economic leader in Southeast Asia.

In most of his poems, he

VIRGINIACENTURIONE BRACELLI SCHOOL probes the Singaporean consciousness and bafflement at the
Daughters of Our Lady on Mount Calvary transformation of a tiny, tropical island into a concrete jungle.
Poctoy, Odiongan, Romblon For example, in “The Way Ahead,” he depicts Singapore’s road
S.Y. 2021-2022 to modernity as a sign of prosperity but also of diminishing
national identity. Thus, the common thematic concerns of
21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World-12 Southeast Asian literature are the struggle of transitioning
from a colonial territory to an independent one, and how
NAME: ______________________________________________ much independence creates a new set of problems for people.
PREPARED BY: MRS. HEZEL BALUTE MANATA Other works that share the same thematic would be Suchen
Christine Lim’s Fistful of Colors and Lloyd Fernando’s
Scorpion Orchid, novels that depict the pain and struggle of
TOPICS: Symbol in Southeast Singapore’s transition from being a state of Malaysia to being a
Asian Literature nation of its own, independent from its Malayan past. These
authors were all haunted by the May 1969 riots which exposed
OBJECTIVES: the deep-seated racial and ideological divide between Chinese,
a. Give the symbol in Southeast Asian Literature Indians and Malays.
b. Identify the figures of speech and other literary
techniques and devices in the text The Philippines is known to have a vibrant and rich
c. Respond critically to the poem by answering the literary production that can be even traced from the
questions in the poem precolonial times. Recently, a lot of Filipino writers have
made an impact in Southeast Asia and in other parts of the
globe, like Butch Dalisay with his book Soledad’s Sister, and
Southeast Asian Symbols Asian American writers like Gina Apostol, Jessica Hagedorn,
and Ninotchka Rosca.
Southeast Asia is an emerging economic block in Asia. It is
considered a hotspot for business investments and Indonesian literature follows a similar path to much
infrastructures. With a growing population of middle class of Southeast Asian literature: nationalist, anti-colonial and
professionals, the region boasts of a highly skilled workforce. critical of warfare. Pramoedya Ananta Toer could be
The Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, considered a canonical figure with his Buru Quartet, a set of
Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Thailand have bonded four novels depicting the rise of Indonesian Nationalist
together to form the Association of Southeast Asian Nations consciousness. In the post-Suharto era, however, new
or ASEAN. This organization is a way for the various countries writers blossomed through periodicals, newspapers, and
in the region to strengthen their economic and diplomatic magazines as they published serialized stories or weekly
partnership. poetry features. Ayu Utami’’s Saman and Dewi Lestari’s
While it’s growing economy, Singapore is seen to Supernova series are popular and frequently reprinted
be at the forefront of economic success in Southeast Asia. novels that deal with moral issues of the youth, in a style
Even if the country’s physical territory is limited, Singaporeans reminiscent of television dramas.
have maximized their space by building high-rises as well as
underpasses and subways. People come from all over the Southeast Asian literature continues to be emergent.
world to work as well as to visit on holiday and experience the Tighter political alliances through the ASEAN integration
efficiency of the services in the city. program and the recognition of national and regional
Because of this, the population in Singapore has literatures in languages other than English only strengthen
become more diverse over time. One can see different racial this development and allow it to take flight in the years to
groups, particularly Chinese, Indians, and Malaysians. come.
Singapore’s location has made it a convenient place of trade. SYMBOL AND IRONY
By the 21st century, the city has become a haven for various
commercial airlines, multinational and transnational According to well-known literary critic, M.H.
corporations, and migrant workers, despise the high cost of Abrams, symbol “signifies an object or event which in its
living. Today, Singapore is renowned for its cosmopolitan turn signifies something, or has a range of reference, beyond
character. This, if there is a symbol of progress and a reminder itself.” Some symbols are “conventional” or “public”: thus
of the direction of development in Southeast Asia, it will be “the Cross,” “the Red, White and Blue”, and the “Good
Singapore. Shepherd” are terms that refer to symbolic objects of which
In a way, Singapore represents the dream of the further significance is determinate within a particular
Southeast Asian prosperity, which has been hard to realize culture. A symbol, therefore, pertains to something larger
because of all the hardships this region has faced as seen in its than the thing it names, and is usually developed through
history. This lesson tackles symbolism and irony in Dinah culture.
Roma’s “The Lucky Plaza” and how a particular place of Another important trope is irony. Abrams define
interest in Singapore became a point of convergence for it as “the root sense of dissembling or hiding what is actually
Filipinos. the case; not, however, in order to deceive, but to achieve
special rhetorical or artistic effects.”
21ST CENTURY CANON OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN
LITERATURE
Apart from the legacies of European colonialism In other words, these two tropes try to expose
and the transition to independent nationhood, among the the other dimension of what the reader sees,
main themes found in 21 st century Southeast Asian Literature beyond the word or the literal idea of a
are the effects of rapid urbanization and economic progress. statement.
Edwin Thumboo, a literary pioneer of Singapore, writes poetry
that articulates the transition of Singapore from being
Malaysia’s territory to being an independent country and an

