‘Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too can be great.’– Mark Twain
WHO is Nick Joaquin?
Nick Joaquin, one of the most distinguished and celebrated Filipino writers, was a fictionist, poet and journalist, perhaps more known by his journalistic pen name, Quijano de Manila. His literary works explored many aspects of Filipino life during the country’s Spanish and American colonial years. His extraordinary output included plays, novels, poems, short stories and essays, as well as reportage and journalism.
Among his famous works are: The Woman Who Had Two Navels, A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino, Manila, My Manila: A History for the Young, The Ballad of the Five Battles, Rizal in Saga, Almanac for Manileños and Cave and Shadows.
I do not know very much about this great artist except from the little I have read about him in newspaper reports. But recently I had an illuminating glimpse into his outstanding life as a writer when I was invited to the award ceremonies of the Nick Joaquin Literary Awards 2025, which honors the best of the best of the short stories and poetry published in the Graphic Reader magazine that year.
Thad Anthony Cabangon opened the program with stories of some of his personal encounters with the artist. The most humorous were his stories about Nick Joaquin and his favorite drink – beer. He is said to have drunk beer from early morning till late into the night. I guess it was just water to him. But Thad Anthony recalled that he was never intoxicated and that he seemed sober every time they talked and that he in fact learned so much about life from him during their conversations over a bottle of beer!
Nick Joaquin had served as editor in chief of the Philippines Graphic magazine in the 1990s. Upon his death in 2004, the publication honored him by renaming the annual Philippines Graphic Awards, which he had conceptualized and promoted during his editorship, the Nick Joaquin Literary Awards (NJLA). This year, famous personages in Philippine literature gathered at the Luxent Hotel in Quezon City for the NJLA awarding ceremonies. The evening’s honored guests were Gemino Abad, National Artist for Literature, and Ricky Lee, National Artist for Film. There were many other literary luminaries who came, among them Marra PL Lanot, the literary editor of the Philippines Graphic Reader magazine, Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo and Pete Lacaba.
This year’s winners were chosen from the literary pieces published in the Graphic Reader magazine in the past year. This year’s winners are: George Deoso, “Dial ‘D’ for Desire” (first place); Menchu Aquino-Sarmiento, “Angel of Light” (second place); and Paulino Lim, Jr., “The X-Ray Tech’s Love story” (third place). Joel M. Toledo was selected Poet of the Year for his “Saint-Paul de Mausole” sonnet. Three of the winners are from the University of Santo Tomas. First placer Deoso was a Varsitarian scholar for creative writing in the UST Graduate School and a writing fellow of the UST National Writers’ Workshop. Third place winner Lim is an alumnus of the UST College of Education and UST Graduate School. He is now professor emeritus of English at California State University. Meanwhile, three-time Carlos Palanca awardee Toledo is a faculty member of the UST Department of Literature and Department of Creative Writing.
Aside from individual awards, the NJLA also recognizes local government units (LGUs) for their efforts in promoting literature in the grass roots, particularly in the schools, under the “NJLA-LGU Advocacy for English and Literature” partnership project. At this year’s event, the mayors of Sto. Tomas, Batangas, and of Biñan and San Pedro, Laguna, as well as teachers from these towns, were cited for their active efforts in teaching English proficiency to public school students, among other things by making the Graphic Reader magazine, which features a Students Corner, available to schools in their localities.
The evening’s emcees were Braggy Braganza of DWIZ Home Radio and Cris Lacaba, the son of Pete Lacaba and Marra PL. Lanot.
This columnist is deeply honored to have represented our company in the event as one of the sponsors, together with Nian Rigor who represented SM Hotels.
After hearing all about Nick Joaquin and the acceptance speeches of the awardees, I realized that what Ralph Waldo Emerson said about life being “a journey, not a destination” is part of our travel in our spiral.
