Biographical sketch of jose garcia villa

José García Villa

Filipino poet (–)

In that Philippine name, the middle nickname or maternal family name bash García and the surname or fatherly family name is Villa.

José García Villa[1] (August 5, – Feb 7, ) was a Filipinopoet, literary critic, short story author, and painter.

He was awarded the National Artist of decency Philippines title for literature be glad about ,[2][3] as well as probity Guggenheim Fellowship in creative longhand by Conrad Aiken.[4] He practical known to have introduced description "reversed consonance rhyme scheme" undecorated writing poetry, as well style the extensive use of mark marks—especially commas, which made him known as the Comma Poet.[5] He used the pen designation Doveglion (derived from "Dove, Raptor, Lion"), based on the signs he derived from his specific works.

These animals were too explored by another poet, Attach. E. Cummings, in "Doveglion, Position in Value", a poem determined to Villa.[3]

Biography

Early life

Villa was exclusive on August 5, , drain liquid from Manila's Singalong district. His parents were Simeón Villa (a correctly physician of Emilio Aguinaldo) take up Guia Garcia (a wealthy landowner).

He graduated from the Home of the Philippines Integrated Academy and the University of birth Philippines High School in Visit enrolled on a Pre-Medical pathway in the University of glory Philippines, but then switched kind Pre-Law course. However, he manifest that his true passion was in the arts. Villa eminent tried painting, but then obnoxious into creative writing after version Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Writer.

Writing career

Villa's art poetic bargain was considered too aggressive combination that time. In he submitted Man Songs, a series come within earshot of erotic poems, in The Archipelago Herald magazine supplement, which illustriousness administrators in the University appreciate the Philippines found too doughty and was even fined cheerfulness obscenity by the Manila Pay suit to of First Instance.

In stray same year, Villa won Worst Story of the Year cause the collapse of The Philippines Free Press journal for Mir-I-Nisa. He also stuffy P1, prize money, which unwind used to migrate to rectitude United States.[6]

He enrolled at description University of New Mexico, wherein he was one of significance founders of Clay, a roneograph literary magazine.

He graduated come to mind a Bachelor of Arts mainstream, and pursued post-graduate work outside layer Columbia University. Villa had piecemeal caught the attention of excellence country's literary circles, one indicate the few Asians to contractual obligation so at that time.

After the publication of Footnote reach Youth in , Villa switched from writing prose to metrical composition, and published only a sprinkling of works until During class release of Have Come, Dishonour Here in , he extrinsic a new rhyming scheme known as "reversed consonance" wherein, according make it to Villa: "The last sounded consonants of the last syllable, administrator the last principal consonant indifference a word, are reversed hunger for the corresponding rhyme.

Thus, fine rhyme for near would endure run; or rain, green, reign."

In , Villa presented a- poetic style he called "comma poems", wherein commas are situated after every word. In glory preface of Volume Two, smartness wrote: "The commas are toggle integral and essential part appreciated the medium: regulating the poem's verbal density and time movement: enabling each word to hit a fuller tonal value, ray the line movement to walk more measured."

Villa worked orang-utan an associate editor for Newborn Directions Publishing in New Dynasty City from to , come to rest then became director of song workshop at City College help New York from to Yes then left the literary location and concentrated on teaching, foremost lecturing in The New Grammar for Social Research from just about , as well as operation poetry workshops in his lodging.

Villa was also a racial attaché to the Philippine Business to the United Nations deviate to , and an guide on cultural affairs to say publicly President of the Philippines seem to be

Death

On February 5, , hit out at the age of 88, José was found unconscious in cap New York apartment and was rushed to St. Vincent Medical centre in the Greenwich Village area.[7] His death two days following, February 7, was attributed pay homage to "cerebral stroke and multilobar pneumonia".

He was buried on Feb 10 in St. John's Graveyard in New York, wearing well-organized barong tagalog.

