Monday, January 28, 2008

The lifestory of Nick Joaquin

In my recent visit to Manila last month, I pursued my research on materials, commentaries, and essays about my illustrious Uncle Nick or Tito Onching as he is know at home.

The fourth in the family of nine siblings with my father Ping being the eldest, Nick has effortlessly made a name for himself - and for the country - with his works. What is amazing says fiction writer Krip Yuson is that Nick does not seem to care the way he relates with his friends. And speaking of friends they range from taxi drivers, waiters, budding writers whom he advises from time to time, and the literary world of the Philippines.

At this point, it is my privilege to report that more and more comments either on live interviews or email messages from writers of fiction in the Philippines and those from other countries are reaching me for their contributions for inclusion in the biography. Someone commented that this biography could be a significant one in the history of Philippine literature in English.

When Uncle Nick or "To-Onching" Philippine National Artist for Literature, Nick Joaquin died on April 29, 2004 Ed Joaquin, my first cousin began his role as official administrator of all by Nick Joaquin's works. One announcement Ed made was for me to be the official biographer of our uncle Nick.

So, I ask interested readers -and writers reading this blog entry - to share and send their contributions to my email address: tony.joaquin@gmail.com with a face photo and return postal address [and if possible telephone numbers of sender].

I also thank Dine Racoma for her unflinching support of this project through her own personal efforts and time and now with this guest blog entry.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Gaudeamus Antonio - a bright, unpredictable and loyal friend


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We were among the shell shocked Filipino teens that suffered through the Pacific War from 1941 - 1945. When we got back to school we felt old at 14 years but Ateneo High School was a haven for us. Still some bore the scars of war - some lost their parents who were murdered by retreating Japanese, shelled homes by the American artillery forces when they liberated Manila freeing the interns at the University of Santo Tomas and other internment camps.

I almost did not get admitted at the Ateneo for the grade school records were all burned when the building inside the Walled City, the exact place where Jose Rizal studied as a young boy was bombed during the early days of the war. Thanks to the Nakpil boys and their father Juan Nakpil who vouched for me during registration time at the Padre Faura Campus where we held our classes in makeshift burnt concrete rooms still with the acrid smell of raw human flesh clinging to crevices. The rest of the classes held session in U.S. installed Quonset Huts which were like ovens during the summer months and a cold storage in January.

Tony lived in Sampaloc with his parents. He had two sisters whom we met during our periodic high school dances held in those times at private homes of students. These dances were "visited" by Jesuit priests and some nuns just to see how the kids were enjoying themselves. Slow drag was the favorite dance in which couples held each other tightly and just sort of swayed with the slow soft music as if in a trance or meditating. We were warned about this type of dance that could provoke the occasion of "sin".

My sisters and I enjoyed Tony's sharp mind and keen wit. Ateneo boys liked to pun at the time and playing with words phrases and quotations always got many laughing with complete abandon. In other mixed groups La Salle students frowned on Ateneo students being too intellectual. They just wanted to dance, period.

After our high school graduation at Padre Faura, Tony got a scholarship for a Masters in Journalism at Marquette University, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was THE school for good Journalists. Gaby Manalac was another Journalism scholarship awardee at this Jesuit university. After his Marquette stint Tony returned to Manila and taught at the Ateneo for a couple of years. Since we became close friends on and off campus we asked Tony to stand as god father to our fourth child Ma. Regina. If the old folks are to be believed, Gina is our brainiest child now into information technology.

In 1964 he was awarded a fellowship at Oxford University (Exeter and St. Antony's Colleges) and another at the University of Durham (Grey College). Tony enjoyed the three year scholarship to observe English Literature courses in both universities. He was commended for his distingushed tutorial paper at the end of the course. We did not see Tony for a while and when he came back he managed to publish the first anthology of Filipino fiction the landmark anthology Brown Heritage: Essays on Philippine Cultural Tradition and Literature ( AdMU, 1967), which has been reviewed as the book that “sparked the revolution in Philippine cultural studies.”

.As chairman of the English Department, Ateneo de Manila University, he organized the Ateneo Institute of Philippine Literature in 1965.

A poem by Tony

TO MIREN

Did I forget? Do I regret

Days unremembered, thoughts unkept?

A harp (once plucked to eloquence by joy)

Long untouched now lies untuned ... off-key ...

Not sure if chords ring true. Listen! In coy

Distress -- how mute. Yet singing silently.

Days are remembered, thoughts are kept

In long, long silence ... with regret.

-- Antonio P. Gella Manuud, Bowling Green, 1973