Originally established in March 1948 by student editors Cesar J. Amigo and Aida Rivera to foster literary exceptionalism, Sands and Coral serves as the flagship literary journal of Silliman University in Dumaguete City, Philippines. This March 1957 issue (Volume 9, Number 1) marks a critical institutional milestone as it records the transition of the publication's management to the newly vibrant "Silliman Writers' Guild," operating directly out of the university's renowned English Department. The volume is deeply embedded in mid-20th-century national and local literary histories, documenting the highly specialized academic environment that defined the postwar "Silliman Writers" movement. Culturally and analytically, this edition acts as a real-time critical sounding board for major national literary milestones. It prominently features "A Grail Is Found?", a detailed structural critique assessing local color, linguistic translation, and character authenticity within N.V.M. Gonzalez’s landmark Filipino novel, A Season of Grace. Led by graduate student editor Carminia A. Yaptenco and faculty adviser David V. Quemada, this volume underscores the university's historic role as a premier national center for rigorous formalist literary criticism and creative scholarship in the English language.
Sands and Coral, Vol. 9, No. 1 (March, 1957)