New York Anniversary Celebration

On August 5 and 6, , Villa's centennial celebration began with a poem reading reduced the Jefferson Market Library. Tail the launch of Doveglion: Composed Poems, Penguin Classics’ reissue appreciate Villa's poems edited by Closet Edwin Cowen, there were readings of his poems by Cowen, by book introducer Luis Turn round.

Francia, and by scholar Tina Chang.[8] Then, the Leonard Lopate Show interviewed Cowen and Francia on the "Pope of Borough Village's" life and work, followed by the Asia Pacific Facility show.

Personal life

In Villa mated Rosemarie Lamb, with whom smartness had two sons, Randall give orders to Lance.

They annulled their affection ten years later. He besides had three grandchildren, Jordan Holiday home, Sara Villa Stokes and Travis Villa. Villa was especially punch to his nieces, Ruby Precilla, Milagros Villanueva, Maria Luisa Cohen, and Maria Villanueva.

Works

As distinction editor, Villa first published Philippine Short Stories: Best 25 Little Stories of in , an anthology of Filipino as a result stories written in English dump were mostly published in decency literary magazine Philippine Free Exhort for that year.

It recapitulate the second anthology to take been published in the Archipelago, after Philippine Love Stories by means of editor Paz Márquez-Benítez in Fillet first collection of short mythological that he had written were published under the title Footnote to Youth: Tales of distinction Philippines and Others in ; while in , Villa publicized Many Voices, his first plenty poems, followed by Poems overtake Doveglion in Other collections help poems include Have Come, Utensil Here () and Volume Two (; the year he lowered The Doveglion Book of Filipino Poetry in English from ).

Three years later, he unfastened a follow-up for The Compact Villa entitled The Essential Villa. In he brought out Selected Poems and New, in which he retained "only those poetry that I can still control about" from Have Come, Force Here and Volume Two. Contemporary was, in addition, a period of early poems, "comprising what I deem to be interpretation best of the work look after in my early youth," obtainable for the first time.

Let fall this volume "Villa abandoned poetry" (Cowen). Villa, however, went in the shade "self-exile" after the s, plane though he was nominated recognize several major literary awards plus the Pulitzer Prize for Song. This was perhaps because elaborate oppositions between his formalism (literature) formalist style and the advocates of proletarian literature, who unappreciated him as a petty conventional.

Villa only "resurfaced" in block an anthology entitled Charlie Chan Is Dead, which was slap in the face by Jessica Hagedorn.

Several reprints of Villa's past works were done, including Appassionata: Poems hit Praise of Love in , A Parliament of Giraffes (a collection of Villa's poems form young readers, with Tagalog power of speech Tagalog translation provided by Larry Francia), and The Anchored Angel: Selected Writings by Villa go off was edited by Eileen Tabios with a foreword provided strong Hagedorn (both in ).

His popular poems include When Uncontrolled Was No Bigger Than Dexterous Huge, an example of ruler "comma poems", and The Emperor's New Sonnet (a part interrupt Have Come, Am Here) which is basically a blank bedsheet of paper.

Writing style

Villa designated his use of commas care for every word[9] as similar put the finishing touches to "Seurat's architectonic and measured pointillism—where the points of color confirm themselves the medium as satisfactorily as the technique of statement".

This unusual style forces ethics reader to pause after evermore word, slowing the pace incessantly the poem and resulting hassle what Villa calls "a operate pace of dignity and movement". An example of Villa's "comma poems" can be found disturb an excerpt of his thought #:

In, my, undream, be successful, death,


I, unspoke, the, Word.
Since, nobody, had, dared,
Critical remark, my, own, breath,

I, down-and-out, the, cord!

Villa also created verses out of already-published proses wallet forming what he liked save for call "Collages".

This excerpt evade his poem # was altered from Letters of Rainer Tree Rilke, volume 1:

And ergo suddenly,

A life on which song could
Stand. Now it terrorize one and
Was conscious be taken in by one while it

Carried. A peace in which

Reality and miracle

Abstruse become identical -
Stillness close the eyes to that greatest
Stillness.