GODBLESS
 the company of kin” function as dramatizing contradictions.
Explain.
Configure _________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
A Poet Engaged with the World _________________________________________________
Dinah Roma is a poet, scholar, and associate professor _________________________________________________
at De La Salle University, Manila. As a poet, Roma was _________________________________________________
nurtured by the Siliman Writers Workshop in Dumaguete _________________________________________________
under the tutelage of the late Edith Edilberto Tiempo. Roma ________________________________________________.
was a product of the pioneering work of the Tiempos in
developing a tradition of New Criticism in Philippine
Literature, which shaped her as a poet, as a scholar, and as a TOPICS: African Literature and
teacher of literature. More so, u der the influence of the Mandela’s Legacy
great poets of the De La Salle University, like National Artist
Cirilio Bautista, her writing evolved, growing beyond the OBJECTIVES:
concerns of form, braving new territories of cultures, politics, a. Know the fundamentals and background of African
and society. Her talent was proven in her widely-read books, Literature
such as A Feast of Origins, Geographies of Light, and latest b. Tracking back and comparing the Philippines and
in 2014, Naming the Ruins. South Africa

Lucky Plaza as a Singaporean Landmark There is a popular and enduring image of the African
The poem “Lucky Plaza” refers to the Lucky Town Plaza African
continent. It is the Heart Literaturesimilar to the Polish
of Darkness,
in Singapore, which is a place known for different thrift shops author Joseph Conrad’s famous novel depicting the
owned by migrants. This is a popular gathering place among callousness and brutality of white European traders and
Filipinos where they meet with other Filipino workers in imperialists in Congo. Africa was colonized and divided up by
Singapore and hangout during Sundays. countries like France, the Netherlands, Great Britain,
Belgium, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Germany, as if each
Comprehension Check Up portion of the continent was spoils in a war game. Between
colonial domination and violence, slavery, racism,
Respond critically to the following questions about the poem. discrimination, and theft of natural resources, it would be easy
Write your answer on the space. to focus on the darkness in the continent’s history.
1. Dinah Roma’s “The Lucky Plaza” dramatizes a common However, Africa is much more than just a place of
scene in the famous Lucky Plaza of Singapore where migrant darkness or oppression. The continent is home to many
Filipino workers usually congregate on weekends. Characterize diverse and rich cultures. Throughout the history of the region,
the speaker of the poem and his/her attitude towards the people in various countries have stood up to oppose injustice
place and even the people in Lucky Plaza. Cite examples or and to express their experiences as Africans in front of the
details from the poem to support your answer. world. African literature stands proud with the American and
___________________________________________________ European literary canons with the likes of J.M. Coetzee (South
___________________________________________________ Africa), Nadine Gordimer (South Africa), Derek Walcott (Saint
___________________________________________________ Lucia), Naguib Mafouz (Egypt), and Wole Soyinka (Nigeria) as
___________________________________________________ winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Other writers who
___________________________________________________ have made an impact on world literature include Chinua
___________________________________________________ Achebe (Nigeria) and Ngugi Wa Thiong’o (Kenya). These
___________________________________. writers created a body of literature that reflects the reality of
these countries from a native perspective, rather than a
2. Describe the way the poem depicts a migrant worker in Western or colonial perspective. By articulating their own
Singapore, the subject of the poem. Cite details to support experience of oppression and liberation, they were able to
your answer. decolonize the African past, and place to the fore the Africa
___________________________________________________ that they themselves have imagined and mapped onto the
___________________________________________________ world.
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________ The mapping of Africa is done by the European powers
___________________________________________________ created a clash of civilizations. The continent was partitioned
___________________________________________________ and sliced up without acknowledging cultural contexts,
___________________________________. borders, tribal territories, or language.

