Photos of the interview with Mrs. Anonas

ACTIVITY: Interview with Ma’am Lourdes S. Anonas (EVP)
TOPIC: Bienvenido Nuqui Santos: a peek to his life’s story


WHO IS MR. BIENVENIDO N. SANTOS a.k.a. ‘Bening’?

A husband to Mrs. Beatriz Nidea Santos of Albay, Bicol
With three daughters and one son. The youngest daughter is Mrs. Lourdes S. Anonas. The three daughters didn’t inherit the writing expertise of their father while his son did. His son studied in Colorado State University.

Mang Bening as a FATHER, HUSBAND and as an INDIVIDUAL;

Most of the time, he was in U.S. but though he was always in U.S., he always thinks of his family in the Philippines.
1940 – he went to the U.S. for his Master’s Degree in English at Columbia State University (before world war 2 broke out)
1941 – At the time of Pearl Harbor, he became a Pensionado
1946 – he came back home

All throughout the war, he used to write letter for his family everyday which were never sent because of the war. He gave them all to his wife. He also used to give birthday cards to his daughters and son. When he is in the country, he used to stay at La Salle because he is a member of La Salle brothers. He and his wife were classmates at U.P. All his letters and writings were actually kept by his wife. All his memorabilias were in the University of Nueva Caceres, but most were donated at La Salle. He also stayed and spent 6 months at La Salle with Ma’am Lourdes. He was once a dean of Arts and Sciences of UNC while his wife was also once became the dean of the Graduate Studies. He was a classmate of Diosdado Macapagal in elementary.

1958 – he went back to U.S. for scholarship. His favorite characters in his writing. His favorite characters in his writings were people he knew in life especially in Sulukan days from Antonio Rivera, Tondo Manila – grew up in Tondo.
1981 – death of his wife; his death

Mang Bening’s TRAITS:

Very sentimental person, as also a father, he’s humorous, fun-loving, very generous man, funny, very excellent, good lecturer
His wife – very serious;6 years older than Mang ‘Bening’ - close to Ma’am Lourdes
Has a beautiful eyes, ‘durat’ – fond of embracing , a very good friend, friendly and demonstrative.
Ma’am Lourdes said she thought she inherited her father’s being demonstrative (“when I love , I love….), his fond of embracing, love for friends.
He has a favorite typewriter. Most of his writings are written in long hand like his navel and his autobiography, ‘Memories Fiction”.

Trivias on Mang Bening...

**In La Salle, they have the B.N. Santos creative writing. It was at the age of 12 when he started writing and at the age of 16 when he started writing at U.P. –Philippine Collegian.

**His wife is the one who used to keep everything he wrote from letters to cut-outs on copies of his writings in publications. What makes him a good writer is his habit of reading everyday.

**He’s really fond of reading and reading and reading…His teacher used to see him reading most of the time at Public Library.

**For him, “Rewriting is writing” for as you rewrite, you improve your writing. He write anytime. He can write poems in just a minute.

**Everyday, he asks for 4 newspaper: Manila Standard, Inquirer, Manila Bulletin and Philippine Star and he reads cover to cover. What’s funny and amazing about him is that after an hour, he’s already done reading the four newspaper.

EDITED POSTER- DEAD STARS

Poster

The story of Dead Stars is a good story that can everybody will appreciate and relate to the story. After you read and understand the story you will be able to see the beauty of the story. It is a story that almost evrybody can relate. A story of 1 partner that were engaged and the man fell inloved with other women. It is also happens in other partners. We cannot control ourself falling inlove with other person eventhough we are commited to another person. Sometimes it is the reason of the conflict of the partners which leads to misunderstanding of the partner. There's nothing wrong in falling inlove, but we must know our limitations. In our lives we accidentaly met someone. We start talking with each other, laughing with each other, as the days pass by we fell inlove with that person. When they are happy chatting with each other, sometimes they forget that they are commited. In the story, if I were Julia Salas, I will do the same. I will choose to live a simple life.


Razel P. Carpo

DEAD STAR REACTION

The dead stars that we've just discuss was a picture of a sudden love for a stranger girl.About this literature,it was a bit cool story.It show the picture of love that you cannot expect to have at the wrong timing and place.Alfredo was very captured by the beauty of Julia in a just one glance but the problem is that she has his fiancee.He was about to marry Esperanza.A typical guy would just decide to be a runaway groom,but then Alfredo was different.He had his promised to Esperanza and he fulfilled it.Maybe he realized that Julia was just a piece of his memory that will just past away.Despite of his love at that time to Julia,he fulfill his promised to Esperanza.He has his one word,his "palabra de honor",and that's amazing.I agree to what decision has Alfredo done.He just follow his heart.and he did not regret it.As time pass by.his love to Julia fade.There he realized that Esperanza is the one he truly love.It was a great story.I hope all guys are like that.Promised to a girl is very important.

