The Philippine short story in this war

Title

Creator

Faustino, Salvador

Language

English

Year

1944

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

89 December The Philippine Short Story in this War By SALVADOR FAUSTINO Fgl j WENTY-ONE ISSUES OF THE Ph il ippin e Re v iew have given us a total of around forty pieces of excellent fiction. Cut/of these Filipino short stories in English we have selected what may be grouped (perchance for the inspection of any enterprising book publisher, as well as for the lay reader who is interested in the art of the short story) under the title of “The Twenty Best Short Stories of 1943-1944.” There will be writers and readers of a. few other publications (like the Pillars and the ertwhile '.ite-rary section of The Tribune Magazine) who would claim incompleteness in the listing hereunder. We are aware of the excellence of one or two pieces that appeared in the parenthesised magazines (for example: “The Bamboos” by /Francisco Ar°eJlana, two or three stories by Juan Trinidad and Ruben Adriano, and a story by Narciso G. Reyes about a town-rambling painter—that appeared in the Sunday Tribune Magazine). Such stories we have regretfully omitted from the present listing because of the nature of our survey: which is a review of Re v iew stories, not a critical survey of the whole field of the Filipino short story. The initial issue cr the Ph il ippin e Re v ie w augured well for the renaissance, or the continuance, of the art of the short story. The Filipino short story has been one of the bestthriving literary art forms in the Philippines lon'g before war came. Volume One, Number One of the Re v ie w carried two stories “A New Day for Filomena” by Juan C.‘ Laya and “The Woman Who Felt Like Lazarus” by Nick Joaquin. It was—if we,may say" so—enough fictional art to boost up a newly cropping-up magazine; and the two stories are certainly in our list. , “Rendezvous -At Banzai Bridge” by Manuel E. Arguilla is one of the cleverest (and in this sense, refreshing) short stories to come out in Philippine publications. Although it is not impeccable zas “form”, the nostalgic tang of its subjective expression is sufficient to rate it an asterisk. The piece it appears with,— in the April 1943 Re v iew —“Miguel Comes Home” by the veteran story writer Paz Latorena, takes the lead in the fictional section of Volume One, Number Two. The Latorena story is in the author's wellknown serene manner, and the story tells itself, being of the “straight narrative” kind. Wh«n, we come to the second Re v ie w story of Nick Joaquin, “It Was Later Than We Thought”, we almost succumb to the temptation to quote; there are so many excellent passages from the letters of his fictional “priests, publicans, and sinners”. The piece itself as a whole is a successful “story-in-letters”—of the type which many local writers have tried 1944 Th e Ph il ippin e Sh o r t St o r y in t h is Wa r 33 even before the war. It is not an easy feat; it is not just dashing off an assemblage of personal letters in chronological order that would form an authentic short story; there remains the problem of the art of deliberate irregularity that must be worked over, comparable to the irregularity 'of a brook that sings—purling and falling in irregular ruffles over pebbles now large, now small, and varidistant. Before putting forth the list, we wish to make a hurried remark upon the changing spirit of the Filipino short story, its growing aliveness to the raw passions aroused by the war, the increasing maturity and mellowness of the Filipino short story writer who. like all his brothers in whatever field or capacity, has aged in the searing flames of war experience. Tn fine, we observe an increased vitality in the art, which is as it should be, considering the best of art cannot escape a reflexion of life, particularly a life like ours today, although we would say it does not just reproduce it. One has only to skim through “City of Grass” bv Pedrcchc and Kerima Polotan’s “Gallant Men— Gallant Ways” to realise what a dynamic artistic impetus war can be. whatever men