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Literature Circle (DLSU)
"empowered with dedication, innovation, and passion."

The Literature Circle is a professional organization that is a link between students and the Department of Literature. We are empowered with dedication, innovation, and passion in opening the minds of Literature Majors and literature enthusiasts alike to develop a love for culture and the arts.

Revisiting the Past: The Brief History of the Literature Circle

In 1998, the first literary circle was established in De La Salle University - Manila to cater to the needs of literature majors and enthusiasts alike. Although still unrecognized by the Council of Student Organization, Michelle Pascual headed the group to encourage the student body to participate in literature-related projects.

The school year 2000-2001 marked the official existence of the organization we now call Literature Circle as it was finally included under the umbrella of CSO. The organization was divided into 6 functional committees namely the Internals, Externals, Documentations, Finance, Publicity, and Publications. With these committees was the first executive board:

This school year started the organization's "automatic membership" for all literature majors, a tradition that continued till last school year. It saw the inclusion of the org in the CSO's Valentine's Bazaar and a poetry-reading tandem of the organization with Malate, and Writer's Guild. But the biggest activity of that year was the Poetry Jam , a poetry recitation open to everyone in DLSU.

The following school year (SY2001-2002), Janina River succeeded Melinda as the org's president. Her reign saw the amendment of the org's constitution that required all officers to have a CGPA of at least 2.5 to ensure that they don't neglect their academics. Below is the host of students who made it to the cut of Literature Circle officers:

There were no AVPs during this time and so the officers had to do most of the work. But to lessen their burden, they made sure that the members would actively participate in all their activities. This started the phone brigade of all the members by the internals committee. It was during this year that the org had many poetry readings with the help of the Thomasian Writers Guild. The most fulfilling activity of the year came when the org held an outreach wherein they brought children to the Museo Pambata and gave them books to read.

The next year, it was Barbara who became captain of the ship that is the Literature Circle. Under her guide, the org strengthened its function as the arm of the Literature department by being aggressive with academic-related activities such as the comprehensive exam reviews and faculty-student forums . The host of officers were:

By the school year 2003-2004, Giselle Alcantara headed the org with a host of very competent officers to support her:

It was definitely a year of firsts. It was during this time that membership boomed to 86 (a big feat for a baby org). The Alive poetry reading at Gypsy bar started the year together with book launchings from 3 professors. The year also saw the launching of Styrian , the organization's newsletter while the very first Art Film Festival , a month-long celebration of films from different countries, celebrated the different cultures of the world and opened the doors for Literature Circle to be known in DLSU. The year was capped with the highest accreditation grade in the org's history. With an overall grade of 94.37%, Literature Circle ranked 14 th . This was a long way from the org's experience the year before of having the risk of being dissolved.

By the school year 2004-2005, a load of pressure to uphold the former standing befell Patricia Enriquez who succeeded Giselle with the presidency. Under her were a team of newbies, unlearned with the world of organizations:

The year was not as smooth sailing as the officers thought it would be. In the attempt to follow the past year's example, the org had a Film & Lit Festival , a month-long celebration of novels from all over the world that were made into movies. It failed to gather as much people as the Art Film Festival and it marked the first of the troubles that the officers faced. Despite these challenges, the year had its ups. The advent of the CSO's shirtfest launched the org's first official T-shirt. It was also during this year that Literature Circle partnered with many internal and external organizations. In September 28 of 2004, the org together with the Literature Department, the Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center, and the Instituto Cervantes had its Pablo Neruda En El Corazon , a poetry reading that showcased Filipino poets reading the works of the Nobel Prize Pablo Neruda. This activity together with an exhibit, the org also gave tribute to the National Artist F. Sionil Jose.

A GLANCE AT THE PRESENT

By this year, Ailene took over the presidency with a host of officers who are trying to support her:

Since most of the current officers are graduating this year, a number of members are undergoing training to become incoming officers next year. In fact, their numbers are growing as current trainees are encouraging their classmates to join the organization's succession program.

Activities this year include Pay 6 for Book 6 , a Harry Potter Book 6 raffle draw; the launching of a new newsletter- Carnivalesque ; How to Become A Writer , a workshop by Ms. Marjorie Evasco-Pernia for those who aspire to become writers; Comprehensive Exam Reviews for the majors; A Night of Poetry and Music , a poetry reading at Powerbooks sponsored by Red Ribbon and Gloria Jeans Coffee; and Afternoons with Tim Burton , a month-long film festival celebrating Tim Burton's Films just to name a few.

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