~julie ann adayo~

DEAD STAR: I SAY....

The story, I can say, 'really has a story'. I did like it, but not much. For me, it lacked thrill and appeal: something's missing; I don't know. Well, perhaps the story also happens to many or some, and other people can relate themselves to it. But... I just really do not like the idea of someone who had already promised a woman for marriage, yet can still like someone else. In accounting, there's what they call "restricted cash", which, I think, can be compared to Alfredo's situation before he met Julia. Restricted cash refers to an investment already set aside for a certain purpose or use, and if misused for other matter, would probably bring problems and confusions. (Maybe my views are like Esperanza's, that's why.. But I also know things change. We can't expect things to happen.) On the bright side, I like the character of Julia. She had the courage to accept the fact about Alfedo and Esperanza--the first woman in her lover's life. Though in pain, she was able to look strong and stood with what she knew was right to do...

(I'm in favor with the ending..hehe!)

- rachelle romero

Reaction (Dead Stars) - Prescious Adeline M. Encila

Infatuation... an illusion that blinds many people. It seems that Alfredo was infatuated with Julia. It wasn't really true love, for it was lost and remained only in the memory of Alfredo.

Alfredo is engaged with Esperanza for about three years. It may seem that he views his love towards Esperanza as a normal feeling. He might have get used to that. When he met Julia, he was shocked to feel something different, something pure. It was new for him. He never felt that way towards Esperanza. Julia is a simple lady, caring and kind. Who wouldn't be attracted to her? She's a nice companion. Alfredo feels good everytime he hangs out with her. There's something with Julia that Alfredo can only see, something so bright that lightens every moment whenever he sees her. It's difficult to turn away in that attractive brightness that she has. Alfredo wasn't able to turn away. He wanted to spend every day with Julia, forgetting his fiancee. Esperanza is a beautiful and intelligent lady. She loves Alfredo whole-heartedly. She was sensitive enough to be able to feel something wrong with her fiance. It was nice that she had the courage to confront Alfredo about the issue. Even if it hurts so much, she was able to accept it. She stayed where she is for she believes that it's true love that binds the two of them.
As Alfredo made his decision, he chose to get married with his fiancee. It was difficult for him to adjust because his thoughts are haunted by memories of Julia. His head was clouded with questions about his decision. But sooner, he was able to find all the answers. He did feel something special about Julia. But it was different. And he realized that it was gone. Even though it remained in his mind for a long time, it wasn't really love.

Sometimes, when we feel something different towards a person, the first thing that pops into our mind is that we're in love. But it's not quite true. It's not always love. Maybe we're just blinded by that happy feeling. This short story shows the feelings of each character really well. Although it needs to be read more than once, anyone who will read this will be able to relate. It's like a fairy tale, but with a different ending than the usual ones, though. It is nice to know that this story is written by a Filipino author. It raises our quality and standard in literature.

I'm proud to be PINOY!!!! =]

Dead stars . .

Dead Stars by Paz Marquez Benitez,As i have red the story at first i was confused on what the story rolls on.Then when our prof states and clears it out about that story I feel somehow and quite relating on Alfredo's character. In real life I have felt thesame way as Alfredo feel when he waits over 8 years,though im not yet married as alfredo was, For over 3 years i've been waiting for someone and hoping that when our ways cross there would be spark on it but when that time come i dont ever feel such a spark i was thinking of. Alfredo had wait for over 8 years as he saw Julia he never feel what he had felt in the time they where together 8 years ago.
-Ronald D. Sarol

My professor in Lit1 assigned us to read the story Dead Stars written by Paz Marquez-Benitez, the first Filipino modern English writer. I never thought that it was a love story. Actually, it was one of the typical Filipino love story but considering that the author is a Filipino that who would have thought we be able to wrote like this. Paz Marquez is truly a pride of the Filipinos. The story was about a man named Alfredo Salazar who was engaged for about four years to Esperanza and Julia Salas whom he has fell in love. In the end, Alfredo realized that it was not love what he felt for Julia. It was just right that he chose Esperanza over Julia because they have been engaged for a long time. The problem here was he allowed himself to love Julia, Julia may not get hurt.They have to move on now and continue life. When you love you will learn the word 'sacrifice'.

