Carlos Sampayan Bulosan (November 24, 1913 – September 11, 1956) was an

English-language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

novelist and poet who immigrated to America on July 1, 1930. He never returned to the Philippines and he spent most of his life in the United States. His best-known work today is the

semi-autobiographical An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction. Bec ...

America Is in the Heart ''America Is in the Heart'', sometimes subtitled ''A Personal History'', is a 1946 semi-autobiographical novel written by Filipino American immigrant poet, fiction writer, short story teller, and activist, Carlos Bulosan.

'', but he first gained fame for his 1943 essay on '' The Freedom from Want''.

Early life and immigration

Bulosan was born to Ilocano parents in the Philippines in

Binalonan, Pangasinan Binalonan, officially the Municipality of Binalonan ( pag, Baley na Binalonan; ilo, Ili ti Binalonan; tgl, Bayan ng Binalonan), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popu ...

. There is considerable debate around his actual birth date, as he himself used several dates. 1911 is generally considered to be the most reliable answer, based on his

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

al records, but according to the late Lorenzo Duyanen Sampayan, his childhood playmate and nephew, Carlos was born on November 2, 1913. Most of his youth was spent in the countryside as a farmer. It is during his youth that he and his family were economically impoverished by the rich and political elite, which would become one of the main themes of his writing. His home town is also the starting point of his semi-autobiographical novel, ''America is in the Heart''. Following the pattern of many Filipinos during the

American colonial period The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centur ...

, he left for America on July 22, 1930, at age 17, in the hope of finding salvation from the economic depression of his home. He never again saw his Philippine homeland. Upon arriving in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, he was met with racism and was forced to work low paying jobs. He worked as a farmworker, harvesting

grapes A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago ...

and

asparagus Asparagus, or garden asparagus, folk name sparrow grass, scientific name ''Asparagus officinalis'', is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus''. Its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. It was once classified in ...

, while also working other forms of hard labor in the fields of California. He also worked as a dishwasher with his brother Lorenzo in the famous

Madonna Inn The Madonna Inn is a motel in San Luis Obispo, California. Opened for business in 1958, it quickly became a landmark on the Central Coast of California. It is noted for its unique decor, pink dining room, and themed rooms. It was created by Alex ...

San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly hal ...

which opened in 1958 or almost three years after Bulosan had died. In 1936, Bulosan suffered from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and was taken to the Los Angeles County hospital. There, he underwent three operations and stayed two years, mostly in the convalescent ward. During his long stay in the hospital, Bulosan spent his time constantly reading and writing.

Labor movement work

Bulosan was active in

labour movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

along the Pacific coast of the United States and edited the 1952 Yearbook for

International Longshore and Warehouse Union The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is a labor union which primarily represents dock workers on the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii, and in British Columbia, Canada. The union was established in 1937 after the 1934 Wes ...

Local 37, a predominantly Filipino American

cannery Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although un ...

trade union based in Seattle.

Writing

There is some controversy surrounding the accuracy of events recorded within ''America Is in the Heart''. He is celebrated for giving a

post-colonial Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a ...

, Asian immigrant perspective to the labor movement in America and for telling the experience of Filipinos working in the U.S. during the 1930s and '40s. In the 1970s, with a resurgence in Asian/Pacific Islander American activism, his unpublished writings were discovered in a library in the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

leading to posthumous releases of several unfinished works and anthologies of his poetry. His other novels include ''

The Laughter of My Father Laughter is a pleasant physical reaction and emotion consisting usually of rhythmical, often audible contractions of the diaphragm and other parts of the respiratory system. It is a response to certain external or internal stimuli. Laughte ...

