Teaching Philippine Literature in English | Dr. Gemino Abad

Summary

This talk delves into the essence of literature as a form of human expression, highlighting the poet's quest for new forms of expression to capture the infinite possibilities of imagination. It emphasizes the role of language as a medium for translating the world's wonder and the writer's endeavor to convey profound insights into our shared humanity. The speaker advocates for the study of Filipino literature in English, showcasing its power to shape and reflect the Filipino experience, and discusses the pedagogical value of the workshop approach in creative writing to enhance students' linguistic and rhetorical awareness.

Takeaways

• 📜 The speaker uses 'poet' and 'poem' to symbolize the writer and literary works, emphasizing the idea of literature as an expression of human experience and perception.
• 🗣️ Communication and expression are distinguished, with the former being about conveying immediate thoughts and feelings, and the latter about shaping language to reflect one's perception of reality.
• 🎭 Literature, or 'imaginative writing,' is described as a field of expression that deals with the theme of humanity and our experiences, always evolving like history, culture, and language.
• 🏺 Forms of literary expression, such as fiction, poems, plays, and essays, are seen as shaped by the historical language of their time, implying that they carry inherent rules and criteria.
• 🔍 The writer, as a literary artist, is on a constant quest for new forms of expression, driven by the boundless possibilities of imagination.
• 🌟 Literary works are symbolic enactments and re-inventions of the imagination, reflecting our individual and collective human history and potential for growth.
• 🌱 The human being's unique consciousness of death leads to a yearning for life to be meaningful, prompting the translation of the world and its wonders into language.
• 🌐 Language itself is a form of translation, a tool for conveying thoughts and feelings, and is inherently tied to the culture and historical period in which it is used.
• 📝 Writing is an act of translation and a means to express thoughts and feelings that may outlive the writer, suggesting a desire to leave a lasting impact.
• 🌈 The workshop approach to teaching creative writing encourages students to explore their experiences and the potential of language, fostering a sense of language that is essential for proficiency.
• 📚 Analytical reading of literary texts is crucial, as it allows readers to actively engage with the human experience depicted and to assess the writer's use of language to convey meaning.

Q & A

What is the distinction made between 'communication' and 'expression' in the script?

In the script, 'communication' is described as the act of conveying one's thoughts and feelings in the moment with others, while 'expression' involves shaping language to reflect one's perception or intuition about aspects of reality, whether experienced or imagined.

What is the role of the writer as a literary artist according to the speaker?

The writer, as a literary artist, is always in quest of new forms of expression, driven by the infinite possibilities of imagination. Their role is to create and shape language to reflect their unique perception of reality, contributing to the ever-evolving field of literature.

What does the speaker suggest is the subject or theme of literature?

The speaker suggests that the subject or theme of literature is our humanity and our experience as human beings, reflecting both our individual and collective history.

How does the speaker describe the relationship between language and reality?

The speaker describes language as a medium that not only represents reality but also shapes it. Language is a cultural and historical artifact that provides a particular way of perceiving and interpreting the world and human affairs.

What is the significance of the term 'translation' in the context of language and writing according to the script?

In the script, 'translation' is used to illustrate the idea that language inherently carries meaning across from one context to another. Writing is seen as a form of translation, where thoughts and feelings are expressed in a way that may give them new life and meaning.

How does the speaker view the role of imagination in literature?

The speaker views imagination as a crucial element in literature, stating that literary works are re-inventions of the imagination. Imagination is what allows us to create meanings that help us live and gives life to abstract concepts from our experiences.

What is the purpose of using Filipino literature as models of good writing in teaching English, according to the speaker?

The purpose is twofold: firstly, the culture and experience from which these literary works arise are part of the students' own history as a people; secondly, it demonstrates how English as a medium can shape Filipino thoughts and feelings, fostering a deeper understanding of the language.

How does the speaker define the term 'workshop approach' in the context of creative writing?

The 'workshop approach' in creative writing is defined as an effective teaching method that encourages students to express themselves imaginatively by exploring their experiences and experimenting with the possibilities of the English language as a medium for expression.

