Short Story Reviews =D

source Title: Footnote to Youth Author: Jose Garcia Villa Author's Background:  Jose Garcia Villa (August 5, 1908 – February 7, 1997) was a Filipino poet, literary critic, short story writer, and painter. He was awarded the National Artist of the Philippines title for literature in 1973, as well as the Guggenheim Fellowship in creative writing by Conrad Aiken. He is known to have introduced the "reversed consonance rhyme scheme" in writing poetry, as well as the extensive use of punctuation marks—especially commas, which made him known as the Comma Poet . He used the penname Doveglion (derived from "Dove, Eagle, Lion"), based on the characters he derived from himself. These animals were also explored by another poet E. E. Cummings in Doveglion, Adventures in Value , a poem dedicated to Villa.  source. Vocabulary: Climacteric - a critical period or event. Prodded -  poke with a finger, foot, or pointed object. Decrescent - Warning Insolent -  showin

source Title: My Father Goes to Court Author: Carlos Bulosan Author's Background:  Carlos Sampayan Bulosan (November 24, 1913[1] – September 11, 1956) was an English-language Filipino novelist and poet who spent most of his life in the United States. His best-known work today is the semi-autobiographical America Is in the Heart, but he first gained fame for his 1943 essay on The Freedom from Want. source Vocabulary:  Wafted -   pass or cause to pass gently through the air. Glowered -  have an angry or sullen look on one's face; scowl. Condemning -  express complete disapproval of; censure. Anaemic -  lacking in colour, spirit, or vitality. Robust -  strong and healthy; vigorous. Gratuitous -  given or done free of charge. Feeble -  lacking physical strength, especially as a result of age or illness. Morose -  sullen and ill-tempered. Characters: Narrator - one of the son of the poor family. Brother and Sister - grew more robust and full of life. Father  R

source Title: Portrait of a Great Man Author: Manuel A. Viray Author's Background: (1917-1995?) has compiled poetry anthologies, essays on Philippine literature, and was editor in chief of Archipelago Quarterly. He worked in the foreign service corp of the Philippine Government until his retirement.  source  * the author is not too well-known because he spent the better part of his life in overseas assignments. source Vocabulary:  Capricious -  given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behaviour. Chauffeur -  a person employed to drive a private or hired car. Stern -  strict and severe. Compulsion -  the action or state of forcing or being forced to do something; constraint. Baffled -  totally bewilder or perplex. Pudgy -  (of a person or part of their body) rather fat. Meticulous -  showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise. Kaywoodie - brand of a smoking pipe. Unceremoniously - with a lack of courtesy; roughly or abruptly Retain