writers: our inspirations

Jessica Zafra

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This is Jessica Zafra. She is once a drop-out student. But still, she managed to go back to school. She took a major in Comparative Literature at the University of the Philippines. She may have been ashamed for being a drop-out student at the start but look at how she stepped up. Jessica Zafra is currently a fiction writer, columnist, editor, publisher, and was also once a television and a radio show host. She never thought that she would be this successful. After all, hard work really pays off. She experienced a lot of obstacles as she started her career of being a writer. She had a hard time how to please both the reader and herself. In 1991, she won first place in the Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for “Portents”.In 1996, she was University of the Philippines Creative Writing Center National Fellow. All she focused on was her career, how she would be happy in life and currently that’s what’s happening to her and she is very proud of her experiences whether they are ups or downs. I think all writers should follow her. They should not be ashamed of their pasts. Instead it should be an inspiration and guide for them to do lots of writings and continue to inspire other writers. Jessica Zafra may not be known by many people. But for writers, she is known for her sharp and witty writing style. Her work has been the subject of academic study. She is not afraid of any criticisms she may encounter when she writes something. She defends her work which is the right duty of any writer. They should be proud of their works and face the consequences that they might encounter.

(sources: "The Contemporary Filipino Male through a Content Analysis of Jessica Zafra's Twisted Series". Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod Research Journal 6: 3–11. June 2007. ;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Zafra)

Estrella Alfon

(http://images.google.com.ph/imgres?imgurl=http://rizal.lib.admu.edu.ph/aliww/images/women_pics/EAlfon_big.jpg&imgrefurl=http://rizal.lib.admu.edu.ph/aliww/pmb_estrella_alfon.htm&usg=__IAEJCAh8Me-S6FoyWkOnbX0K4PI=&h=346&w=285&sz=61&hl=en&start=10&um=1&tbnid=i00cP0bdk6NDDM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=99&prev=/images%3Fq%3DEstrella%2BAlfon%2Benglish%2Bliterature%26hl%3Den%26cr%3DcountryPH%26sa%3DX%26um%3D1)

Estrella Alfon, a well-known Filipina author who wrote almost exclusively in English. As a FIlipino writer, Estrella lived her life of being a prolific writer. She was a storywriter, playwright, and journalist. . She published her first story, “Grey Confetti”, in the Graphic in 1935. She was the only female member of the Veronicans, an avant garde group of writers in the 1930s led by Francisco Arcellana and H.R. Ocampo, she was also regarded as their muse. The Veronicans are recognized as the first group of Filipino writers to write almost exclusively in English and were formed prior to the World War II. She is also reportedly the most prolific Filipina writer prior to World War II. She was a regular contributor to Manila-based national magazines, she had several stories cited in Jose Garcia Villa’s annual honor rolls. Estrella Alfon writes about everyday life, but she captures the details in this dazzling, intense light. She could write about the ordinary and make it extraordinary. Despite every criticisms she encounters, she never feel ashame. She continues to write extraordinary stories and continues inspiring every Filipina writer. She proved that she is a girl, she can keep up with the other male good writers.

(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estrella_Alfon )