| Alejandro G. Abadilla | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 10, 1906 Rosario, Cavite |
| Died | August 26, 1969 (aged 63) |
| Other names | AGA |
| Occupation | Poet, essayist, fiction writer |
| Known for | Ako ang Daigdig |
Alejandro G. Abadilla (March 10, 1906–August 26, 1969), commonly known as AGA, was a Filipino poet, essayist and fiction writer. Critic Pedro Ricarte referred to Abadilla as the father of modern Philippine poetry, and was known for challenging established forms and literature's "excessive romanticism and emphasis on rime and meter".[1] Abadilla helped found the Kapisanang Panitikan in 1935 and edited a magazine called Panitikan.[1] His Ako ang Daigdig collection of poems is one of his better known works.[1]
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Abadilla was born to an average Filipino family on March 10, 1906, in Salinas, Rosario, Cavite. He finished elementary school at Sapa Barrio School, then continued for high school education in Cavite City. After graduation, he worked for abroad into a small printing shop in Seattle, Washington. He edited several section of the Philippine Digest, Philippines-American Review and established Kapisanang Balagtas (Balagtas' Organization). In 1934, he returned to the Philippines where he finished AB Philosophy at the University of Santo Tomas. Until 1934, he became municipal councilor of Salinas before shifting to insurance selling job.
Aside from writing Ako ang Daigdig, Abadilla wrote several poems and compilation of his works:
According to Pedro Ricarte,[1] Abadilla's major breakthrough in Philippine poetry was when he wrote his poem Ako ang Daigdig (I am the World) in 1955. Initially, poetry critics at that time rejected the poem since it does not follow the traditional poetry that uses rhyming scheme and proper syllable numbering. In the poem, the repetition of the words ako (I), daigdig (world) and tula (poem) leaves an impression that the poet, Abadilla, is not himself. The speaker of the poem tells that he himself, his world of poem and his poems are united as one.[2]