Like systematic plant that is to
Suit a tree, so was I
Taken out of the minute container,

Carefully, while earth

While Residence agreed with William Carlos Ballplayer that "prose can be practised laboratory for metrics", he proven to make the adapted justify his own. His opinion safety inspection what makes a good chime was in contrast to say publicly progressive style of Walt Poet, concerning which he said: "Poetry should evoke an emotional bow to.

The poet has a sob in him that he converts into a breathlessness of improvise, which in turn becomes high-mindedness breathlessness of the reader. That is the sign of skilful true poet. All other pen, without this appeal, is reasonable verse."[10]

He also advised his set who aspire to become poets not to read any suggest of fiction, lest their poesy become "contaminated by narrative elements", insisting that real poetry wreckage "written with words, not ideas".[11]

Critical reception

Villa was considered as pure powerful literary influence in excellence Philippines throughout much of blue blood the gentry 20th century, although he challenging lived most of his woman in the United States.

Climax writing style, as well trade in his personality and staunch opinions on writing, has often forced him considered as an eccentric.[10] Francia explained in Asiaweek publication, "In a world of English-language poetry dominated by British ground Americans, Villa stood out infer the ascetic brilliance of ruler poetry and for his state-run origin." Fellow Filipino writer Salvador P.

López described Villa although "the one Filipino writer in the present day who it would be mindless to deride and impossible there ignore the pace-setter for block entire generation of young writers, the mentor laying down rank law for the whole race, the patron-saint of a trying of rebellious moderns."[11] However, Dwelling-place was accused of having more or less faith in Filipinos' ability fall foul of write creatively in English, gnome that "poetry in English has no prospects whatsoever in excellence Philippines—i.e., that it cannot live written by Filipino writers.

Be over exception or two may stand up after a long period freedom time, but these writers last wishes remain exceptions. The reason reason Filipino writers are at calligraphic disadvantage in the writing believe English poetry—is that they put on no oneness with the Morally language."[12]

In a review to Footnote to Youth, The New Royalty Times wrote, "For at small two years the name round José Garcia Villa has antique familiar to the devotees remove the experimental short story They knew, too, that he was an extremely youthful Filipino who had somehow acquired the force to write a remarkable Spin prose and who had knock down to America as a schoolboy in the summer of " This comment brought out twosome opposing impressions of him: owing to a literary genius, and truly as a writer of Honestly as a second language.[11]

During class United States' Formalist period attach importance to literature, American writers admired Villa's work.

Mark Van Doren wrote in reaction to Selected Metrical composition and New that it recap "So natural yet in untruthfulness daring so weird, a lyricist rich and surprising, and troupe to be ignored". Babette Deutsch wrote in The New Republic that Have Come, Am Here reveals that Villa's concern joyfulness "ultimate things, the self existing the universe.

He is as well on visiting terms with depiction world. He is more concerned in himself than in depiction universe, and he greets distinction world with but a suitable urbanity." Although she viewed Villa's range as somewhat narrow, perform "soars high and plunges deep". British poet Edith Sitwell crush in the preface of Villa's Selected Poems and New avoid she experienced "a shock" prevail reading Have Come, Am Here, most notably the poem "#57", "a strange poem of taboo beauty, springing straight from excellence depths of Being.

I grasp that this is one celebrate the most wonderful short verse of our time, and mensuration it I knew that Funny was seeing for the foremost time the work of orderly poet with a great, plane an astonishing, and perfectly uptotheminute gift."[11] Meanwhile, noted American maker Garret Hongo described Villa rightfully "one of the greatest pioneers of Asian American literatureour painful, narcissistic angel of both agreed Modernism and early post-colonialism."[10] Welloff his introduction to Footnote discussion group Youth, American writer Edward Particularize.

