CCP celebrates Arcellana’s literary legacy
The Intertextual Division of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) recently marked the centennial celebration of the birth of National Artist Francisco Arcellana at the CCP Little Theater.
There were performances inspired by Arcellana’s literary works as well as the launch of the National Artist Francisco Arcellana Commemorative Postage Stamp by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and Philpost. Arcellana stamps and books that feature him as author were exhibited. The Arcellana family led the ceremonies.
Francisco Arcellana was an accomplished fictionist, essayist, critic and poet. He authored well-anthologized stories such as “The Mats,” “The Flowers of May,” “How to Read,” “The Wing of Madness,” “Divide by Two” and “A Marriage was Made.” Some of his works have been translated into Filipino, Malaysian, Italian, German and Russian. Born on Sept. 6, 1916 in Sta. Cruz, Manila, Arcellana was part of the generation of writers who reinvented the literary form short story in the English language. He also taught and held key positions at the Department of English and Comparative Literature, University of the Philippines Diliman where he mentored Alfred “Krip” Yuson, Jose “Butch” Dalisay, Erwin Castillo, Charlson Ong, Marra PL. Lanot and Mailin Paterno-Locsin. The Arcellana Centennial Celebration is the offering of the Intertextual Division, formerly known as Literary Arts Division, for the 47th anniversary of the CCP. For details, call Bing at 551-5959 or 0919-3175708, or email ccpintertextualdivision@gmail.com.