Book chats
Media
Part of The Philippine Educator
- Title
- Book chats
- Language
- English
- Year
- 1947
- Rights
-
- Fulltext
- By the Editor WITHOUT SEEING THE DAWN (a novel) by Stevan Javellana:. Little, Brown and Company. 1947:. . Price· $2.75. At last we have competent Philippine writing in an extended scale . . The Philippine novel in English ha~ had a stun-ted growth. Zoilo Galang's. adolescent sentimentality in A Child of Sorrow and Nadja made an indifferent beginning. Ocampo's The Brow1~ Maiden, though published in America, is also in the adolescent tradition. ln 1931, Maximo Kajaw gave his mite with The Filipino Rebel, an indifferent love story thrown out of focus by obtrusive and unassimilate"d political science. Then. in 1940, came N. V. M. Gonzales's Winds of April, which is composed of much lyrical, albeit somewhat episodic, novel writing. Ll;lya's His Native Soil came in with its realistic social exposition and satire in 1941. And now, 1947 1 a first-rate Philippine novel published in the United States, the latest and perhaps outstanding novPl so far wr-itten in English in the Philippines. There is color and excitement in this book-perhaps a little more color anrl excitement than are necessary for painting the truth. , There i's episodic writing, too, as though much has been deleted by editors from a much longer manuscript. But the abrupt transitions and the gaps are not enough to mar our appreciation of the narrative flow. Whether or not this novel has enough humanity to outlast the topical interest of the anti-Japanese underground, W(! are not sure. We are not sure if the melodrama, now the reader's emOtional receptivity to everything antiJapanese, would not later·. come out to cast doubts on the veracity of the book. Only time will tell. In the meantime, here is exciting read· ing (for adults only). The young, who can not stand stench and the turbulence of passion, mi~~t. wait until they have grown up be~'·e they peep into the book. - o - 13 PLAYS by Wilfrido Maria Guerrero. University Publishing Co. 1947. Price 1.'15.00. ' It is not often that Philippine plays come out in book form.~ The first one, we remember, is Philippine Plays, edited by Sol Gwekoh. Then in 1940, Jean Garrot Edades' Short Plays was pub-_ lished by Progressive Schoolbooks. About this time, Mrs. Dean S. Fansler put out also a collection of Oriental dramas, containing plays by Severino Montano ~nd Gabriel Bernardo. Philippine Prose end Poetry also contains plays, the best fo1· classroom use that teacher committees can find in local periodicals. Aside from thEse few anthologies, we have not seen any book devoted to this thankless field of Philippine publishing. Then, in April 1947, the long-awaited collection of plays by Wilfrido Maria Guerrero came out. All sorts of word, kind and not so kind, have been said about Guerrero. Many have praised his courageou3 pioneering spirit, his brave effort to fight illegitimacy on the Philippine stage and to establish a theatrical tradition. This collection I:IUUK IJH AT~ ~~.~ . '~~ ·, · con tams some of the best plays which ",;;; __ ~ .. · he has written and himse1f produced 'f~ . . with the help of ~ollege atlateurs - ' fi;' plays that have found actual perform... the serious ones-"Half an Hour in a Convent,'' "F-rust;rations,'1 ·"The Forsaken House," '!Condemned," "Fo'rever." These are· truly worthy plays, and we do not know 6f any Filipino playwright · writing in Engli~h today who can match them in emotional power and smoothness of technique. . ' ance and reaped satisfying· applause. Here are those gay satires on the · foibles of youth_:_"Movie Artists," Women Are Extraordinary," "Wanted: A Chaperon," etc. But we feel that Guerrero, is never at his . best in comedy. There is something forced in his gaiety. Witness "Wow, These American," "Mo2 vie Artists," e-~c. Guerrero is essential·ty serious. His best plays are easily / us ... The PPSTA Practice Tests were sold out in one week after publication. It was a very successful first venture_of the PPSTA in publishing for service. And, we understand, the tests in principles of teaching in the Junior Teacher and in the Teacher Examinations did not, could not possibly, stray very far from the practice test items. Didn't we tell you? We have received many kind words regarding the PPST A Practice Tests. Some teachers, principals, and superintendents have even volunteered to contribute something in the next edition to be published next year. People have been impressed by the lpw cost of the publication. All these the organization appreciates, for the publication of