This is the third and final lecture of “States of the Filipino Novel,” a three-part joint lecture series presented by Exploding Galaxies and the Ateneo de Manila University’s Literary and Cultural Studies Program, in coordination with Kritika Kultura and PLUME. The lecture series explores the contexts and prospects of the Filipino novel at home and in the global diaspora. It revisits the foundational works in Philippine literature, hoping to revise and expand the canon, with a special focus on the so-called lost classics.
For the final lecture, we are joined by Dr. Paul Nadal from Princeton University where he explores the poetics of Wildrido D. Nolledo’s "But for the Lovers," as well as the surrounding contexts during the time of its writing. Dr. Nadal interrogates the development of the Philippine contemporary novel by tracing its literary influences to Rizal’s novels, Paul Engle’s Iowa Writers Workshop, and postmodernism in the Cold War era. Dr. Nadal ultimately suggests that Nolledo’s "But for the Lovers" is a Philippine novel of a new breed; a deliberate project which problematizes the nation’s remembering of its past.
The lecture was held online on April 23, 2025. The lecture series aims to bring the key texts in Philippine literature to the attention of new readers, creating opportunities for specialists, publishers, sellers, and readers in the country and beyond.
