PCG Nagoya Holds PH Literature Appreciation Workshop

The Philippine Consulate General in Nagoya celebrated National Literature Month (NML) with a “Philippine Literature Appreciation Workshop” held at the Philippine Consulate General on 19 April 2025. The activity was attended by Consulate personnel and members of the Filipino community in Nagoya.

The Literature Appreciation Workshop was the second of three activities conducted by the Consulate to celebrate the National Literature Month. Seventeen participants took turns reading and giving their reactions to short stories written by Filipino authors: How My Brother Leon Brough Home a Wife by Manuel E. Arguilla, Footnote to Youth by Jose Garcia Villa, Tata Selo, by Rogelio Sicat and Sa Bagong Paraiso by Efren Reyes Abueg.

To enhance the participants’ appreciation of the short stories, a background of each writer was provided as well as the period and the social milieu in which the stories were written. The characters in the stories were analyzed, including the conflicts that they encounter, subsequently relating them to each participants’ personal experience. Finally, the narrative style of the writers and what messages they were trying to convey were discussed especially in relation to the present.

In keeping with the theme, “Ang Panitikan at Kapayapaan (Literature and Peace),” the workshop chose to explore the theme of internal (personal) and social conflicts. The stories that were discussed demonstrated the power of literature in conveying certain truths and how it could pave the way for personal and social understanding and reconciliation.

The workshop aimed to cultivate awareness and appreciation of Philippine literature in accordance with Presidential Proclamation No. 968 declaring the month of April of every year as National Literature Month. END