AN ARTLETS alumnus who received the Gawad Balagtas lifetime achievement award for his lasting contributions to Philippine literature has urged writers to find purpose through their craft, saying the power of their words remains incomparable to that of today’s “artificial voices.”
In his speech during the 52nd National Writers’ Congress of the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL), Journalism alumnus and former The Flame editor Jose Wendell Capili said literature stands as an invaluable witness to history at a time when artificial voices are on the rise.
“Saksi ang panitikan sa ating mga pinagdaanan. Ito ang rekord ng aking pagsisikap na bigyang-kahulugan ang mga tema ng migrasyon, ang sistema ng burukrasya, at ang bakas ng panahon sa ating buhay,” Capili said.
(Literature serves as a witness to our experiences. This serves as a testament to my endeavor in interpreting themes of migration, the system of bureaucracy, and the traces of time in our lives.)
Capili, one of this year’s recipients of the Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas award in the country’s largest creative writers’ group, was recognized for his Philippine essays and poetry written in English.
Established in 1988 by National Artist for Literature and UMPIL chair emeritus Virgilio Almario, the Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas is bestowed upon Filipino writers with outstanding contributions to poetry, fiction, essay, translation and literary criticism.
Capili has won numerous awards in his literary stint, including the 36th Philippine National Book Award for Literary History/Literary Criticism in 2017 and the 46th Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Essay in 1996, “Short Circuit: Expatriate Themes in Philippine Poetry in English.”
A professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman, Capili handles courses in the College of Arts and Letters and has nearly 40 years of teaching experience. He has authored eight books and over three hundred articles in the field of humanities and social sciences published across Asia, Europe, North America and Australia.
“Sa isang panahong tila nalulunod tayo sa mga boses na artipisyal, ang panitikan ang ating angkla—isang paalala na ang ating mga salita ay may laman, may puso, at may sariling paninindigan,” the Artlets graduate added.
(In a time where we are flooded by artificial voices, literature serves as our anchor—a reminder that our words have meaning, heart, and something to stand for.)
Capili traced his writing roots to former Artlets dean and The Flame adviser Ophelia Alcantara Dimalanta, recalling how she further deepened his appreciation for the craft.
“Utang ko rin ang hubog ng aking kamalayan sa aking mga guro… Hayaan ninyong banggitin ko na lamang ang unang nagturo sa akin ng wastong pagsusulat: si Ophelia Alcantara Dimalanta.”
(I also owe my teachers for the cultivation of my awareness… Allow me to mention the first [person] who taught me how to write the correct way: Ophelia Alcanta Dilamanta.)
According to him, Dimalanta was the one who taught him that the University was more than just a building.
“Noong nasunog ang Faculty Center noong 2016, nawala ang aming mga mesa at archive, pero hindi natigil ang pag-iisip. Lumipat lang kami sa ibang silid at nagpatuloy sa pagsusulat sa gitna ng mga guho.”
(When the Faculty Center burned down in 2016, we lost our table and archive, but our thinking didn’t stop. We just moved to another room and continued writing amid the ruins.)
After finishing his bachelor’s degree at the University of Santo Tomas, Capili pursued graduate and post-graduate studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman and numerous institutions abroad, namely, the University of Tokyo, the University of Cambridge and the Australian National University.
Honoring a Thomasian titan of fiction
The University’s literary legacy was further highlighted by the conferment of the Gawad Pedro Bucaneg on the Palihang Rogelio Sicat of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Named after the legendary Thomasian author, Rogelio Sicat, the workshop was recognized for pioneering the first national writers’ workshop conducted entirely in Filipino.
Established in 2008, the workshop has been held annually across different parts of the country.
The National Writers’ Congress is an annual event by UMPIL to honor Filipino writers, organizations, and institutions who have made major contributions to Philippine literature. This year’s iteration was held on April 25 at the University of the Philippines Baguio, College of Social Sciences Audio-Visual Room. F – Bettina Katryn Reyes