Daryl Hannah V. Frias

Vocabulary (Dead Stars)

curry - to use flattery
shrug - to draw up as a sign of doubt
repose - restless, serenity
dapple - to mark with, marked with such a way
perfervid - passionate, ardent
insipid - uninteresting, dull
tumultuous - restless, disorderly
haste - urgency
delude - mislead
resonant - echoing
verge - margin
recalcitrant - actively disobedient
wayward - stubborn, unpredictable
spurt - a burst of activity
exurbent - lively
derided - imitated
woo - to court, seek in marriage
avid - intensely eager
fastidious - meticulous
austere - simple and without decoration
desultory - jumping from one object of attention to another
errant - roving, straying
prosaic - dull, ordinary
lugubrious - dismal, mournful

Dead Stars(Reaction)-Hyacinth B. Canillo

Dead stars--somewhat, it could be a dream that had fade. For Alfredo, it is a wishful thought of having Julia in his side, but had gone as described as dead star. I don't know why Alfredo felt that way towards Julia--admiration, care, almost love, then in the end, it was gone. Same with his feelings towards Esperanza, it get cold because of his selfish act. How crazy these people are? These people who experienced it. I really can't understand them. They're pathetic. They'll make effort to get something, then just throw it away after using it. It is better that Julia Salas is not flirt. Maybe it will turned out to a different ending and Alfredo will end on Julia's arms. And Esperanza? who gave all her love and trust? left crying.
The story though turned out good. Esperanza's character succeed, Julia's have not been a portray of a beast/mistress and Alfredo chose the right decision. After all, he knew in the end that his decision was right.

Reaction about the story

Reaction on Dead Stars
--Arabelle V. Morillo--

During our Literature class, we are asked to read the story "Dead Stars" by Paz Marquez-Benitez. At first I find it difficult to understand because its too long and some of the words are new to my vocabulary. But as I read it again, I began to absorb what the story about. And what I like in the story is that it differentiates the meaning of love from attraction. In the story, it shows how the guy in the story, Alfredo, realizes that he is not in love with Julia, instead its only a attraction which seems to be love for him. He find it confusing for he is engaged with another girl, Esperanza. There are times when we thought were in love but its not, its just an attraction that you wanted to know this person because you find something that differentiates him/her from the rest. And it may lead us to a confusion or dilemma, but what really matters is to use your heart and mind to choose what will let you happy and not in regret in the end.

Reaction - Dead Stars

-Daryl Emmie R. Medina

In our Philippine Literature class, we discuss the plots on the story of Dead Stars by Paz Marquez-Benitez. We discuss about the characters of Alfredo, Esperanza, and Julia. Dead Stars, as to what I read, is about a love conflict between the three characters. As what I understand about it, Alfredo was just infatuated to Julia but never in love. He just like how Julia kept him company. Esperanza, as a long time lover of Alfredo, is very faithful to him. She waited for 3 years, and she was expecting Alfredo to be honest to her and tell her everything about how he feels toward her and the other woman, Julia. Julia has an innocent character, as to what I read, she really had feelings for Alfredo but didn't know that he was engaged to Esperanza, so she act liked she doesn't care at all. Alfredo wasted his time thinking about Julia for almost 8 years because at the end of the story when they met again he didn't feel the same way like he felt before for Julia.

History Of Philippine Literature

INTRODUCTION TO PHILIPPINE LITERATURE:

The history of a nation can be learned in its constitution, its laws and its political statements. But to know the history of a nation’s spirit, you must read its literature. For in literature you can discover how the people of a nation have reacted to the events around them. In the stories, essays and poems contained in this volume, you will read the dreams, anxieties, joys and problems of the Filipino in the past seventy-five years. By reading this development of Philippine Literature you will review what has happened to the Filipino since 1900.

But literature offers much more than a mere personalized history. For an important quality of art is to share with others the intense realization of a human experience. Through this sharing, you may recognize your own experiences. You may learn what you are or how you have become what you are. You may even learn what you might be in the future. Philippine literature shows you how the Filipino differs from others. Yet in a sense the Filipino writer is linked with all the other writers of the world. For in explaining or questioning human experience, writers are never alone. Philippine Literature in English is really a part of the literatures of the world.

A further quality of literature is that the expressions used should be memorable. The language should be clear and forceful so that the ideas strike the reader with almost the same force with which they struck the writer. The early Filipino writers had difficulty in expressing themselves since English was a language new to them. The marvel is that they learned this language so quickly and with such facility.

Philippine literature in English reveals the spirit of the Filipino. Gradually this literature has learned to express the deepest of human experiences in words that create memorable images. You may divide Philippine Literature in English into many types and numerous periods. But for our purposes, we shall consider three stages through which the literature has passed. These stages might be called:

1) The Early Period, from 1900 to 1930

2) The Middle Period, from 1930 to 1960

3) The Modern Period, from 1960 to 1974

Why these titles and dates were chosen should become clearer in the following pages.

