In honor of the recently departed National Artist for Literature, the Philippine Center of the International PEN and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) will hold a virtual event, “Tribute to F. Sionil Jose, An Afternoon of Reminiscences and Encomiums,” on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, at 4:00 p.m.
Jose, who was also the founder of Philippine PEN, passed away on Jan. 6 at the age of 97.
To pay tribute to him at the event are CCP Vice-President and Artistic Director Chris Millado, PEN Chair and novelist Charlson Ong, retired Justice Antonio Carpio, former Ombudsman Justice Conchita Carpio Morales, poet Ricardo de Ungria, fictionist Jose “Butch” Dalisay, and lawyer-historian Saul Q. Hofileña Jr., among others.
There will also be messages from Estonian writer and PEN International board director Burham Sönmez, American author James Fallows, and Singapore’s poet laureate Edwin Thumboo.
The event will be livestreamed on the Facebook pages of the CCP, CCP Intertextual Division, Hanggang sa Muli (CCP’s obituary page), and Philippine PEN.
Three new books of Jose will also be launched at the event: “Collected Stories,” “Collected Essays,” and “Promdi,” an autobiography.
Jose, born in Rosales, Pangasinan, was a novelist, writer, and journalist. He was named National Artist for Literature in 2001. Among his works are the five-volume Rosales Saga – The Pretenders (1962), My Brother, My Executioner (1973), Mass (1974), Tree (1978) and Po-on (1984).
He wrote other novels, novellas, short stories, essays, verses, and a children’s book. His works have been translated into 28 languages, including Korean, Indonesian, Czech, Russian, and Dutch.
Jose was also well-known as the owner of the famed Solidaridad Bookshop in Ermita, which offers Philippine literature and hard-to-find books. It has become a favorite haunt of writers and other members of the cultural community.