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Library & Information Science, Course 262: Resources for Young Adults.
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Mini-Expert Project

FILIPINO-AMERICAN LITERATURE

Leonardo Cortez
Dec., 1999

The Filipino immigrants cam from Asia, but they came from a part of Asia that was a territory of the United States. The Philipine islands had been a Spanish colony from the 16th century to the end of 19th century. In 1898, after defeating Spain in the Spanish-American War, the United States took control of the Philippines. The islands were to remain in American hands for nearly half a century.

Filipinos were not granted U.S. citizenship, but, because they lived in a U.S. territory, they were considered "American Nationals". This meant that they could emigrate to the U.S. and to Hawaii. Filipinos left their homeland by the tens of thousands. In early 1900s, they went to Hawaii to work in the sugar cane plantations. Starting in the 1920s, they also went to the U.S. mainland, where they found work in the orchards and fields of California and the fisheries of Alaska.

It was not until the 1965 Immigration Act that large numbers of Filipinos immigrated to the U.S. Like other Asians who immigrated to the U.S., the Filipinos sought better employment opportunities and a better future for their children. Most of the Filipinos in the U.S. today are immigrants of second-generation Filipino-American.

Because of American colonialism in the Philippines from the Spanish-American War to the end of World War II and the U.S. military presence in the Philippines until 1992, Filipino immigrants are much more familiar with American culture than most Asian immigrants. Many of the Filipino immigrants spoke some English in addition to Spanish and their native Filipino language. The Filipinos were more American in their outlook than were other Asian immigrants. Many Filipinos had been educated in schools founded by Americans. They studied the Declaration of Independence and read English-language textbooks about the "home of the free and the land of the brave".

American-born Filipinos are not aware of their heritage and culture as their parents. In Filipino families, children are expected to be obedient. Filipino parents are shocked when their Americanized children talk back to them. They are shocked too when their teenagers, like many American teens become involved with drugs and alcohol.

The characteristics of an emerging Filipino-American literature are still very vague. First, there is the problem of quantity. The volume and history of Filipino emigration to America are not as extensive as those of Chinese or Japanese emigrations. There is also a difference in the collective experiences of different ethnic groups in the U.S. It is only during the last few days that younger Filipino-American writers have begun to look into their background and discover that their own and cultural experiences should be explored.

The purpose of assembling this bibliography is to provide additional resources that are available to American of Filipino ancestry and others to learn more abourt Filipino rituals and language, about yearning for home, escaping from home, destroying home, losing and gaining home. Available Filipino-American literatures can be ordered in these bookstores.

Filipino Expressions, Inc. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Sulu Arts and Books

Filipiniana Bookshop 465 Sixth St. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,2nd Floor 8685 Wilshire Blvd. Ste. 11

San Francisco, CA 94103,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Beverly Hills, CA 90211 (415) 777-2451

 

FILIPINO-AMERICAN BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

1. Flippin': Filipinos on America. by Luis Francia and Eric Gamalinda. Published by Asian American Writers' Workshop New York. 1996. Here are Filipino and Filipino-American writers telling their stories in their own words, stories of passion and betrayal, home and exile, the politics of self and a nation in search itself. Readers will find familiar figures - the greedy Marcoses, teenage gangs, game shows, rock star clones as well as characters and themes of every type of stripe and hue.

2. The Well of Time, Eighteen short stories from Philippine Contemporary Literature. Compiled by Teresito M. Laygo. Published by National Dissemination Assessment Center, CSU, Los Angeles. 1978. As a source of Filipino Cultural heritage, this collection of eighteen short stories by several generations of Filipino writers offering a variety of images of Filipino culture: urban and rural lifestyles in the Philippines.

3. Abadeha, The Philippine Cinderella. Myrna J. Dela Paz. Published by Pacific Queens Communications, Los Angeles. 1991 Famous Cinderella story sets in the southern Philippines and its depiction of Muslim family values and traditions.

4. Cebu and Dark Blue Suits and other stories by Peter Bacho. Published by University of Washington, Seatlle. 1991,1997. The stories of Filipino immigrants' American-born sons and daughters who are experiencing conflicts between Filipino and Filipino-American cultures.

6. Her Wild American Self, Short Stories by M. Evelina Galang. Published by Coffee House Press, Minneapolis, MN. 1996. An engaging stories that explore the complex lines of race and gender, old and new, differences and likenesses. The women in the stories confront the danger of the choices between what they were told, they ought to want and what they truly want, who they ought to be and who they are seeking, and their way to live.

7. Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America. Collected and edited by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard. Published by Anvil Publishing, Inc. Manila, Philippines. 1997. An anthology of contemporary stories exploring the experiences of being not only Filipino, not only American, not only Filipino-American, but a truly global human being.

8. The Aswang Complex in the Philippine Folklore. Maximo D. Ramos. Published by Phoenix Publishing House, Quezon City, Philippines. 1990. A book for those who seek to explore the fascinating world of Filipino supernatural experiences.

9. Tales from the 7,000 Isles. Retold by Art Guillermo and Nimfa Rodeheaver. Published by Read Me Books, Santa Rosa, California. 1996. A book of legendary tales from the 7,000 islands of the Philippines. It depicts rural Philippine scenes that includes the past and the present with all its colors, peculiarities, and local customs.

10. Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. by Dr. Jose P. Rizal. Translated by Leon Ma. Guerrero. Published by Longman Group Limited, London. 1961. Dr. Rizal, Filipino national hero, was executed by firing squad mainly because of his two novels, Noli and Fili. These novels were written in Spanish and translated into many languages, made a revolution and became the gospels of his country's nationalism. These novels are required readingsin Philippines' colleges and universities.

 

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