What does the speaker suggest is the primary goal of the workshop approach in teaching English?

The primary goal of the workshop approach is to enhance students' sense for language by making them aware of linguistic and rhetorical resources and their possibilities, ultimately fostering proficiency in the language.

How does the speaker interpret the poem 'Lament for the Littlest Fellow' by Edith L. Tiempo?

The speaker interprets the poem as a reflection on the human condition, using the marmoset as a metaphor for the human soul trapped in a 'living cage'. The poem explores themes of intimacy, pain, and the struggle to hold onto moments of love and freedom.

What insight does the speaker provide about the poem 'Bonsai' by Edith L. Tiempo?

The speaker suggests that 'Bonsai' is about the idea of cherishing and nurturing life and love as real and tangible as any material thing, through the act of keeping mementos. The poem highlights the power of memory and the ability to condense love into something small yet significant.

Outlines

00:00

📜 The Essence of Literary Expression

This paragraph delves into the nature of literature as a form of expression rather than mere communication. It emphasizes the role of the writer as a literary artist, shaping language to reflect personal perceptions and intuitions about reality. The discussion highlights the dynamic nature of literature, which is subject to change with history, culture, and language. The writer is portrayed as an explorer of new forms of expression, driven by the boundless possibilities of imagination. The paragraph also touches on the human condition and our inherent desire to find meaning in life and language, suggesting that literature serves as a re-invention of the imagination, allowing us to create meanings that give life its substance.

05:07

🌏 Language as a Vehicle for Cultural Expression

The second paragraph explores the concept of language as a medium for conveying thoughts and feelings, both old and new. It discusses the idea that language is our first fiction, and through the creation of literature, we re-create and give life to our humanity. The paragraph focuses on the use of English in Filipino literature, arguing that it is not only a tool for expressing Filipino culture and history but also a means of shaping the thoughts and feelings of Filipinos. The discussion challenges the notion that the Filipino experience can only be authentically expressed in native languages, asserting that language itself shapes reality and is subject to change as the perspectives of its speakers evolve. The paragraph concludes with a call for a workshop approach to teaching English, which encourages students to express themselves imaginatively and to explore the potential of the English language as a medium for self-expression.

10:08

🎨 Analyzing Literary Works: A Workshop Approach

This paragraph introduces a pedagogical method for teaching English through the analysis of literary works, specifically poetry. It outlines a process where teachers guide students to understand the subject, theme, and significance of a poem, and to evaluate its success in achieving its intended effect. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of close reading and active engagement with the text, encouraging students to immerse themselves in the human experiences depicted in the poem. The goal is to develop a heightened sensitivity to language and its rhetorical possibilities, which is nurtured by a love of reading and is fundamental to language proficiency. The discussion also includes an analysis of two poems by Edith L. Tiempo, 'Lament for the Littlest Fellow' and 'Bonsai', to illustrate the application of this approach.

15:10

🖌️ The Poet's Craft: Imagery and Insight

The fourth paragraph provides a detailed analysis of Edith L. Tiempo's poems, focusing on the use of imagery and metaphor to convey profound insights about the human condition. It examines the metaphor of the marmoset in 'Lament for the Littlest Fellow', which serves as a symbol for the human soul trapped in a cage, reflecting on the themes of intimacy, pain, and the struggle to hold onto fleeting moments of happiness. The discussion explores the poem's exploration of the tension between reality and the desire for meaning, as well as the poet's skill in using language to evoke emotional responses. The paragraph also connects the themes of the first poem with 'Bonsai', suggesting a progression in the poet's exploration of love and memory.

20:13

🔍 The Power of Mementos in Poetry

The final paragraph concludes the script with a reflection on the significance of mementos in poetry, drawing a connection to Eduardo Galeano's concept of remembering as a journey through the heart. It discusses the idea that simple objects can hold profound meaning and serve as tangible representations of love and life. The paragraph examines the use of specific words and imagery in 'Bonsai' to convey the idea of scaling down love to a size that can be easily cherished and passed on. The discussion highlights the poet's ability to transform ordinary objects into symbols of enduring affection, suggesting a divine quality in the simple yet mysterious force that sustains life and love.