3. The word “hand” in the lines, and touch her hand trained/
in the acquiescence of service” functions as a metonymy? Thus, for most African writers, to write about
What does it signifies about the subject of persona’s reflection. Africa is to write about personal as well as
___________________________________________________ national history, taking into account
___________________________________________________ biographical, cultural, and linguistic differences as well as
___________________________________________________ similarities and shared experiences.
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________.

4. The lines “Wanting her to end/ the telling of stories whose

origins I know so much/ and wouldn’t want to recall”, and “She
to the house polished to her children’s/ absence, strangers in

GODBLESS
 In the Philippines and around the world, one of the most
TOPICS: From Boom to Post-Boom
famous Africans is Nelson Mandela – the activist and leader
Latin America Literature
who fought against apartheid or institutionalized racism against
blacks, and eventually became president of South Africa. His
OBJECTIVES:
struggle was described in his autobiography as a “long walk to
a. Examine the relationship between text and context
freedom,” as it was indeed a tortuous journey for his fellow
b. Identify the points of similarity between the Philippines
South Africans.
and Columbia by evaluating the role of context and text in
producing meaning
When Nelson Mandela died, a Filipino poet, Jim Pascual
Agustin, wrote a poem as a eulogy. It is entitled “The Breath of Latin America is a region that extends from the
Sparrows.” In this poem, Agustin laments the death of Mandela southernmost tip of the South American continent, up to
and foregrounds mourning on the cultural context of Africa. Central America, and the Carribean region to the east. Most
of the countries in this region were former colonies of either
21ST CENTURY CANON OF AFRICAN LITERATURE
Spain or Portugal, hence the “Latin” part of its nomenclature
– Spanish and Portuguese are Romance languages
Studying South African Literature in the 21 st century can originating from Latin. Thus, Latin America is defined by the
be mapped through one of the foundational writers, Nadine common colonial history as well as the languages that bind
Gordimer. Nadine Gordimer, a novelist known for July’s People these countries together. Yet it is also part of the global
and Burgher’s Daughter, brought a radical transformation in mitigation movement of the 20 th and the 21st century. Many
world literature. As a writer in English, Gordimer placed at the migrant workers, immigrants, and diasporic communities,
forefront of African literary culture the problem of race, particularly in the US, had their origins in Latin America.
apartheid, colonialism and imperialism. July’s People, a book
that was banned in South Africa, presents an alternative view of Historically, the native Indians or indigenous
the country during the post-apartheid era, articulating the peoples of Latin American date back from ancient
relations between the liberal whites and black Africans. civilizations such as the Mayans and Incas. Howard Zinn, the
Burgher’s Daughter tries to situate Africa in the midst of a radical historian of American history, describes the colonial
revolution, exposing the dynamic between the whites and conquest of the Americas as a genocide, for it caused the
blacks as the people come into conflict and find ways to resolve depletion and cultural erasure of the Indians in Latin
social divisions. America. Today, the ethnic demography of Latin America is
rather diverse, including those of native descent as well as
Aside from Gordimer, Chinua Achebe represents the those descended from white Europeans as well as from
Black African Continent in World Literature. Achebe’s novel other groups such as African slaves, in varying proportions
Things Fall Apart is his reaction to the Western representation from country to country.
of African reality. The novel articulates how African countries –
Nigeria in particular – are products of a colonial history, of The current era of Latin American literature is
biased and racist narratives of African life from Western authors characterized as the post-“boom” phase. The “boom” took
