Scent of Apples: A Collection of Stories

226 Pages·2015·18.2 MB·English

by  Bienvenido N. Santos

SCENT OF APPLES
CLASSICS OF
ASIAN AMERICAN
LITERATURE
a collection of stories
FOREWORD BY JESSICA HAGEDORN
INTRODUCTION BY ALLAN PUNZALAN ISAAC
UNIVERSITY of WASHINGTON PRESS
Seattle & London
© 1955, 1967 by Bienvenido N. Santos
Introduction and preface to the 1979 edition © 1979 by
the University of Washington Press
Foreword to the 2015 edition © 2015 by Jessica Hagedorn
Introduction to the 2015 edition © 2015 by the University of Washington Press
Printed and bound in the United States of America
18 17 16 15  5 4 3 2 1
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publisher.
“Immigration Blues” first appeared in the June 1977 issue of New Letters.
“The Day the Dancers Came,” “The Contender,” “Quicker with Arrows,” and
“Footnote to a Laundry List” first appeared in the Philippines in The Day the
Dancers Came (Bookmark Press, 1967). The remaining stories in this volume first
appeared in the Philippines in You Lovely People (Bookmark Press, 1955).
University of Washington Press
www.washington.edu/uwpress
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Santos, Bienvenido N.
  Scent of apples : a collection of stories / Bienvenido N. Santos ; foreword by
Jessica Hagedorn ; introduction by Allan Punzalan Isaac.
  pages  cm — (Classics of Asian American literature)
 ISBN 978-0-295-99511-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Filipino Americans—Fiction. I. Title.
 PR9550.9.S22S3 2015
 823—dc23
2015018740
The paper used in this publication is acid-free and meets the minimum
requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—
Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48–1984. ∞
To my wife, Beatriz
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CONTENTS
foreWord: My Lost CoUntry,
by JessiCa hagedorn ix
introdUCtion to the 2015 edition: footnote to MeMory,
by aLLan PUnzaLan isaaC xv
introdUCtion to the 1979 edition,
by Leonard CasPer xxxiii
PrefaCe to the 1979 edition xli
—————
iMMigration bLUes 3
sCent of aPPLes 21
and beyond, More WaLLs 30
the hUrt Men 38
ManiLa hoUse 48
a PeCULiar rUstLing 58
nightCLUb 68
of other deaths 75
LoneLy in the aUtUMn evening 82
the door 86
for these rUins 98
Letter: the faraWay sUMMer 108
the day the danCers CaMe 113
the Contender 129
QUiCker With arroWs 140
footnote to a LaUndry List 168
This page intentionally left blank
foreWord
MY LOST COUNTRY
Jessica Hagedorn
San Francisco, circa 1967. We are a restless, homesick pair, my mother
and I. Ensconced in a gloomy flat, we are trying desperately to
adjust to a new world and act like everything’s fine. But there are
visible chinks in our armor. At least once a year and no matter
how little money we have, my mother finds a way to go back to
Manila and visit everyone and everything we’ve left behind. She
just can’t seem to let go. I, on the other hand, stay put and find my
solace in reading books and writing sappy poetry. No way am I
going back or admitting that I miss anyone or anything. We’ve
been in America for only four years, but the Philippines and my
beloved Manila are like a distant planet. I’ve decided it’s best to
forget and deny.
During one of her trips back to Manila, my mother comes
across The Day the Dancers Came, a collection of stories by one Bien-
venido N. Santos, in a local bookstore. Intrigued by the book’s
evocative title and bright yellow cover, she decides to buy the
book as a gift for me.
* * *
Reading those stories was an eye-opening experience. My educa-
tion in the Philippines was of the convent-school variety, over-
wrought and colonial. We were taught the literature of Longfel-
low, Kipling, and their ilk, but nothing by Filipino writers. It was
as if they didn’t exist. Ironically, it took emigrating to the United
States to shock me from my sleep.
ix