UMPIL awards outstanding writers of 2008

ON its 34th anniversary last week, the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL) conferred the Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas on five Filipino writers. The award is the highest form of recognition bestowed by UMPIL on local writers who have published exceptional works of literature in any Philippine language.

This year’s winners, with their respective citations, are as follows:

• Ruperta VR. Asuncion (Iluko fiction)

  “In masterful and exuberant Ilocano, her works proclaim with art and humor a dignified native world-view while keenly criticizing negative social forces in order to promote and re-strengthen regional culture.”

• Edgardo B. Maranan (Filipino/English poetry and essay)

  “In the use of language that is both heroic and lyric, triumphant and anguished, he has unyieldingly pursued his far-reaching and inward-looking vision of, and practice, as the socially and politically engaged poet.”

• James Teng Choon Na (Chinese poetry)

  “His eight books of poetry translated into several languages apart from English show his extraordinary devotion to his craft while finding commonality in the deep but universal experience of humanity, nature, and beauty.”

• Armando Y. Lao (Filipino screenplay)

  “Unrelenting and refusing to compromise with formula and commercialism, he continues to hone his art for a deeper understanding of his subject and a fuller realization of his vision as man and artist.”

• Delfin L. Tolentino (English essay)

  “Writing in Filipino or English, he wields the tools of cultural studies, literary history, and post-colonial criticism in lifting and uncovering the layers of the Filipino imagination in literary works, painting, and film.

The winners received trophies created by renowned artist Manuel Baldemor.

UMPIL also awarded the Gawad Paz Marquez Benitez to Prof. Ligaya Tiamson Rubin due to her “dynamic, intense, and penetrating approach to the teaching of language and Filipino literature,” and the Gawad Pedro Bucaneg to the Arejola Foundation for Social Responsibility, Inc. for the “special support and attention to, and the resources it has given and reserved for, the development and promotion of Bikol literature and culture.”

“We hope that UMPIL would continue to become the bridge between writers and readers or viewers, and publishers or producers),” said UMPIL chairperson Vim Nadera in Filipino.

South Korean novelist Bang Hyeon-seok also graced the event as keynote speaker, sharing his experiences in putting up Asia, a quarterly literary magazine in South Korea that features works of Asian writers.

UMPIL also launched its new logo and website at the event which carried the theme “Trading Words, Tracing Worlds.”

UMPIL is the largest organization of Filipino writers in the country. Founded in 1974, it was also known for a time as the Writers Union of the Philippines.