Keywords

💡Poet

In the context of this video, 'poet' is used metaphorically to represent a writer as a literary artist. The term emphasizes the creative and expressive aspect of writing, suggesting that the poet's role is to shape language in a way that reflects their perception or intuition about reality. An example from the script is the discussion on how the poet seeks new forms of expression, illustrating the boundless nature of imagination in the realm of literature.

💡Expression

The concept of 'expression' in the video refers to the act of shaping language to convey one's personal perception or intuition about an aspect of reality, whether experienced or imagined. It is distinguished from 'communication,' which is more about conveying thoughts and feelings in the moment. Expression is central to the theme of the video as it underlines the role of literature in reflecting humanity's experience and shaping our understanding of the world.

💡Literature

Literature, or 'imaginative writing,' is presented as the field of expression in the video. It is the domain where writers explore and articulate the human condition through various forms of writing. The term is integral to the video's theme as it represents the medium through which the writer's quest for new forms of expression and the exploration of human experience are realized.

💡Humanity

'Humanity' in the video represents the subject or theme of literature. It encompasses the collective human experience, including our emotions, thoughts, and actions. The term is central to the video's narrative as it highlights the focus of literary works to explore and depict what it means to be human, both in our individual and shared histories.

💡Imagination

Imagination is portrayed as a boundless resource in the video, essential to the literary artist's quest for new forms of expression. It is the faculty that allows writers to create and re-invent meanings, giving life to their works. The video emphasizes the role of imagination in making the abstract concrete in the reader's mind, thus playing a crucial part in the creation of literary works.

💡Language

Language is described as both a tool and a subject in the video. It is the medium through which writers translate and convey their perceptions of the world. The term is highlighted in the context of being a 'tongue' that allows us to savor the joy of living. Language is also depicted as a cultural and historical artifact that shapes our reality and is in a constant state of flux, reflecting the changing outlook of its speakers.

💡Translation

In the video, 'translation' is used to describe the process of conveying thoughts and feelings through language. It is not limited to changing words from one language to another but also includes the act of transforming personal experiences into a form that can be understood and felt by others. The term is used to illustrate how writing is an act of carrying our inner world across the medium of language.

💡Workshop Approach

The 'workshop approach' in the video refers to a method of teaching creative writing that encourages students to express themselves imaginatively. It involves close analytical reading of literary texts and exploring the linguistic and rhetorical resources available in the language. This approach is presented as a way to enhance students' understanding of how language is used to create literary effects and to foster their own creative writing skills.

💡Fiction

Fiction, as discussed in the video, is one of the possible forms of expression in literature. It is a creation of the imagination that, despite being a fabrication, has the power to make the abstract real to the mind by drawing from our experiences. The term is used to emphasize the reality of the imaginative constructs that writers create, which are no less impactful for being products of the imagination.

💡Insight

'Insight' in the video is the profound understanding or discovery that a literary work can provide about the human condition. It is described as a radiance of feeling and a luminance of thought that transcends mere concepts or ideas. The term is central to the video's message as it represents the unique contribution of literature to our understanding of ourselves and our world.

💡Memento

In the context of the video, 'memento' refers to a tangible representation of memories or cherished experiences. It is used to illustrate how we can encapsulate our love and life's moments in physical objects, making them real and accessible. The term is exemplified in the poem 'Bonsai,' where the idea of keeping mementos is presented as a way to control and cherish life's fleeting moments.

Highlights

The speaker uses the terms 'poet' and 'poetry' to describe the writer and literary works as forms of expression, emphasizing the distinction between communication and expression.

Literature is defined as a field of expression with humanity and human experience as its central themes.

The speaker discusses the fluid nature of literature, history, culture, and language, suggesting that traditional forms like fiction, poems, and essays are shaped by historical language.

Writers are portrayed as constantly seeking new forms of expression, driven by the limitless possibilities of imagination.

Literary works are described as symbolic enactments and re-inventions of the imagination, creating meanings that help us live.

