'Most Americans don't know we were their colony'

On how literature from the Philippines is finding its footing on the global stage

- Arunima Mazumdar

What makes Filipino literature unique in the global literary landscape?

Our people's story is one of enormous suffering and sacrifice, but also of survival; occasionally we achieve sublimity. Because of our diaspora, we are now all over the world, and are both changing and being changed by that world.

How do you see the current state of Philippine literature in English? What are the economic factors that drive it?

It’s alive and well, even robust, in terms of the writing. New authors and works are constantly emerging, especially in genres such as speculative fiction, young adult fiction, and graphic novels.