverty and yet his high courage and spirit prevailed, his believed to survived in America.

(Source: Carlos Bulosan Exhibit: Bulosan Biography. <http://www.bulosan.org/html/bulosan_biography.html>)

(Source: Wikipilipinas hip n' free: Philippine Encyclopedia.<http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Carlos_Bulosan>)

First Post - LITERATURE: What is it and why is it important?

"Literature is written work produce having exellence of form or expression and dealing with ideas of permanent interests."

-Mirriam-Webster's Dictionary

Literature is the written record of man's thoughts, aspirations, emotions and experiences. It makes the readers feel, see, understand, and take delight in the meaning and worth of life. It is important because it can delight, arouse emotion and fire up the imagination of the readers. It offers us an experience in which we should participate as we read by our own experience. If we are sensitive and receptive, we carry away something of value, a new awareness, a feeling of pleasure and understanding.