Biography of Josef Stalin

Biography of Josef Stalin

1936-08

To understand the proliferation of the biographical genre in the Philippine literary scene, two factors must be taken into account. On the one hand, the literary tradition: Philippine metrical romances, awits and corridos, tended to describe the lives of heroes in an epic manner. Damiana Eugenio affirms that this biographical theme came from pre-Hispanic times, when the deeds of heroes were also sung in oral literature. On the other hand, the colonial and post-colonial contexts, under which the country needed heroes to unite the people and represent the values that should define the nation. A paradigmatic example is the conversion of Rizal into a national hero through different narratives, such as the biography written about him by Rafael de Palma.

In the first decades of the 20th century, two new ideologies emerged that would gain multiple followers and end up being banned in many territories due to the violent events that were generated by them: fascism and communism. In a country occupied by the United States, the champion of anti-communism, the publication of a socialist newspaper was an anti-colonial statement. Moreover, publishing an epic biography of Soviet leader Josef Stalin also functioned as a state proposal for a future independent Philippines.

Eugenio, Damiana. 1987. Awit and Corrido. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press.

Joaquin, Nick. 1981. A Question of Heroes. Quezon City: National Book Store.

Kalaw, Teodoro M. 1930. Gregorio H. del Pilar: (el héroe de Tirad). Manila: National Library.

Lumbera, Bienvenido and Cynthia Nograles Lumbera. 1982. Philippine Literature: A History And Anthology. Quezon City: National Book Store.

Palma, Rafael. 1949. The Pride of the Malay Race. A Biography of José Rizal. New York: Prentice-Hall.

Item held at University of the Philippines Diliman and University of Antwerp VLIRUOS Rare Periodicals Open Access Repository

Rocío Ortuño Casanova

Tagalog