"The first of its kind in Philippine scholarship. It chronicles the evolution of Philippine literature simultaneously in terms of medium (English) and gender (women). In addition, the book proposes hypotheses regarding the whys and wherefores of this specific segment of Philippine literature."--Page [4] of cover.

The writers discussed here are Merlie Alunan, Sylvia Mayuga, Marra PL. Lanot, Elsa Martinez Coscolluela, and Rosario Cruz Lucero.

This book studies a selection of works of Philippine literature written in Spanish during the American occupation of the Philippines (1902-1946). It explores the place of Filipino nationalism in a selection of fiction and non-fiction texts by Spanish-speaking Filipino writers Jesús Balmori, Adelina Gurrea Monasterio, Paz Mendoza Guazón, and Antonio Abad. Taking an interdisciplinary approach that draws from Anthropology, History, Literary Studies, Cultural Analysis and World Literature, this book offers a comparative analysis of the position of these authors toward the cultural transformations that have taken place as a result of the Philippines' triple history of colonization (by Spain, the US, and Japan) while imagining an independent nation. Engaging with an untapped archive, this book is a relevant and timely contribution to the fields of both Filipino and Hispanic literary studies.