'', which were originally published as short sketches, and the posthumously published ''

The Cry and the Dedication ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' which detailed the

Hukbalahap Rebellion The Hukbalahap Rebellion was a rebellion staged by former Hukbalahap or ''Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon'' (People's Army against the Japanese) soldiers against the Philippine government. It started during the Japanese occupation of the Philippin ...

in the Philippines. One of his most famous essays, published in March 1943, was chosen by ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

'' to accompany its publication of the

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

painting '' Freedom from Want,'' part of a series based on

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

's "

Four Freedoms The Four Freedoms were goals articulated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Monday, January 6, 1941. In an address known as the Four Freedoms speech (technically the 1941 State of the Union address), he proposed four fundamental freed ...

" speech.

Maxim Lieber Maxim Lieber (October 15, 1897 – April 10, 1993) was a prominent American literary agent in New York City during the 1930s and 1940s. The Soviet spy Whittaker Chambers named him as an accomplice in 1949, and Lieber fled first to Mexico and then ...

was his

literary agent A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers, film producers, and film studios, and assists in sale and deal negotiation. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwrit ...

in 1944.

Death and legacy

As a labor organizer and

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

writer, he was

blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...

ed during the

Second Red Scare McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origina ...

of the 1950s. Denied a means to provide for himself, his later years were of illness, hardship, and alcoholism. He died in

suffering from malnutrition and an advanced stage of

bronchopneumonia Bronchopneumonia is a subtype of pneumonia. It is the acute inflammation of the bronchi, accompanied by inflamed patches in the nearby lobules of the lungs. citing: Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition, Copyright 2014 It is often ...

. He is buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle. Upon his death, union leader Chris Mensalvas, wrote the following obituary: "Carlos Bulosan, 30 years old (sic), died 11 September1956, Seattle. Birthplace: Philippines, Address: Unknown; Occupation: Writer; Hobby: Famous for his jungle salad served during Foreign-Born Committee dinners. Estate: One typewriter, a twenty-year old suit, unfinished manuscripts, worn out sock; Finances: Zero. Beneficiary: His people." His works did not immediately garner widespread appreciation. For two decades after his death, his work was largely forgotten, until a group of young Asian Americans rediscovered his works and led to the republication of ''America is in the Heart'' in 1973. Bulosan's works and legacy is heralded in a permanent exhibition, "The Carlos Bulosan Memorial Exhibit," at the Eastern Hotel in

's International District. Its centerpiece

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

is titled "Secrets of History" and was created by Eliseo Art Silva. In 2018, the Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies Initiative was established at the University of California, Davis to carry on his legacy of activism through research and advocacy of the Filipino and Filipino-American community. The initiative backs the creation of a physical Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies to support research, education and advocacy. The center aims to continue Bulosan's legacy by uplifting the voices of the most marginalized in the Filipino community in the United States and the diaspora through community-engaged research and broadly disseminating knowledge about Filipinos for the purpose of advancing their rights and welfare.

Works

*''Letter from America'' ( The Press of James A. Decker, 1942) *''

'' (1946) *''The Laughter of My Father'' (1944) *''The Cry and the Dedication (''1995) *''My Father's Tragedy'' *'' The Romance of Magno Rubio'' *''If You Want To Know What We Are'' *''My Father goes to Court''

References

Sources

"Bulosan's Laughter: The Making of Carlos Bulosan"
* ttp://www.carlosbulosan.com/ Carlos Bulosan Theatrebr>"Filipino American Hip-Hop: Renewing the Spirit of Carlos Bulosan"
*See 2014 Edition (Univ. of Washington Press) of his "America Is In the Heart" as its two Introductions,'For Further Reading' and 'Works Cited' are quite extensive.

External links

HistoryLink.org- the Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulosan, Carlos 1913 births 1956 deaths Writers from Pangasinan American writers of Filipino descent Filipino emigrants to the United States Ilocano people Deaths from pneumonia in Washington (state) Deaths from bronchopneumonia American novelists of Asian descent American short story writers of Asian descent American autobiographers 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers Filipino male short story writers Filipino short story writers 20th-century American male writers American people of Ilocano descent 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers