F. Sionil José Explained

F. Sionil José
Pseudonym:F. Sionil José
Birth Name:Francisco Sionil José
Birth Date:3 December 1924
Birth Place:Rosales, Pangasinan, Philippine Islands
Death Place:Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines
Occupation:Filipino Novelist, Writer, Journalist
Nationality:Filipino
Alma Mater:Far Eastern University
University of Santo Tomas (dropped out)
Period:1962–2022
Genre:Fiction
Movement:Philippine literature in English
Notableworks:The "Rosales Saga" Novels (1962–1984)
Spouse:Tessie Jovellanos Jose

Francisco Sionil José (December 3, 1924 – January 6, 2022) was a Filipino writer who was one of the most widely read in the English language.[1] [2] A National Artist of the Philippines for Literature, which was bestowed upon him in 2001, José's novels and short stories depict the social underpinnings of class struggles and colonialism in Filipino society.[3] His works—written in English—have been translated into 28 languages, including Korean, Indonesian, Czech, Russian, Latvian, Ukrainian and Dutch.[4] [5] He was often considered the leading Filipino candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature.[6] [7]

Early life

José was born in Rosales, Pangasinan, the setting of many of his stories. He spent his childhood in Barrio Cabugawan, Rosales, where he first began to write. José is of Ilocano descent whose family had migrated to Pangasinan prior to his birth. Fleeing poverty, his forefathers traveled from Ilocos towards Cagayan Valley through the Santa Fe Trail. Like many migrant families, they brought their lifetime possessions with them, including uprooted posts of their old houses and their, a stone mortar for pounding rice.[1] [2] [3]

One of the greatest influences to José was his industrious mother who went out of her way to get him the books he loved to read, while making sure her family did not go hungry despite poverty and landlessness. José started writing in grade school, at the time he started reading. In the fifth grade, one of José's teachers opened the school library to her students, which is how José managed to read the novels of José Rizal, Willa Cather’s My Antonia, Faulkner and Steinbeck. Reading about Basilio and Crispin in Rizal's Noli Me Tangere made the young José cry, because injustice was not an alien thing to him. When José was five years old, his grandfather who was a soldier during the Philippine revolution, had once tearfully showed him the land their family had once tilled but was taken away by rich mestizo landlords who knew how to work the system against illiterates like his grandfather.[1] [2] [3]

Writing career

José attended the University of Santo Tomas after World War II, but dropped out and plunged into writing and journalism in Manila. In subsequent years, he edited various literary and journalistic publications, started a publishing house, and founded the Philippine branch of PEN, an international organization for writers.[1] [2] José received numerous awards for his work. The Pretenders is his most popular novel, which is the story of one man's alienation from his poor background and the decadence of his wife's wealthy family.[3]

José Rizal's life and writings profoundly influenced José's work. The five volume Rosales Saga, in particular, employs and integrates themes and characters from Rizal's work.[8] Throughout his career, José's writings espouse social justice and change to better the lives of average Filipino families. He is one of the most critically acclaimed Filipino authors internationally, although much underrated in his own country because of his authentic Filipino English and his anti-elite views.[1] [2] [3]

Sionil José also owned Solidaridad Bookshop, located on Padre Faura Street in Ermita, Manila. The bookshop offers mostly hard-to-find books and Filipiniana reading materials. It is said to be one of the favorite haunts of many local writers.[1] [2] [3]

In his regular column, Hindsight, in The Philippine STAR, dated September 12, 2011, he wrote "Why we are shallow", blaming the decline of Filipino intellectual and cultural standards on a variety of modern amenities, including media, the education system—particularly the loss of emphasis on classic literature and the study of Greek and Latin—and the abundance and immediacy of information on the Internet.[9]

Nominated on numerous occasions for the Nobel Prize in Literature,[6] [7] the Nobel Library of the Swedish Academy possesses 39 copies of Sionil José's works in English and French translations.[10]

Death

José died on the night of January 6, 2022, aged 97, at the Makati Medical Center, where he was scheduled for an angioplasty the next day.[11] [12] [13]

Awards

Five of José's works have won the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature: his short stories The God Stealer in 1959, Waywaya in 1979, Arbol de Fuego (Firetree) in 1980, his novel Mass in 1981, and his essay A Scenario for Philippine Resistance in 1979.[14]

Since the 1980s, various award-giving bodies have feted José with awards for his outstanding works and for being an outstanding Filipino in the field of literature. His first award was the 1979 City of Manila Award for Literature which was presented to him by Manila Mayor Ramon Bagatsing. The following year, he was given the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts. Among his other awards during that period include the Outstanding Fulbrighters Award for Literature (1988) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines Award (Gawad para sa Sining) for Literature (1989).