Language is presented as a bridge between our reality and the world of words, with the human being's unique consciousness of death driving a yearning for meaningful expression.

The concept of language as translation is introduced, emphasizing its role in carrying meaning across cultures and historical periods.

The speaker argues that language is our first fiction, with the act of writing being a second level of creation that shapes our humanity.

The importance of Filipino literature in English as models of good writing is highlighted, showcasing the cultural and historical relevance of such works.

The speaker challenges the notion that the Filipino experience can only be expressed in Filipino languages, arguing that language shapes and creates reality.

The workshop approach to teaching creative writing is proposed as an effective method to encourage students to express themselves through English.

The act of writing is described as a recreation of language, with teachers needing to demonstrate this process to their students.

The importance of close analytical reading in the workshop approach is emphasized, as it allows students to actively produce meaning rather than passively consume it.

The speaker provides a detailed analysis of two poems by Edith L. Tiempo, 'Lament for the Littlest Fellow' and 'Bonsai', to illustrate the depth of meaning and expression in literature.

The metaphor of the marmoset in a cage is used to explore themes of intimacy, confinement, and the human condition in 'Lament for the Littlest Fellow'.

In 'Bonsai', the idea of mementos and souvenirs is used to convey the enduring nature of love and life, despite their fleeting and fragile essence.

The speaker concludes by emphasizing the power of language and imagination in shaping our understanding of reality and our humanity.

Transcripts

In this talk, I used the word poet as a figure for the writer as literary artist

and the word poem or poetry as the generic term for all literary works.

I also distinguish between communication and expression.

In communication, one conveys what one thinks and feels at the moment of speech with other speakers.

In expression, one shapes the language to one's own perception or intuition about some

aspect or feature of reality, whether that reality has actually been lived or has only

been imagined.

Literature or “imaginative writing” is the field of expression.

Its subject or theme is our humanity, our experience as human.

Literature itself—like history, culture and language—is always in flux.

What we usually call fiction, poem, play or creative non-fiction or essay are only possible

forms of expression, shape or wrought from a given historical language.

If so, those forms already secrete the rules and criteria of their possibility.

The writer, as [the] literary artist, is always in quest of other forms of expression.

The imagination has infinite possibilities.

Whatever kind or type a literary work is, it enacts what we are as human beings—

what, in our individual and in our common history, we have become and maybe becoming.

A symbolic or imaginative enactment, literary works are re-inventions of the imagination.

We ourselves create the meanings that help us live.

We have, then, on the one hand, what we call “our world,” our reality:

Nature, people and their affairs; and on the other hand, language.

The human being alone, it seems, is conscious of death and, so, he has this great yearning

for this world, this life.

He longs for the world and the living to be the meaningful word incarnate.

This impels him to translate, to carry the world over the language,

to ferry across the words of the language the wonder of nature, the miracle of living.

It is no accident [that] we speak of language as a “tongue”.

The figure suggests that we would savor, with words and words, the joy of living to the full.

Any language, in fact, is by itself already translation from Latin trans + ferre:

“to carry across”.

Any language is a way of perceiving in a given culture during a given historical period.

Writing also is essentially translation, we ferry across our words whether they are indigenous

or adopted.

Those thoughts and feelings we have not till then found our expression or which need again

to be expressed in a new form, that they perhaps may still live after our living.

What is expressed, through words and the images or myths that they are made to evoke, is an

insight into our humanity.

That insight is the luminance of thought which no concept or idea conveys.

A radiance of feeling which no thought catches.

If this is so, then language is our first fiction, and it's working—it's being wrought

into poem or story—a second, by which our humanity is, as it were, again created.

Fiction I said, but no less real because it is the imagination which makes real to the

mind what it abstracts from our experience.

As teachers of English, we want to privilege Filipino literature wrought from English as

models of good writing precisely because, one, the culture and experience from which

these points arise are our own history as a people.

And two, this poem show how English as a medium of expression operates to shape our own thoughts

and feelings as Filipinos.

By way of the imagination, our poets have cleared a clearing of our own within that

adopted language called English.

