Philippine American Women Writers and Artists (PAWWA) was founded in 1991 by a group of seven

Filipina Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or other ...

writers in Southern California. It was the first such support group for Filipina women writers. Aside from supporting one another, the group wanted to help other Filipina writers and artists, as well as to provide community service. PAWWA encouraged the creation of PAWWA-North, headed by Ceres Alabado in the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

, California. PAWWA's founding members are: Valorie Slaughter Bejarano,

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Cecilia Manguerra Brainard is an author and editor of 20 books. She co-founded PAWWA or Philippine American Women Writers and Artists; and also founded Philippine American Literary House. Brainard's works include the World War II novel, ''When th ...

, Mariquita Athena Davison, Fe Panalingan Koons, Susan N. Montepio, Cecile Caguingin Ochoa, and Nentuzka C. Villamar. For six years, PAWWA received the highly competitive Multicultural Entry Grant from the

California Arts Council The California Arts Council is a state agency based in Sacramento, United States. Its eight council members are appointed by the Governor and the state Legislature. The agency's mission is to advance California through arts, culture and creativi ...

(CAC). PAWWA used that funding to help publish a newsletter and books: ''Seven Stories from Seven Sisters: A Collection of Philippine Folktales'' (1992); ''The Beginning and Other Asian Folktales'' (1995);''A Directory of Philippine American Women Writers and Artists''; and ''Journey of 100 Years: Reflections on the Centennial of Philippine Independence'' (1999). On April 14, 1998, PAWWA and the Asian Pacific Student Services of Loyola Marymount University held a one-day conference entitled "Journey of 100 Years". Presenters were:

, Maria Luisa Carino (or Maria Luisa Igloria), Rosita Galang, Paulino Lim Jr., Edmundo Litton, Herminia Menez, Susan Montepio, and Nadine Sarreal. An offshoot of that conference was the book, ''Journey of 100 Years''. When PAWWA's CAC funding ran out in June 1998, the remaining members of PAWWA decided to move on, and PAWWA was dissolved.

Books published by PAWWA

*''Seven Stories From Seven Sisters: A Collection of Philippines Folktales'', PAWWA, 1992 *''The Beginning and Other Asian Folktales'' PAWWA, 1995 *''A Directory of Philippine American Women Writers and Artists'' *''Journey of 100 Years: Reflections on the Centennial of Philippine Independence'', PAWWA, 1999 *''Asian and Philippine Folktales: Retellings by PAWWA'', PALH, 2022

References

External links

''Amerasia Journal'' review of ''Journey of 100 Years'' by Roger Bresnahan
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PAWWA Philippine American Women Writers and Artists (PAWWA) was founded in 1991 by a group of seven Filipino people, Filipina writers in Southern California. It was the first such support group for Filipina women writers. Aside from supporting one anothe ...

American writers' organizations * Asian-American women's organizations Women in California Filipino-American history Filipino-American culture in California 1991 establishments in California American women artists

Books published by PAWWA

See also

References

External links