more hidalgo

Christina Hidalgo wrote about the Filipino novel in English (it's funny, she texted me to say hindi daw ako kasali kasi hindi pa daw niya nababasa ang Salamanca when she finalized the paper).

She begins with a quotation from National Artist Nick Joaquin:

After the early 1900s, Philippine writing in Spanish took on a discouraged tone, became a querulous repetition, and sank into mediocrity… Writing in English may go the same way, because it, too, is following the pattern of dropped or evaded challenges. In this new medium an old characteristic of ours is again evident: our timorous preference for work in miniature, work on a small scale. The only literary form in which we have excelled in English is the short story, and we are working it to death. The short story is a good medium for apprentice work; but having mastered it, we must move on to bigger challenges…” (1988, 45)

Read Fabulists and Chroniclers by Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo here.

Speaking of novels, Butch Dalisay has just finished his 2nd novel, "Soledad's Sister". Kudos, Butch!