the Practice Tests has been an act of sacrifice in order to serve teachers in the field. The PPSTA lo t money on it, but the PPST A is a service organization and does not go into publishing to make (Incidentally, the book contains' an appendix · which reminds theatrical groups that playwrights are people who need not be hurt by deserved royalties.) --o-money it ventures out only to serve "this cause of ours." Next year we shall put out an even better book. There is a plan to print in the PE summarized forms of courses of study. What do you think of this one? Let us know so we can start it soon. * This issue .of the PE' contains many teaching aids. In former issues, w-e were concerned with problems of organization. Also, civil service review. So much so that an advertiser laughingly .commented that the mag_ azinle seems to say nothing but "Join, join, and join the PPSTA." We continue to urge teachers to join the PPSTA, for indeed our main problem continues to be that of organization. On the other hand;~,rre~re other needs to be served and a~~ tbem FOR MODERN OPTICAL :t\EEDS-SEE KEEPSAKE OPTICAL-SO Escolta ,, the practical and immediate task of in.;. .• service. training fqr teachers. Hence, 7 ' the teaching · aids that ·start with /this ·~ · issue. Oth~r departments ot" the PE I. 1 ~ have been remodelled so as to serve in., service training best. * .. .. We received a letter from A. V. H. Hartehdorp, former editor of the pre- · war Philippine Magazine. Among other things, he writes: "Let me congratulate you on the second issue of your own publication. It fills a definite need. I think that lsabelo Pinson's 'Such Now is the Barrio of Imurung' is especially good.'' lsa• belo Pinson, by the way, is a barrio teacher in the Division of isabela. He never expected to be pubblished in the Philippine Educator, much less to he -so highly commended. Mr. Pinson's triumph goes to show that good writing does not come ftom literary skill alon-e but also from sincerity and depth of personal experience. * * * We do urge more contributions from barrio teachers. This magazine1 is not intended to serve the big shoto of the Bureau of Education alone. We wish to receive letters from, the field, for we feel that our usefulness is in direct proportion to ·our intimacy with the problems that meet us. Often we read in the · Philippine.~ Free Press, 'the Manila Times and other publications the activities of teacher organizations. Sometimes pictures are published. Limited snace in the PE does not allow the publicati~n of every item regarding teacher organizations, and we do not h0 1Ve facilities for the publication of many pictures but we do hope that 'Our' maj!'azines will more and more serve all of us. We have sent copies of the PE to provincial a -~ociations. To be sure these arE' Teceived, we sent them by registered mail. Somehow we have not yet heard from them either in ackrowlJ • edgement of receipt or in payment the consilinments. Very sad. lf· your division a~sociation does not receive " more consignment of materials, it is perhaps because we • believe your association is not yet organized well enough to receive this particular kind of service to teachers . * * .. We 1 have received letters commending and indorsing the PPSTA · movement. To most correspondents, it is inconceivable that any public school teacher should ever wish to be left · out of the movement merely by his unwillingness to contrjbute the nominai amount or' Pl.OO for one year. Yet we have entire· schools and entire divisions left out because of unexplained silence and an utter lack of contact with· the headquarters of the PPSTA. Some teachers in these divisions have never even heard of the. PE and the PPST A P1·actice Tests, and those who heard of these publications immediately started reproaching their immediate superior.> for having failed to inform them of these. Perhaps provincial chapters in these divisions have not been organized? Perhaps school head remain indifferent to the movement? Perhaps they are unconvinced of its importance in the promotion of teachers' ""'!fare? Vve can only wonder. * *' * We have received letters from widely-scattered sources inquiring about the possible candidacy for senator of Director Esteban Abada. Although we have read speculations about this matter in the papers, we have not received definite confirmation of it, and the PE has no official opinion regarding the matter. The PE, however, is an organ of the PPSTA, and whatever the PPSTA tbinks serve the welfare of public school teachers as a group will receive the unqualified support of the PE. ·' -~