Nick Joaquin

Nicomedes Márquez Joaquín (May 4, 1917 – April 29, 2004) was a Filipino writer, historian and journalist, best known for his short stories and novels in the English language. He also wrote using the pen name Quijano de Manila. Joaquín was conferred the rank and title of National Artist of the Philippines for Literature.

He is considered one of the most important Filipino writers in English, and the third most important overall, after José Rizal and Claro M. Recto.

Biography

Early life and education

Joaquín was born in Paco, Manila, one of ten children of Leocadio Joaquín, a colonel under General Emilio Aguinaldo in the 1896 Revolution, and Salome Márquez, a teacher of English and Spanish. As a boy, after being read poems and stories by his mother, Joaquín read widely in his father's library and at the National Library of the Philippines. By then, his father had become a successful lawyer after the revolution. From reading, Joaquín became interested in writing.

At age 17, Joaquín had his first piece published, in the literary section of the pre-World War II Tribune, where he worked as a proofreader. It was accepted by the writer and editor Serafín Lanot. After Joaquín won a nationwide essay competition to honor La Naval de Manila, sponsored by the Dominican Order, the University of Santo Tomas awarded him an honorary Associate in Arts (A.A.) and a scholarship to St. Albert's Convent, the Dominican monastery in Hong Kong.

Career

After returning to the Philippines, Joaquín joined the Philippines Free Press, starting as a proofreader. He soon attracted notice for his poems, stories and plays, as well as his journalism under the pen name Quijano de Manila. His journalism was both intellectual and provocative, an unknown genre in the Philippines at that time, and raised the country's level of reportage.

Nick Joaquin is interred at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Joaquín deeply admired José Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines, paying him tribute in such books as The Storyteller's New Medium - Rizal in Saga, The Complete Poems and Plays of Jose Rizal, and A Question of Heroes: Essays in Criticism on Ten Key Figures of Philippine History. He translated the hero's valedictory poem, in the original Spanish Mi Ultimo Adios, as "Land That I Love, Farewell!"

Joaquín represented the Philippines at the International PEN Congress in Tokyo in 1957, and was appointed as a member of the Motion Pictures commission under presidents Diosdado Macapagal and Ferdinand E. Marcos.

After being honored as National Artist, Joaquin used his position to work for intellectual freedom in society. He secured the release of imprisoned writer José F. Lacaba. At a ceremony on Mount Makiling attended by First Lady Imelda Marcos, Joaquín delivered an invocation to Mariang Makiling, the mountain's mythical maiden. Joaquín touched on the importance of freedom and the artist. After that, Joaquín was excluded by the Marcos regime as a speaker at important cultural events.

Joaquín died of cardiac arrest in the early morning of April 29, 2004, at his home in San Juan, Metro Manila. He was then editor of Philippine Graphic magazine, where he worked with Juan P. Dayang, the magazine's first publisher. Joaquín was also publisher of its sister publication, Mirror Weekly, a women’s magazine, and wrote the column “Small Beer” for the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Isyu, an opinion tabloid.

Adaptations

• Tatarin (2001), a movie based on Joaquín’s short story "The Summer Solstice", was directed by Amable “Tikoy” Aguiluz. The screenplay was written by Ricardo Lee. Joaquín was consulted on the film. The cast included notable Filipino actors Edu Manzano (as Paeng Moreta,) Dina Bonnevie (Lupe Moreta), Rica Peralejo (Amada), and Raymond B. Bagatsing.

