Philippine Folk Literature: An Anthology, a pioneering work in Philippine folklore studies, is the first volume of an eight-volume Philippine Folk Literature Series.

The first volume presents a bird’s-eye view of the whole range of Philippine folk literature and offers a sampling of this rich and varied branch of the Filipino cultural heritage.

The “Introduction” gives a helpful discussion of folk literature in general, defines terms, and deeply surveys the different types of Philippine folk literature. The selection which follow are presented in systematic order, according to types: Folk Narratives, under which are given myths, heroic narratives (mostly folk epics), legends and folktales; Folk Speech, represented by proverbs and riddles; and Folk Songs, of the narrative, lyric and miscellaneous types. Within each type, selections are presented in geographic order, from north to south; i.e., from Luzon, through the Visayas, to Mindanao.

“Representativeness” was aimed at in the choice of selections for inclusion in the anthology. Selections chosen represent not only the various types of Philippine folk literature but also as many ethnolinguistic groups as possible  from the Ivatan of the Batanes Islands to the Tausug of the Sulu Archipelago.