like Joseph Conrad, and of endless constructions of states, place during the 20th century in the era of Gabriel Garcia
countries, territories within the African landmass. The use of Marquez, Julio Cortazar, Carlos Fuentes, and Mario Vargas
English is significant to Achebe’s work, as for him it becomes Llosa. This era encapsulates the struggles of these writers to
the national language, the language that forms countries while find a Latin American identify, and to represent the ethos of
marginalizing local languages. Achebe locates himself at a time their respective countries. Thus, the post-boom era could
when Africa is healing itself from the wounds of its colonial also be described as the post-Marquez era, since not a few
past, and in the course of its recovery, a new order, another consider him to be at the center of this postcolonial canon.
reality, a different Africa has emerged.
21st CENTURY CANON OF LATIN AMERICAN LITERATURE
African literature of the 21 st century is defined by the
transition from the long legacy of the colonial era to the Post-boom literature has been recognized as the
present-day rise of globalization. Locating African writers within 21st century literary canon of Latin America, largely
such a shift indicates how the continent, despite its colonial articulating the position of the region within the political
past, is finding its position in the global network of powers, frame of globalization.
navigating the waters of economic progress and emergent
social movements.
Exercise Thus writer like Roberto Bolano, isabelle
Allende, Lisa Valenzuela, Giannina Braschi,
Research on African liberation and Nelson Mandela’s Cristina Peri rossi, and Elena Poniatowsaka
fight for national independence in South Africa. With the have emerged as the new wave of writing
information one will be getting, find out if the African in
experiences specific to Mandela’s leadership resonate with Latin America after the demise of the
the Philippine experience. Are there parallelisms one can draw boom
between the two? Is there a political figure in the Philippines era.
which we can compare to Mandela? Try to imagine the
possible similarities of the Philippines with countries in Africa
like South Africa.

TEXT AND CONTEXT

GODBLESS
 In studying Latin American literature, one sees the
intersection between the text and the contexts. Contexts is
the combination of two words: condition and text. As a
result, context is a condition for the text to be produced,
read, and eventually reach the level that may be categorized
as political, ideological, or literary.

Latin American Literature is considered as a

progressive canon of writing that articulates their struggles
with colonialism and imperialism, which has been one of the
fundamental contexts of their literature. It largely deals with
the political situations in the region, depicting the harsh
realities of the military regimes, such as Bolivarian revolution
as seen in Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the communist plot and
the American CIA intervention in the downfall of Salvador
Allende as seen in Isabel Allende’s work, and the political
violence that have been articulated in the works of Pablo
Neruda and other writers.

MARKERS

Colonialism is control exerted by one

country
over other countries and peoples. This type
of system was widespread before the 19 th century, with the
several European countries claiming territories around the
globe.
Realism is a tradition of writing that aims to
represent reality as faithfully as possible by avoiding
exaggeration, unbelievable details, romanticism, or appeal to
emotions.
Magic realism is a tradition of writing that
originated in Latin America and goes against European
influenced notions of reality or realism by portraying events
and characters that are unbelievable or larger than life.

Exercise

Make a power point presentation of the findings of the

following fields in which the Spanish culture remains to be
influential. (If you have no laptop or personal computer try to
connect with me for some arrangement regarding this
activity.)

a. Culinary Tradition b. Public Education

c. Religion d. Architecture
e. Family culture

ENJOY!

GODBLESS