Carlos Sampayan Bulosan (November 24, 1913 – September 11, 1956) was a Filipino-American novelist and poet who immigrated to the United States 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 autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

America Is in the Heart ''America Is in the Heart'', sometimes subtitled ''A Personal History'', is a 1946 Autobiography, 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. 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 ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

al records, but according to the Lorenzo Duyanen Sampayan, his childhood playmate and nephew, Bulosan 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 were the British colonization of the Americas, British colonies on the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–17 ...

, 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 the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, 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 approximately 8,0 ...

and

asparagus Asparagus (''Asparagus officinalis'') is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus (genus), Asparagus'' native to Eurasia. Widely cultivated as a vegetable crop, its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. Description ...

, 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 in

San Luis Obispo ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...

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

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

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 labor movement along the Pacific coast of the United States and edited the 1952 Yearbook for International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 37, a predominantly Filipino American cannery 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, 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 and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

leading to posthumous releases of several unfinished works and anthologies of his poetry. His other novels include '' The Laughter of My Father'', which were originally published as short sketches, and the posthumously published '' The Cry and the Dedication'' which detailed the Hukbalahap Rebellion 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 published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

'' 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 The right to an adequate standard of living is listed as part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that was accepted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, 1948.United Nations''Universal Declaration of Human Right ...

,'' part of a series based on

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

's " Four Freedoms" speech. Maxim Lieber 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, screenwr ...

in 1944.

Death and legacy

As a labor organizer and

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

writer, he was

blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

ed during the Second Red Scare 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 Bronchus, bronchi, accompanied by inflamed patches in the nearby lobules of the lungs. citing: Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition, Copyright 2014 ...

. 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 September 1956, 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 arts, 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 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 Naturalized citizens of the United States 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