The History Of The Book In The Philippines (A Timeline)

As mentioned in this entry, I recently attended Professor Patricia May Jurilla’s lecture on the history of the book in the Philippines at the Filipinas Heritage Library as part of the National Book Development Board’s celebration of the 11th Philippine Book Development Month. I had asked Professor Jurilla if she would allow Read Or Die to reproduce the chronology she compiled for the lecture and after due consideration she kindly agreed. Here it is:

The History Of The Book In The Philippines (A Timeline) by Patricia May Jurilla (PhD)

Please note that this time line is not for public distribution or archiving. If you would like to reference it, please link to the page in question (we’ll eventually duplicate it in Libro.ph’s archives). Professor Jurilla will soon be publishing a book on this subject so please wait for it should you need more extensive documentation.

Professor Jurilla would also like to note that the chronology offers only a selective overview of the history of the book in the Philippines and is by no means a complete listing of events.

My comments to follow.

Re: Books and Nation-Building

I’ve just come from Professor Patricia May Jurilla’s talk on the history of the book in the Philippines at the Filipinas Heritage Library. It’s part of the lecture series sponsored by the National Book Development Board for Philippine Book Development Month. I won’t as yet go into the factual details of the lecture–which was very interesting and informative–since I still have Zarah Gagatiga’s lecture-workshop on community libraries to blog about. Furthermore, I would like to transcribe the lecture handout which listed relevant statistical information as well as a compact timeline of the history of the book in the Philippines but am awaiting Professor Jurilla’s permission as she is writing a book on the subject and will have to consult her publisher first.

Anyway.

Some points raised during the open forum and in a sort of lunch table conversation I had with Professor Jurilla, Atty. Andrea Pasion (Executive Director of the NBDB) and Ms. Graciela Cayton of the Filipinas Heritage Library afterward inevitably touched on the basic themes which Professor Almario covered in his own speech on reading in the Philippines. Professor Jurilla charted the development of the book and book publishing in the Philippines within a dense context of historical events, political decrees and changing cultural trends–the advent of printing technology in the Philippines and the corresponding loss of/decrease of interest in native oral literature, the preponderance of religious and moralistic literature during the Spanish colonial era due to Queen Isabela’s ban on the transmission of secular literature in Spain’s colonies, the almost defiant flourishing of Filipino metrical romances and hybrid poetical structures like the pasyon, Rizal’s publication of his novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo–both of whose devising owed as much to Filipino literary forms as to European models– and their corresponding revolutionary impact which led to the creation of the Katipunan and the 1896 Revolution… Indeed, one might say with reasonable truthfulness that books founded the Republic, or at least were at its fountainhead.

It’s therefore quite ironic–no, fitting, really, that our books should also be a watermark by which we could measure the progressive decline of the Filipino nation. I’m neither a literary historian nor an ideological apologist beset with nostalgia for a past which has never really fulfilled its promise. Professor Jurilla has a very robust view on the entire matter and probably would not approve of my phraseology. She does believe that the history of books also tells the story of a nation, though it is only one heading in a very long table of contents, and any reader knows that we cannot judge a book by its cover, and certainly not by perusing a single chapter. But the story this particular chapter unfolds depicts a society beset by poetry but which has lost its language, a society whose history is constructed with the blood and sinews of words–a seemingly never-ending stream of epic, myth, rhetoric, prayer, and gab–but which chooses to dwell in a house where the bookshelves contain trinkets from weddings and baptisms and the kids’ graduation photos.

Professor Jurilla has said that the greatest empires and nations of the world always had, at their core, a good library. Their history–triumphs, failures, depradations, and eventual destruction–is in their books, which will live on long after they are gone. But in the Philippines, our history always seems to overtake our story. Years from now, will we even have anything to read? Will we care? Perhaps the history of our books is the best and most paradigmatic story of the death of the book. In which case we will certainly have our claim to literary posterity. No need for that elusive Nobel Prize.