Even as, in our literary history, our writers have done so with Spanish.

It may be remarked that the Filipino experience can be expressed only in Filipino—that is

to say, in Tagalog, Sugbuanon, Iloko, Hiligaynon—but that is to misconceive language.

Language shapes the things that it expresses.

Language is, as a given historical medium or cultural artifact, language itself is already

a fixed way of looking at reality therefore creating a version of that reality.

Of course, as the speakers and the readers outlook changes, language also changes.

Be it English or Tagalog language is always already a partial representation of reality,

an interpretation of the world and human affairs shared by the community of the language’s speakers.

But the poet, like most everyone, sees things through his own sensibility and imagination,

however his own self might also have been shaped by changes in his own time and culture.

He may see things differently from the way of looking that in years in the language he employs.

In that case, he must work the language to make it express his own seeing and feeling.

The workshop approach in creative writing may be one effective way of teaching English

through models of excellent writing by Filipino writers.

Here, the students are encouraged to express themselves imaginatively by probing their

own experiences and exploring the resources and experimenting with the possibilities of

English as a linguistic medium.

This workshop approach assumes that the very act of writing itself recreates the language.

The teacher therefore must show how this takes place.

He takes, as a working hypothesis an interpretation, an end or goal that the writer has set out

to accomplish.

So he asks, "what is the poem about?"—that is to say, its paksa: subject or theme.

"What is the poem’s point or insight—its saysay, meaning: significance?"

Next, he asks about the poems final end or goal:

"Did the poem succeed in enforcing that theme?

In expressing that insight?"

The story or poem itself shows how the language has been employed and deployed to achieve

its effect on the sensitive reader.

That effect we call “dating”.

The poem has a rhyme.

The intellectual or emotional force or energy of the poem by which the poems end is achieved.

The teachers purpose here is to make the student aware of linguistic and rhetorical resources

and their unlimited possibilities and therefore enhance the students’ sense for language.

This sense for language is the basic poetic sense which is nourished by the love of reading

and is the foundation of proficiency in any language.

The workshop approach requires close analytical reading of the literary text to open it.

For as you read, you are not a passive consumer of a product, you're an active producer of meaning.

You enter imaginatively the human experience that the poem depicts.

In the poems world, you are engaged with a way of thinking and feeling.

You see and feel the way the poems’ speaker or the characters in the story see and feel,

so that at the end, when you make an assessment—a judgement—about the literary or poems imagined

experience, you have first lived as if it were another life.

You have first considered the other imaginary person's viewpoint before you favor, as it

may happen, your own interpretation.

By cultivating this sensitivity as one reads, one can begin to appreciate what the writer

has accomplished.

—all that he has done with the sole means of language.

Let us take two poems by Edith L. Tiempo: “Lament for the Littlest Fellow”

and the poem “Bonsai”.

“Lament for the Littlest Fellow”

The littlest fellow was a marmoset.

He held the bars and blinked his old man's eyes.

You said he knew us and took my arm and set My fingers round the bars, with coaxing mimicries

Of squeak and twitter.

“Now he thinks you are another marmoset in a cage.”

A proud denial set you to laughing, shutting back a question far

Into my mind something, enormous and final.

The question was unasked but there is an answer.

Sometimes in your sleeping face upon the pillow, I would catch our own little truant unaware;

He had fled from our pain and the dark room of our rage,

but I would snatch him back from yesterday and tomorrow.

You wake and I bruise my hands on the living cage.

That was in 1950 from Sands and Coral

Now, the next poem—“Bonsai”

All that I love I fold over once

And once again And keep in a box or

A slit in a hollow post Or in my shoe .

All that I love?

Why, yes, but for the moment— And for all time, both.

Something that folds and keeps easy, Son’s note or Dad's one gaudy tie,

A roto picture of a young queen, a blue Indian shawl, even

A money bill.

It's utter sublimation, A feat, this hearts control

Moment to moment To scale all love down

To a cupped hand’s size, Till seashells are broken pieces

From God's own bright teeth, And life and love are real

Things you can run and Breathless hand over

To the merest child.