Works

Awards

• José García Villa's Honor Roll (1940)
• Philippines Free Press Short Story Contest (1949)
• Ten Most Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines (TOYM), Awardee for Literature (1955)
• Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Literary Awards (1957–1958; 1965; 1976)
• Harper Publishing Company (New York, U.S.) writing fellowship
• Stonehill Award for the Novel (1960)
• Republic Cultural Heritage Award (1961)
• Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award from the City of Manila (1964)
• National Artist Award (1976).
• S.E.A. Write Award (1980)
• Ramon Magsaysay Award for Literature (1996)
• Tanglaw ng Lahi Award from the Ateneo de Manila University (1997)
• Several ESSO Journalism awards, including the highly covetedJournalist of the Year Award.
• Several National Book Awards from the Manila Critics' Circle for The Aquinos of Tarlac: An Essay in History as Three Generations; The Quartet of the Tiger Moon: Scenes from the People Power Apocalypse; Culture and History: Occasional Notes on the Process of Philippine Becoming; The World of Damian Domingo: 19th Century Manila (co-authored with Luciano P.R. Santiago); and Jaime Ongpin: The Enigma: The Profile of a Filipino as Manager.

Famous lines

• "Love should have no alternatives; love should be the sole reason for loving; love should spring of itself.”
• “The point is not how we use a tool, but how it uses us.”
• “If for us culture means museum and library and open house and art gallery, for them it meant the activities and amenities of everyday life... The rift is... between "folk" culture, where the unschooled can be wise, and print culture, which enslaved the other senses to the eye.”

See also

• José Rizal
• National Artists of the Philippines

References

• Nick Joaquin: National Artist for Literature at Panitikan.com
• Nick Joaquin, Encyclopædia Britannica Online
• Hebbar, Reshmi (1998). "Filipino American Literature". , Emory University
• Nick Joaquin, Answers.com
• https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1422932-culture-and-history
• https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/74757.Nick_Joaqu_n

External links

• Nick Joaquin, PinoyLit

National Artists of the Philippines Pambansang Alagad ng Sining ng Pilipinas Architecture 1973 Juan Nakpil 1976 Pablo Antonio 1990 Leandro Locsin 2003 Ildefonso P. Santos, Jr. 2014 Jose Maria Zaragosa Cinema 1982 Gerardo de León 1991 Ishmael Bernal 1997 Lino Brocka 2003 Eddie Romero 2006 Fernando Poe, Jr. 2009 Manuel Conde Dance 1973 Francisca R. Aquino 1976 Leonor Orosa 1988 Lucrecia Reyes 2006 Ramon Obusan 2014 Alice Reyes Fashion 2006 Ramon Valera Historical literature 1997 Carlos Quirino Literature 1973 Jose Garcia Villa 1973 Amado V. Hernandez 1976 Nick Joaquin 1982 Carlos P. Romulo 1990 Francisco Arcellana 1990 N. V. M. Gonzalez 1992 Rolando Tinio 1999 Edith Tiempo 2001 F. Sionil José 2003 Virgilio S. Almario 2003 Alejandro Roces 2006 Bienvenido Lumbera 2009 Lazaro Francisco 2014 Cirilo F. Bautista Music 1973 Antonio Molina 1976 Jovita Fuentes 1987 Atang de la Rama 1988 Antonio Buenaventura 1988 Lucrecia Kasilag 1991 Lucio D. San Pedro 1997 Levi Celerio 1997 Felipe de Leon 1997 José Maceda 1999 Ernani Cuenco 1999 Andrea Veneracion 2014 Ramon Santos 2014 Francisco Feliciano Theater and films 1976 Lamberto V. Avellana 1997 Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero 1997 Rolando Tinio 1999 Daisy Avellana 2001 Severino Montano 2003 Salvador Bernal Visual arts 1972 Fernando Amorsolo 1973 Botong Francisco 1973 Guillermo Tolentino 1976 Napoleon Abueva 1976 Victorio C. Edades 1981 Vicente Manansala 1990 Cesar Legaspi 1991 Hernando R. Ocampo 1997 Arturo R. Luz 1999 J. Elizalde Navarro 2001 Ang Kiukok 2003 José T. Joya 2006 BenCab Cabrera 2006 Abdulmari Asia Imao 2009 Federico Aguilar Alcuaz 2014 Francisco Coching National Commission for Culture and the Arts Cultural Center of the Philippines National Arts Center