F. Sionil Jose

National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose has been witness to the history, developments, and challenges that have shaped much of what is Philippine literature today. Born on December 3, 1924, he has seen through the highs and lows of Philippine literature, across 15 Presidents of the Republic—from the time of Pres. Manuel Luis Quezon to the years of Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Since starting his writing career in 1949, he has written more than 35 books, translated into more than 20 languages and published worldwide. He is best known for his epic work, the Rosales saga—five novels encompassing a hundred years of Philippine history. He has also been involved with international cultural organizations, notably international P.E.N., the world association of poets, playwrights, essayists and novelists, whose Philippine Center he founded in 1958. He has worked as a journalist, and has founded a bookshop, publishing house, and art gallery. In 1966, he established Solidarity, a monthly magazine of “current affairs, ideas and the arts,” whose contributors included southeast asia’s leading writers, poets, statesmen, scholars and political activists. His many awards, include the Philippine National Artist award for Literature in 2001, the Ramon Magsaysay award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Arts in1980, the Pablo Neruda Centennial Award in 2004, and the Officer in the French Order of Arts and Letters in 2014.