How my brother Leon brought home a wife
"How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife" by Manuel Arguilla
At first I thought there were only twenty or so short stories from the American Era n the Philippines online but I have now found 100s of them. These stories represent a literary and cultural treasure and a body of work that anyone interested in colonial studies could profit from. But most important, if the four stories I have read so far are any guide, the stories are a lot of fun to read, feel like they were written from the heart, are easy to read and give us a look at a way of life gone forever. There are links to resources on Nancy's Blog and in my prior posts on this topic.
We invite anyone interested to join in. If you have never heard of any authors from the Philippines you are very welcome to learn along with us and if you have been reading in this area for 30 years, please help us out. Done long enough, we hope out project could become a real resource for those interested in the literary culture of the Philippines. We do need help in this project to start to cover all the writers.
Today I will be posting on one of the most frequently anthologized and taught in creative writing classes stories,
"How Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife" by Manuel E. Arguilla.
Manuel Arguilla (1911 to 1944) was from the big island of Luzon, in the north in Barrio Nagrebcan, Bauang, La Union. He grew up speaking Ilokano, the third most spoken language in the Philippines. Most of his stories are about the common people in the small town he grew up in. After finishing high school he moved to the Manila area (this had to have been a two or three day at least commute in those days) to attend the University of the Philippines, not far from where I live, in fact. He received a B.S. in education, was president of the University literary club and married Lydia Villaneuva, another talented writer we hope to post on one day.
After graduation he taught creative writing at the
At first I thought there were only twenty or so short stories from the American Era n the Philippines online but I have now found 100s of them. These stories represent a literary and cultural treasure and a body of work that anyone interested in colonial studies could profit from. But most important, if the four stories I have read so far are any guide, the stories are a lot of fun to read, feel like they were written from the heart, are easy to read and give us a look at a way of life gone forever. There are links to resources on Nancy's Blog and in my prior posts on this topic.
We invite anyone interested to join in. If you have never heard of any authors from the Philippines you are very welcome to learn along with us and if you have been reading in this area for 30 years, please help us out. Done long enough, we hope out project could become a real resource for those interested in the literary culture of the Philippines. We do need help in this project to start to cover all the writers.
Today I will be posting on one of the most frequently anthologized and taught in creative writing classes stories,
"How Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife" by Manuel E. Arguilla.
Manuel Arguilla (1911 to 1944) was from the big island of Luzon, in the north in Barrio Nagrebcan, Bauang, La Union. He grew up speaking Ilokano, the third most spoken language in the Philippines. Most of his stories are about the common people in the small town he grew up in. After finishing high school he moved to the Manila area (this had to have been a two or three day at least commute in those days) to attend the University of the Philippines, not far from where I live, in fact. He received a B.S. in education, was president of the University literary club and married Lydia Villaneuva, another talented writer we hope to post on one day.
After graduation he taught creative writing at the