The Early Period (1900-1930)

On August 13, 1898, the American forces occupied Manila. A few years later, in April of 1900, President William Mckinley directed the Philippine Commission to make English the official medium of instruction for all public schools. The first teachers of English were members of the United States Army. In August of 1901, six hundred American teachers arrived on the transport Thomas. They replaced the soldiers as teachers. In that year, 1901, the Philippine Normal School was founded. Its purpose was to train Filipinos in the art of teaching so that they could eventually take charge of elementary education.

The students and the people in general learned English quickly. Even in 1899 there were English newspapers such as The Courier, Insular Pres, and Manila freedom. In 1900, the Daily Bulletin was founded, while The Cablenews started in 1902. The Philippines Free Press began in 1905, edited by F. Theodore Rogers. At firs it was a bilingual weekly in English and Spanish. In 1908 it published the first Filipino short stories in English.

In that same year, 1908, the University of the Philippines was founded. This school became the forerunner in the use of English for higher education. In October of 1910 the University of the Philippines’ College Folio was published. This magazine printed the works of the first promising writers in English. These early selections were mostly ghost stories or folk tales explaining natural phenomena. Often the authors taught a moral message which was evident even at a first reading.

Among the famous early teaches of English might be mentioned Professors Dean S. Fansler and his wife Harriott Ely Fansler, George Pope Shannon, tom Inglis Moore, Harold P. Scott, and C. V. Wicker. In literature classes they taught the works of Chaucer, Milton, Donne, Shakespeare, Irving, Hawthorne, Emerson, Thoreau, Poe, Longfellow, Bryant, Harte, Holmes, Lowell, Shelley, Keats, Coleridge, Lamb, Joyce, Tennyson, Thackeray, Macaulay and other famous writers.

For composition themes they encouraged the students to write about folk tales and their own experiences. In one college class of 1913 the students were asked to write speeches for these topics: The Building of a Modern Sanitary Market; A Speech at the First Banquet of the Philippine Normal School; An Appeal to the Moral Sense—Cockfighting; Primary Education in the Philippines; A Stump Speech before the People of a Certain Barrio;; and The Unveiling of a Monument Dedicated to Apolinario Mabini. The student themes were carefully corrected and when a grammatical mistake was made students were required to write the corrected form five times. At the end of each theme, the student wrote a statement of originally testifying that “…this is my own original work.” The skill and dedication of the early teachers was to produce rich results in the years to come.

At first, Filipino writing in English was quite formal and imitative. Influences from the Spanish language could be seen in the use of Spanish expressions and in an ornate style. Grammatical expression was at times awkward and there was some difficulty in the use of prepositions and pronouns. But gradually the quality of writing improved. Between 1908 and 1914, some students at the University of the Philippines collected and retold, in English, old Filipino tales. These writings were gathered by Dean S. Fansler and published in Filipino Popular Tales in 1921. In 1912 the graduates of the Manila

Aside from student publications, newspapers and magazines provided an early outlet for writers. In 1920 the Philippines Herald began publication. It was founded by Manuel L. Quezon and its magazine section was edited by Paz Marquez Benitez. A distinguished writer herself, she helped to make familiar the names of Paz Latorena, Loreto Paras, Jose Garcia Villa, Casiano T. Calalang, and others. In 1924 A.V.H. Hartendorp became the editor of the Philippine Education Magazine. Some four year later, he widened its content and renamed it the Philippine Magazine. The high quality of this magazine made it so popular that it became the most influential literary magazine in the country. It published some of the best Filipino writing in English.

Filipino writers received further encouragement in 1925. In that year the Free Press began paying for original manuscripts and offered P1,000 for the best stories. The Manila Tribune was founded and, along with the Graphic, the Woman’s Outlook, the Woman’s Home Journal, and the Philippine Collegian, offered further incentives to promising writers. Also in 1925 the Philippine Writers Association was organized with Rizal G. Adorable as president. Among the early members were: Paz Latorena, Loreto Paras, Jose Garcia Villa, Jose Panganiban, Remedios Mijares, Mercedes Grau, Celemencia Joven, Casiano Calalang, Jose Dayrit, Sol H. Gwekoh, Arturo B. Rotor, D.H. Soriano, and Augusto C. Catanjal.

Perhaps an even more influential group was the Writers’ Club founded in 1927 at the University of the Philippines. This group published Literary Apprentice which became the leading college literary publication in the country. The Writers’ Club stimulated and encouraged an artistic consciousness among the literary circles of the Philippines.