Overwrought dramatics aside, let us now turn to a more democratic perspective. Professor Jurilla is not as morbid as I am (i.e., she hasn’t drunk as much coffee as I have so early in the afternoon). She does not think that the Filipino book is in any danger of extinction though it’s definitely trapped in a decades-long stranglehold–a matrix, in turn, of conflicting motivations, misguided cues, and plain and simple indifference hard-coded into a generation of Filipinos raised on a diet of unimaginative textbooks thanks to an educational system which has privileged notions of formalistic learning over any sort of critical engagement with texts (least of all with one’s own mind). She also believes that the stranglehold is slowly loosening, less a death grip now and more like Mr. Spock’s Vulcan Nerve Pinch. Filipino children at present are more aware of Filipino literature, thanks to the effort of innovative publishing houses like Adarna and Anvil and the actions of progressive groups advocating literacy and educational reform, but whether this awareness translates into readership and a more vibrant and creative market for Filipino literature–especially literature written in Filipino–remains an issue.

Love Your Books!

Love your books! Show your support of the 11th Philippine Book Development Month by putting this logo in your blog or website. (You may choose to link back to this post as well for the schedule of activities since the NBDB doesn’t have an official website devoted to the event yet).

Love Your Books

June 5, 2007 | Filed Under Latest, Philippine Book Development Month | Leave a Comment

Philippine Book Development Month: Schedule Of Activities

Revised Schedule Of Activities (Still Under Revision — Keep Checking This Space For Updates)

June 4. Your Community Library by Zarah Gagatiga

A whole day lecture on setting up and sustainability issues of a community library to be held at the Filipinas Heritage Library.

June 6. A Book Is An Event by Ani Almario and Antonia Ortigas (9AM - 12NN, Filipinas Heritage Library)

A two-part lecture to equip teachers and librarians with knowledge and skills that will help encourage students to read more often for longer periods of time and to improve their comprehension.

June 7. The Book Talks: What Will It Tell? by May Jurilla, PhD. (9AM - 12NN, Filipinas Heritage Library)

This unique lecture topic depicts the crucial role of book development vis-a-vis nation building.

June 8. NBDB Anniversary

June 14. What Makes A Reading Campaign Work? (Whole Day At The Filipinas Heritage Library)

This panel discussion will assess the successes and failures of the different reading campaigns vis-a-vis the various considerations and objectives of different agencies, identify gaps and address them.

June 27 - July 1. Portrait Of A City: The Literary Imagination And The City We Live In

To be held at the Glorietta Park, this exhibit will feature the places around Manila that have inspired the literary works of local authors.

June 27. Cocktails

June 28. Poetry Night

June 29. Performance Poetry With An Ethnic Dance Group

June 30. Reading Short Fiction With Celebrities, Theatrical Storytelling

June 30. The Literary City Tour

To be conducted by Joanna Abrera del Prado, the Tour begins at the Literary City Exhibit in Glorietta, where participants will get an orientation of the tour before visiting the places themselves. Cost: P500.

July 1. Storytelling For Children

July 4-July 8. Portrait Of A City: The Literary Imagination And The City We Live In

To be held at the Trinoma Mall, this exhibit will feature the places around Metro Manila that have inspired the literary works of local authors.

NOTE:

Once again, the schedule is subject to change. RoD will hopefully be launching Libro.ph in one of these events though details are still under discussion.

The literary exhibits (Portrait Of A City) will be held both at the Glorietta Park (right outside Glorietta 3, the covered space across the sweep of restaurants like Avenetto, Hard Rock Cafe, Gloria Jeans) and at the Trinoma Mall (that new mall near SM North–it sits right beside the North Avenue MRT Station.)

The tour conducted by Ms. del Prado will be a literal city-hop. Tour fee costs P500, inclusive of transportation and meals. If you want to join the tour, please reserve a spot since there are only limited seats available. Call the Filipinas Heritage Library at 929-3881.

June 5, 2007 | Filed Under Latest, Philippine Book Development Month | 7 Comments

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