may say of its destructive aspect. We would like Io indulge in further critical disquisitions on the merits of the stories in our list of twen-' tv and in the Roll of Honour of seven, but already “the critical listing, without the critical word, reveals.” THE TWENTY BEST Ph il ippin e Re v iew STORIES (From the initial issue March 1943 to that of November 1944.) ARCELLANA, FRANCISCO **How to Read—Sept. 1944 ARGUILLA. MANUEL E. •"Rendezvous At Banzai Bridge—Apr. 1943 CRUZ, EMILIO AGUILAR •THE RIDERS—Feb 1944 DE CASTRO, FIDEL * * Street Scene—May 1944 HIZON-CASTRO, NATIVIDAD’ * • Parting- May 1943 JOAQUIN, NICK ■*The Woman Who Felt Like Lazarus- Mar. 1943 * * * It Was Later Than We Thought —July 1943 LATORENA, PAZ *" Miguel Comes Home—April 1943 LA YA. JUAN C. ‘A New Day for Filomena—-Mar. 1943 **River Story—Sept 1943 MONTES, VERONICA L. * * Nocturne-Sept 1943 PEDROCHE, CONRADO V. * * The Ladder Boy-April 1944 * * City of Grass—Aug. 1944 * * Fm- f|iP Brave and the Good Oct. 1944 POLOTAN. KERIMA * * * Callan* Mm?—Gallant Ways— l4ov 1944 RAMOS, MAXIMO * * The River- Oct 1944 REYES, NARCISO G. * * * The Long Wind—June 194 4 TUBOl. SAKAE **Song of lhe Chopping Board (t., by Kin-Iti Isikawa)— fan. 1944 VICTORIO REYES, LIGAYA **A Peace Like Death—Aug 1943 * * Uhristma/- Visit—D 1944 Th e Ro l l o / Ho n o u r (Out of the 20 Best Short Stories selected in the above list, seven have been found worthy of inclusion in the exclusive Roll of Honour; these seven stories are comp’rat it in excellence to the very best hundred or so stories published in the Philippines in the whole history—up to the present—of the local short story as an art form; they M’*5 of a “more 31 Pirn.irpiNE Re v iew December oi- less permanent literary interest” — in short, excellent litei'ature.) ARCELLANA, FRANCISCO * * How to Read—September 1944 JOAQUIN, NICK * * * It Was Latei Than We Thought -July 1943 LATORENA, PAZ, * * Miguel Comes Home—April 1943 PEDl'-UCHE, CONRADO V. * Ly of Grass—Ai! ust 1944 POLOT' T. KERIMA ♦** Gallant Men...Gallant Ways— Nov. 1944 REYES, NARCISO G. * * * The Long Wind -June 1944 VICTORIO REYES, L1GAYA *'Christmas Visit—Deccmter 1913 Pulriol Arid The Traitor---TRIBUNE Editorial: Acts considered as crimes against the safety and security of the Republic, as listed by the Minister are: Spreading of false rumours; wilful obstruction of governmental activities; sabotage, such as destruction or damaging of facilities; arson; sheltering, of enemy airmen or parachute troops; harbouring of enemy spies; aiding of elements hostile to the Republic; communicating with the foe; and listening to enemy broadcasts. Those who commit any of these acts will be subjected to the sev'erest penalties, needless to say. There could never be any hope for leniency in base crimes against the state. The authorities have given sufficient warning on the.heavy punishment which the government will impose on the disquieting elements that plot to undermine the stability of the state. There is no room for a traitor in these crucial times of war when the whole Philippines is under martial law. There is no excuse which a traitor to one's country, could offer. The treasonable acts listed by Minister Sison are definite and clear, and the criminal laws of the land will take care of the rumor-monger, file saboteur, and those who assist the enemy. But, there are others—the misguided and the rceak-willed that still cling to their mental reservations. They are on the fringe of treason, on the margin of antistate behaviour. We would urge them to sit down alone and contemplate deeply their position as members of the Filipino race. A man who has forgotten his country's history and traditions, hrs racial consciousness and pride is an outcast, ignored by his own countrymen and slighted by his country’s enemies —a stigma more dishonourable than a traitor's death. After all, there could never be treasonable acts against the state in a nation of patriots. The question-is whether we love our Republic of the Philippines less and our courvtry’s enemies more.

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