An Evening with Filipino Novelist F. Sionil Jose

Francisco Sionil José is the Writer in Residence in Stanford's Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages, April 15-May 15, 2005. He will present a talk, "Literature as History," and read from his novels Dusk and Mass. A reception and book signing will follow the event.

F. Sionil José is a

journalist, writer, and publisher. He was born on December 3, 1924

in Rosales, Pangasinan. In the fifties, José founded the Philippine

Center of PEN, an international organization of poets, playwrights,

essayists, and novelists. In 1965 he established the publishing firm

Solidaridad. His corpus of works includes ten novels, five books of

short stories, a book of verse, and a collection of stories for children.

The Rosales saga is his five-novel masterpiece, consisting of The

Pretenders; Tree; My Brother, My Executioner; Mass; and Po-on. His works have also been translated

and published in various languages. Random House has recently released

Three Filipino Women, Sins, Dusk (Po-on),

Don Vincente (My Brother My Executioner, and Tree),

The Samsons (The Pretenders and Mass) in

North America, the latter three in Modern Library Editions.

José has received numerous fellowships and awards, which include:

the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative

Communication Arts (1980), the most prestigious award of its kind

in Asia; the CCP Centennial Honors for the Arts (1999); the National

Artist Award for Literature (2001); and the Pablo Neruda Centennial

Award (2004).