The first thirty years of Philippine Literature in English produced little in the fields of drama and the novel. Drama was hardly written because vernacular plays and the zarzuela still dominated the stage. The first Filipino novel in English was A Child of Sorrow, written by Zoilo M. Galang in 1921. He later wrote Visions of a Sower in 1924 and Nadia in 1929. Another novelist of this period was Ernest Lopez who published His Awakening in 1929.

Essays. The essay was a popular form of expression for the early writers. Some essays were light or humorous, while others dealt with more serious subjects such as education, history, politics, and social problems. As early as 1926 essayists expressed the need for a literature that was native and national. Many essays first appeared as newspaper columns and later they were published in anthologies. In 1921 Zoilo M. Galang published Life and Success, the first volume of essays in English. Another collection of Filipino essays appeared in 1924, entitled Thinking for Ourselves, edited by Vicente M. Hilario and Eliseo Quirino. In that year Ziolo M. Glang also published another book of essays, Master of Destiny. Among the early essay writers might be mentioned F.M.Africa, Francisco Benitez, Jorge Bocobo, Amador Daguio, Leandro Fernandez, Zoilo M. Galan, Renando Ma. Guerrero, M.M. Kalaw, Pedro de la Llana, I. V. Mallari, Ignacio Manlapaz, Renando Maramag, Camilo Osias, Claro M. Recto, Carlos P. Romulo, and Eulogio B. Rodriguez.

Short Stories. Virginia R. Moreno has described the literary years 1910-1924 as “…a period of novices with their experiences both in fiction-making and the use of the new language; 1925 to 1931 was the period of phenomenal growth among the practitioners in the art.” It is true that the early short storied were the work of novices. The tales were often romantic and the adventures, themes, and plots were sometimes imitated. There were difficulties in grammar and at times there was a tendency toward sentimentalism. But gradually, certain writers appeared who showed that the novitiate period was ending, Jorge Bacobo’s “Horrible Adventure” in the Philippine Review for May 1916, and Paz Marquez Benitez’s “The Siren of 24 Real” in the Philippine Review for July, 1917 were praised by critics for their high literary quality. On September 20, 1925 The Philippine Herald published “Dead Stars” by Paz Marquez Benitez. This story was quickly recognized as one of the best short stories yet written by a Filipino.

In 1925, Zoilo M. Galang published the first collection of short storied in book form under the title Box of Ashes and Other Stories. Beginning with 1926, Jose Garxia Villa encouraged writers with his yearly selection of the best Filipino short stories. In 1927, the first anthology of Filipino short storied was edited by Paz Marquez Benitez. It was entitled Filipino Love Stories. In that same year, Jose Villa Panganiben published The Stealer of Hearts and Other Stories. In 1928 the best short stories were compiled by Jose Garcia Villa in Philippine Short Stories: The Best 25 Stories of 1928.

By 1930 original and significant stories were being written. “Zita,” written by Arturo B. Rotor around 1930, has been called “…one of the finest love stories in Filipino literature in English.” Among the early short story writers were: Paz Marquez Benitez, Jorge Bacobo, Amador T. Daguio, Pilar Hidalgo Lim, Paz Latorena, Tarcila Malabanan, Jose Villa Panganiban, Arturo B. Rotor, Loreto Paras Sulit, L.B. Uichangco, and Jose Garcia Villa.

Poems. The first known Filipino poem in English is “Sursum Corda,” by Justo Juliano. It appeared in the Philippines Free Press in 1907. This poem, along with others of that period, has been criticized as being too artificial and overwritten I order to achieve intensity. The early poems often borroed images and similes from English or American poets. The first collection of poems in book form was Reminiscences, by Lorenzo Paredes, in 1921. In 1922 Procopio Solidum published Never Mind, a collection of Filipino poetry in English. Rodolfo Dato edited an anthology of Filipino poems in 1924 under the title Filipino Poetry. In 1926 he published his own poems in Manila.

Most critics agree that Marcelo de Gracia Concepcion was a leading poet of the early period. His Azucena was published in New York in 1925. His poems reveal simple images with deep sensitivity and original thought. Some poets who blonged to the early period of Philippine Literature were: Aurelio S. Alvero, Marcelo de Gracia Concepcion, Rafael Zulueta da Costa, Luis Dato, Vicente L. del Fierro, Virgilio Floresca, Angela Manalang Gloria, Jose M. Hernandez, A.E.Litiatco, Fernando M. Maramag, Natividad Marquez, Conrado B. Rigor, Juan F. Salazar, Abelardo Subido, Trinidad Tarrosa Subido, Francisco G. Tonogbanua, L.B. Uichangco, and Jose Garcia Villa.