SOURCE: Grow, L. M. “Modern Philippine Poetry in the Formative Years: 1920-1950.” Ariel 15, no. 3 (July 1984): 81-98.

In the following essay, Grow examines the poetry of three Filipino poets: Santos, N. V. M. Gonzalez, and Carlos Bulosan.

                                        In the dawn I shall talk to you of the Homeric sweep Enfolding mountains and the sounding sea(1) 

Modern Philippine poetry in English originated in the 1920's and began to come of age in the 1930's. Although at the outset the poetry was overly sentimental and imitative, by the mid-1930's several poets had developed their art to a promising degree. Then advancement of Philippine poetry was halted by the Japanese occupation of World War II and by chaotic conditions in the first few post-war years. It was not until the 1950's, therefore, that the poetry finally matured. This curve of development in Philippine letters can be traced in the early works...