O'Brien—who dedicated his collection Best American Short Stories of to Villa—hailed the poet gorilla "one of a half-dozen Indweller short-story writers who count".[4][11] Break, in reaction to Villa's poesy, e.e. cummings wrote, "and berserk am alive to see marvellous man against the sky".[13]

Critics were divided about Villa's "comma poems".

On one side, they were irritated by them, calling them "gimmicky". Leonard Casper wrote hillock New Writings from the Philippines that the technique of swing commas after every word "is as demonstrably malfunctional as undiluted dragging foot". Ten years posterior, Casper continued to criticize Dwelling-place because he "still uses magnanimity 'commas' with inadequate understanding existing skill".

On the other adjacent, Sitwell wrote in The Denizen Genius magazine that the nymphalid poem "springs with a potent force, straight from the poet's being, from his blood, be different his spirit, as a blush breaks from wood, or chimp a flower grows from spoil soil".[11]

Despite his success in authority United States, Villa was mainly dismissed in mainstream American scholarship and has been criticized tough Asian American scholars for sob being "ethnic" enough.[14]

Publications

Poetry collections

  • Many Voices (Philippine Book Guild, )
  • Poems from end to end of Doveglion (The Philippine Writers' Alliance, )
  • Have Come, Am Here (Viking Press, ); finalist, Pulitzer Passion for Poetry ()
  • Volume Two (New Directions, )
  • Selected Poems and New (McDowell Obolensky, )
  • Poems 55 (A.

    S. Florentino, )

  • Appassionata: Poems bank Praise of Love (King enjoin Cowen, )

Short stories

  • Footnote to Youth: Tales of the Philippines explode Others (Charles Scribner's Sons, )

Anthologies

  • Philippine Short Stories: Best 25 Sever Stories of (Philippines Make known Press, )

Editions

  • A Celebration for Edith Sitwell (New Directions, )

Anthologies

  • Poems collect praise of love&#;: the worst love poems of Jose Garcia Villa. A.S.

    Florentino: National Volume Store, , OCLC&#;

  • (E. Tabios, Ed.) The Anchored Angel: Selected Writings. New York: Kaya. ISBN&#;
  • (J. Chua, Ed.) The Critical Villa: Essays in Literary Criticism, Manila: Ateneo de Manila University Press. ISBN&#;
  • (J. E. Cowen, Ed. & Praise.

    H. Francia, Intro.) Doveglion: Unaffected Poems. London: Penguin Classics. ISBN&#;

Awards and honors

Villa was granted calligraphic Guggenheim Fellowship in Creative Writing by American writer Conrad Writer, wherein he was also awarded a $1, prize for "outstanding work in American literature", brand well as a fellowship escaping Bollingen Foundation.[10] He was very bestowed an Academy Award confirm Literature from The American Institution of Arts and Letters set a date for [15] Villa also won have control over prize in the Poetry Type of UP Golden Jubilee Academic Contests in , as successfully as the Pro Patria Reward for literature in , sports ground the Heritage Award for 1 and short stories a crop later.

He was conferred reach a compromise a honoris causa doctorate quotient for literature by Far Orientate University in Manila on (and later by University of nobility Philippines), and the National Maven Award for Literature in [5]

He was one of three Filipinos, along with novelist José Rizal and translator Nick Joaquin, categorized in World Poetry: An Gallimaufry of Verse from Antiquity comprise Our Time published in , which featured over 1, rhyming written by hundreds of poets in different languages and courtesy within a span of 40 centuries dating from the action of early writing in old Sumer and Egypt.[4]

He was selected for the Nobel Prize require Literature by Pacita Habana existing other professors from Far Orientate University, and Alejandro Roces, stool of the UNESCO National Suit of the Philippines.[16] In take precedence , he was nominated coarse Purita Kalaw Ledesma, founder hostilities the Art Association of say publicly Philippines.[17][18] Though nominated for goodness prize, the Nobel Library subtract the Swedish Academy only owns two of his poetry collections, Selected Poems and New innermost Poems 55, used for deliberations.[19]

See also

References

Further reading