Philippine Short Story: Influences and Growth

• The text covers how the short story took root in the Philippines.

Influences and Growth

• The short story's emergence is linked to Americanization in the Philippines.
• Short stories were cultivated as a literary form under American occupation, mirroring the development of the novel.
• Education in English during the American era influenced its cultivation.
• The short story gained more traction than other narrative forms like one-act plays, radio dramas, and film scripts during this period.
• In 1941, Leopoldo Y. Yabes praised the remarkable growth of Filipino short stories in English, noting their rapid development and quality comparable to British and American works.

Recognition and Adaptation in Tagalog

• In 1953, Teodoro A. Agoncillo highlighted the success of Tagalog short stories, emphasizing their excellence in content and form, as well as their diverse themes.
• Agoncillo aimed to showcase the Filipino soul through the writings of skilled short story authors.
• He viewed the Filipino soul as being adorned with diverse garments shaped by social forces and influencing people, which were authentically represented by the writers.
• Agoncillo considered some Tagalog works superior to those written in English by Filipinos, citing Macario Pineda's "Suyuan sa Tubigan" and "Kung Bagá sa Pamumulaklak" as surpassing Manuel E. Arguilla's "Mid-Summer".
• Pineda's use of Tagalog allowed for a deeper resonance with Filipino sentiments and thoughts, contrasting with Arguilla's reliance on a foreign language.

Early Forms and Publications

• Short narratives began appearing in newspapers during the American period as fillers, known as "pamasak-bútas".
• This writing style became known as "dagli," with equivalents in Spanish like "rapida," "instantanea," and "rafaga," although the origin of each term is uncertain.
• Dagli were common due to many newspapers being in Spanish.
• Dagli, meaning "hurriedly written", often presented events to entertain, moralize about Filipino life and customs, or comment on politics.
• "Pasingaw" was a branch similar to romantic prose in Spanish, focusing on secret emotions and romantic adventures with heavy use of figures of speech.
• Gat-Dusa's "Muni-Muni" (June 24, 1908), dedicated to X, is an example of "pasingaw" in Muling Pagsilang.
• "Mister Drunkard," published in Lipang Kalabaw (June 2, 1908) under the pseudonym Sinamok is a longer form of dagli with political commentary.

Growth and Evolution of the Form

• "Mister Drunkard" resembles a journal spanning three days
• It featured character development, dialogue, and a surprise ending.
• Early Cebuano stories in Ang Suga (1901-1912) were also advanced.
• Vicente Sotto's "Maming" (1901) had traits similar to "Mister Drunkard" and was extracted from Noli Me Tangere.
• V. Sotto's "Gugma sa Yutang Natawhan" (1901) criticized American collaboration and praised Aurora's heroism, who broke up with Octavio due to his betrayal to the nation.
• The filler function of dagli evolved into more meaningful roles, expanding from emotional expression to longer anecdotes and stories, spurred by the need for content in weekly supplements or magazines.
• The short narratives "El Suegro de Kokumora" (1904) and "Maria Clara" (1905) to the longer "Pais de Ensueño" (1907) showed expansion.
• Short story seeds were sown in newspapers and magazines, mirroring their emergence in the United States and England.

Comparisons with Western Literature

• The emergence of the short story in England from the 18th century was slower.
• Short narratives were incorporated amidst news and political commentary in publications like The Spectator, Tatler, and The Guardian.
• Around the 1880s, changes were noticed by giving narratives more space.
• A surge in affordable magazines prompted editors to focus on "literary" content alongside serialized novels.
• Romantic storytelling gained popularity during this time, exemplified by Rudyard Kipling and Robert Louis Stevenson, with influences from French Symbolism.
• Early Filipino storytellers were significantly influenced by this French Symbolist spirit through the modernism of Ruben Dario from Latin America.

Notable Works and Writers

• "La Invasion" (1916) by Jesus Balmori features a clear story.
• "Dead Stars" by Paz Marquez Benitez (1925) is considered the first modern short story in the Philippines, influenced by American models and New Criticism.
• Deogracias A. Rosario is regarded as the "Father of the Tagalog Short Story”.
• In the 1910s, Ang Mithi held a contest to determine the most popular published story, with Rosauro Almario's "Elias" winning 4,478 votes.
• "Bunga ng Kasalanan" by Cirio H. Panganiban won a similar contest in 1920, prized for its organized plot.

Pioneering Figures and Ant