By the turn of the century, José continued to receive recognition from several award-giving bodies. These include the Cultural Center of the Philippines Centennial Award in 1999, the prestigious Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2000, and the Order of Sacred Treasure (Kun Santo Zuiho Sho) in 2001. In that same year, the Philippine government bestowed upon him the prestigious title of National Artist for Literature for his outstanding contributions to Philippine literature.[15] In 2004, José garnered the coveted Pablo Neruda Centennial Award in Chile.[16]

Works

Rosales Saga novels

A five-novel series that spans three centuries of Philippine history, translated into 22 languages:[17]

Original novels containing the Rosales Saga

Novellas

Short story collections

Children's books

Verses

Essays and non-fiction

In translation

In anthologies

In film documentaries

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sense of the City: Manila . Jose . F. Sionil . BBC News . July 30, 2003 . June 14, 2007.
  2. Web site: Author Spotlight: F. Sionil Jose . Random House . June 14, 2007 . February 25, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080225090702/http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=14838 . dead .
  3. Web site: A Hometown as Literature for F. Sionil José . Macansantos . Priscilla S. . Global Nation . Inquirer.net . April 25, 2007 . June 14, 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110716082346/http://globalnation.inquirer.net/features/features/view_article.php?article_id=62431 . July 16, 2011 .
  4. Web site: Author F. Sionil Jose's Insight on Philippines . Garcia . Cathy Rose. . Arts & Living . The Korea Times . April 27, 2007 . December 19, 2008 . May 20, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110520103323/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/art_view.asp?newsIdx=1921&categoryCode=142 . dead .
  5. Web site: Author F. Sionil Jose's Insight on Philippines . Garcia . Cathy Rose. . BookAsia.org (Korean website) . April 27, 2007 . December 19, 2008.
  6. Web site: Will Francisco Sionil José Ever Win the Nobel Prize?. 11 October 2015. 21 May 2022. Leslie Nguyen-Okwu. ozy.com. June 30, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220630005654/https://www.ozy.com/the-new-and-the-next/will-francisco-sionil-jose-ever-win-the-nobel-prize/65023/. dead.
  7. Web site: Reading list: The Nobel Prize in Literature of the 2010s. https://web.archive.org/web/20161018180304/http://cnnphilippines.com/life/culture/literature/2016/10/12/nobel-prize-winners-2010s.html. dead. October 18, 2016. 13 October 2016. CNN. Aldrin Calimlim. 21 May 2022.
  8. Web site: Articulating Revolution: Rizal in F. Sionil José's Rosales Saga . Scalice . Joseph . December 17, 2004 . December 19, 2006 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080214180911/http://josephscalice.com/index.php/2004/12/17/articulating-revolution-rizal-in-f-sionil-joses-rosales-saga/ . February 14, 2008 .
  9. Web site: Why we are shallow . F. Sionil . José . The Philippine Star . September 11, 2011 . October 11, 2014.
  10. Web site: Svenska Akademiens Nobelbibliotek. 1 July 2024. lib.nobelbiblioteket.se.
  11. News: Mydans. Seth. 2022-01-07. F. Sionil Jose, 97, Novelist Who Saw Heroism in Ordinary Filipinos, Dies. en-US. The New York Times. 2022-01-08. 0362-4331.
  12. News: January 6, 2022. National Artist F Sionil Jose dies at 97. January 6, 2022. Rappler. en-US.
  13. Web site: 2022-01-08. Literary giant F. Sionil Jose dies at 97. 2022-01-08. The Manila Times. en.
  14. Web site: Guest of Honor Introduction - NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE – MR. F. SIONIL JOSE . Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards . 2011 . April 28, 2016.
  15. Web site: Culture Profile: F. Sionil José . About Culture and Arts . National Commission for Culture and Arts . 2002 . June 16, 2007.
  16. News: Sarao. Zacarian. National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose dies at 97. January 6, 2022. Inquirer.net. en-US.
  17. News: Mydans . Seth . 2022-01-07 . F. Sionil Jose, 97, Novelist Who Saw Heroism in Ordinary Filipinos, Dies . 2024-07-19 . The New York Times . en-US . 0362-4331.
  18. Web site: Databazeknih.cz . Zajatec bludného kruhu - kniha . 2024-07-19 . www.databazeknih.cz.
  19. Web site: Francisco Sionil José – A Filipino Odyssey . Makosinski . Art . ME.UVIC.ca . 1996 . June 16, 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070611231803/http://www.me.uvic.ca/~art/fsj.html . June 11, 2007 .

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