That was in 1972 in Focus magazine.

Now, in the first poem, what the question is and what exactly the answer to it

—both “something enormous and final”—we would have to infer both from the imagery and the

metaphor that subtly limb or delineate the human situation.

The soul metaphor is the marmoset in a cage, a monkey—a monkey whose name etymologically

suggests a “grotesque mumbling figure”.

When the husband mocks his wife, the poem’s speaker, as resembling a marmoset which she

proudly denies, the resemblance had already been subtly fixed by her own perception of

the marmoset as “the littlest fellow” with “his old man's eyes” which marks

the animal as human.

The husband taunts his wife, enforcing the resemblance by setting her fingers round the bars

as to simulate a prison cell for her and mimicking all the while a marmoset “squeak

and twitter”.

All male banter or monkey business for a moment’s merriment, but it provokes in the wife a realization

instantly suppressed because it is dark, “something enormous and final”.

For nights afterwards, whenever the wife would catch the image—marmoset—in her husband's

sleeping face, she would only call it "our own little truant," as though to make light of it.

Since in that past moment of truancy and banter in the zoo, she had repressed a dark intuition.

The image had fled from our pain in the dark room of our rage.

In the poem’s human situation, bedroom, our sight of intimacy, has become a variation

upon cage, and yet, she “would snatch him back”—the marmoset—“from yesterday

and tomorrow”, because the image held the truth: “you wake and I bruise my hands on

the living cage”.

At the poem’s end, we might also ask, “why in the title of the poem?

Why lament for?”

Is it because the truth is constantly denied so that its enormity, "the living cage," might

be lightened.?

But lightened, indeed, it is, in a later poem—a later moment of enlightenment,

where the image of the poem's insight appears only in the poem’s title.

“Bonsai.”

Well, of course, assuming that the speaker in “Lament” and the speaker in “Bonsai”

is the same wife.

The poem "Bonsai" is, as it were a free form because that moment, where all love is gathered,

is “all time”.

In fact, it isn't so much image of bonsai as idea and feeling which the poems words enforce.

Box or slit in a hollow post or shoe—it isn’t the image, such as the marmoset in his cage.

Which motivates or propels the poem but rather, the idea of souvenir or memento, by which

one cherishes and nurtures “life and love as real”—as real as any material thing

like “a blue Indian shawl”.

This calls to mind Eduardo Galeano’s wondrous epigraph to his Book of Embraces in 1989:

“Recordar:” he says, “to remember; from Latin re-cordis, to pass through the heart.”

So, be it “Son’s note or Dad's one gaudy tie” or even the most ordinary thing like “a money bill”

The revelation or insight about those mementors is the point,

and it would be the highest art to state it quite simply, without any rhetoric of irony and

ambiguity so cherished in the “New Critical” mode:

It's utter sublimation A feat, this heart’s control

Moment-to-moment To scale all love down

To a cupped hand’s size

Yet, the irony and the paradox are there, in the very aptness of the words “scale”

and “cupped hand,” so carefully chosen so that life and love as real things appear

all the more magnificent.

“Till seashells are broken pieces,” says the poet “From God's own bright teeth,”

Ah, this, for me, is the most remarkable feat in the poem’s making.

It is the poet had said “for the moment—And for all time, both”—this keeping of mementos,

this folding over and scaling down to keep easy and cherished.

So then, “till seashells” encompasses all time and, by invoking God, suggests

a divinity in that simple yet mysterious affection which sustains life and love as real.

The image of seashells glinting on a sunny beach evokes brightness and cheer.

And so fulfills what the poet speaks of as “hearts control.”

Ah, But there is more.

Seashells are broken pieces like souvenirs—that is to say, they are broken off as it were

from those happy moments where “life and love are real”; then, indeed for souvenirs

are deeply cherished, there are things—they are as things that are very light.

So that “you can run and / Breathless hand over / To the merest child”.

That truly is the very sign that it is real, for a child needs no further proof of love

than love.

Yeah, okay.

Thank you.