a classic! Amado "Ka Amado" V, Hernandezwas the first recipient of the National Artist Award for Literature, This was in, two years after he died, The rumor was not that then First Lady Imelda Marcos only saw the merits of Hernandez's works when he was already dead but she could not agree to an earlier conferment of a literary award not necessarily the National Artist because Hernandez was said to have strong ties with the leftist organization, The Communist Party of the Philippines.
I was a toddler or not even born during the days when Ka Amado was a controversial figure and one of the consistent newsmakers in the country.
He used to be a Manila councilor, a strong labor leader, got imprisoned, tried in one of the landmark cases in Philippine legal history, married stage actress Atang de la Rama who was also a recipient of the National Artist Award this time in Theatre and Music among other issues, fiction or nonfiction.
However, if the poems in this book, Isang Dipang Langit will be the only basis, I think Hernandez only loved his country too much and he would like things to change especially for the poor and the disadvantaged in the society.
This book is the compilation of his poems from the very early ones to the more popular work of arts like Isang Dipang Langit, Panday among others.
When I was reading some of them, I thought I heard or even memorized some of them when I was in grade school, They looked and sounded that was when I read them aloud familiar, Then there were those that I came across last year when I read Jun Cruz Reyes's biographical work on Hernandez sitelinkKa Amadostars, I suggest that if you want to know more about Hernandez, go for this book but if
you just want to sample many or maybe all of his poems, read Isang Dipang Langit.
Some of the poems felt so old what with the old traditional pure Tagalog what was still in used during Hernandez' heydays, However, these are classic pieces that have universal truths in them so their relevance to the present and future generations is forever assured, They still speak to us even four decades after the great artist left us,
Hernandez was really a genius, His legacy are his poems and his novels, sitelinkMga Ibong Mandaragitand sitelinkLuha ng Buwayastars,
Rest in peace, Ka Amado,
Isang Dipang langit man ang narating nito sa katanyagan at kasikatan ay Isang Pulgada ang lapit nito sa aking puso,
Tumatatak ang kanyang mga salita na animoy isang makapangyarihan na nagsasaysay o nagkakatotoo na siya namang dinanas niya at hindi mapasubaliang mga karanasan na naghatid ng latay sa kanyang pagtutula.
Isang dipang langit ng Obra! Amado Vera Hernandez was born in Hagonoy, Bulacan but grew up Tondo, Manila, where he studied at the Manila High School and at the American Correspondence School.
While being a reporter, columnist and editor of several newspaper and magazines including Watawat, Mabuhay, Pilipino, Makabayan and Sampaguita, he also honed his poetic craft, He received the Republic Cultural Heritage Award, a number of Palancas and an award from the National Press Club for his journalistic achievements, After World War II, he became a member of the Philippine Newspaper Guild and his writings increasingly dealt with the plight of the peasants and laborers, Influenced by the philosophy of Hobbes and Locke, he advocated revolution as a means of change, In, he b Amado Vera Hernandez was born in Hagonoy, Bulacan but grew up Tondo, Manila, where he studied at the Manila High School and at the American Correspondence School.
While being a reporter, columnist and editor of several newspaper and magazines including Watawat, Mabuhay, Pilipino, Makabayan and Sampaguita, he also honed his poetic craft, He received the Republic Cultural Heritage Award, a number of Palancas and an award from the National Press Club for his journalistic achievements, After World War II, he became a member of the Philippine Newspaper Guild and his writings increasingly dealt with the plight of the peasants and laborers, Influenced by the philosophy of Hobbes and Locke, he advocated revolution as a means of change, In, he became the president of the Congress of Labor Organization CLO, His activities and writings led him to imprisonment fromto, Even in prison, he was still a leader and artist, spearheading education programs and mounting musical productions, plays and poetry reading, It was during his incarceration that he wrote one his masterpiece, Mga Ibong Mandaragit Predatory Birds, His prison writings were smuggled out by his wife, zarzuela star Honarata “Atang” dela Rama, who would become our National Artist for Music and Theater, Ka Amado died onMarchin the wake of the First Quarter Storm, whose leaders and activists recited his words, He left a legacy that includes Isang Dipang Langit An Arm Stretch of Sky, Kung Tuyo na ang Luha Mo, Aking Bayan When Your Tears Have Dried, My Country, Panata sa Kalayaan Pledge to Freedom, and the novel Luha ng Buwaya Crocodile Tears.
He was posthumously honored as our National Artist for Literature in, Together with poet Jose Garcia Villa, Amado V, Hernandez was the first to receive the title in literature, Ka Amado gave voices to the oppressed peasants and laborers, rendering them powerful verses and plots that should have gone down as a compelling chronicle of a struggle of a people, but still prove to be an influential instrument in constituting reform and empowerment.
A literary artist that he is, Ka Amado remains to be a social and political leader, fast becoming to be an icon of the working class, sitelink.