XIII - An Artist of Poetry

We consider poems as an art. Poems are where we can express ourselves in words. Through poems, authors leave their messages, thoughts or ideas to the readers, in hopes of them remembering a piece of their personality. One person achieved this—which is none other than Gémino H. Abad.

The poet and literary critic Gémino H. Abad was born on February 5, 1939 in Sta. Ana, Manila. His family moved to Manila when his father, Antonio Abad, was offered professorships at Far Eastern University and the University of the Philippines. His parents are the noted novelist, playwright and essayist in Sugbuanon and Spanish, Antonio M. Abad, who was at one time Chair of the Department of Spanish in UP, and Jesusa H. Abad, professor of Spanish in UP. He is married to Mercedes A. Rivera, with whom he has five children.

Abad co-founded the Philippine Literary Arts Council (PLAC) which published Caracoa, a poetry journal in English. His famous works include Fugitive Emphasis (poems, 1973); In Another Light (poems and critical essays, 1976); A Formal Approach to Lyric Poetry (critical theory, 1978); The Space Between (poems and critical essays, 1985); Poems and Parables (1988); Index to Filipino Poetry in English, 1905-1950 (with Edna Zapanta Manlapaz, 1988) and State of Play (letter-essays and parables, 1990). He edited landmark anthologies of Filipino poetry in English, among them Man of Earth (1989), A Native Clearing (1993) and A Habit of Shores: Filipino Poetry and Verse from English, ‘60s to the ‘90s (1999).

He was also a columnist in The Manila Chronicle, a weekly column called Exchange, with NVM Gonzales, Sylvia Ventura and Luning Bonifacio Ira; The Evening Paper, a weekly column Coming Through, with NVM Gonzales and Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo; Musa: The Philippine Literature Magazine, a monthly column called Vates: Our Poets Speak, and; Flip, a monthly column Poet’s Clearing.

He received numerous awards, local and international:

• University Professorship, University of the Philippines
• Carlos P. Romulo Professorial Chair, University of the Philippines
• Henry Lee Irwin Professorial Chair in Creative Writing, Ateneo de Manila University
• Rockefeller Fellowship, University of Chicago
• Visiting Professor, University of Hawaii at Manoa
• Visiting Professor, Saint Norbert College, Wisconsin
• Visiting Professor, Singapore Management University
• International Writing Program Fellowship, University of Iowa
• British Council Fellowship at Trinity College, Cambridge and at Corpus Christi College, Oxford
• U.P. Outstanding Faculty Award
• U.P. Distinguished Alumnus in Literature
• Ellen F. Fajardo Foundation Grant for Excellence in Teaching
• U.P. Gawad Chancellor Best Literary Work
• Palanca Awards for Poetry
• Philippines Free Press Awards at the Wayback Machine (archived August 31, 2004) for Literature
• Cultural Center of the Philippines Award for Poetry
• National Book Awards from the Manila Critics' Circle
• Asian Catholic Publishers Inc. Catholic Authors Award
• Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas from Unyon ng mga Manunulat ng Pilipinas (UMPIL)
• Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan in Literature from the City of Manila
• Premio Feronia, Foreign Author, 2009

He earned his B.A. English from the University of the Philippines in 1964 and Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Chicago in 1970. He served the University of the Philippines in various capacities: as Secretary of the University, Secretary of the Board of Regents, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Director of the U.P. Institute of Creative Writing. For many years, he also taught English, comparative literature and creative writing at U.P. Diliman.

The University of the Philippines has elevated Abad to the rank of University Professor, the highest academic rank awarded by the university to an exemplary faculty member. He currently sits on the Board of Advisers of the U.P. Institute of Creative Writing and teaches creative writing as Emeritus University Professor at the College of Arts and Letters, U.P. Diliman.

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Sources and references:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9mino_Abad

http://www.panitikan.com.ph/content/g%C3%A9mino-h-abad