A magazine that Nick Joaquin (1917-2004) used to edit asked me
to write a short statement on his death. Below is the full text of
that statement. Thank you.
THE DEATH of a person is always an occasion for remembering how he
or she lived. As the nation mourns the death of Nicomedes "Nick"
Joaquin (a.k.a. Quijano de Manila) on April 29, 2004 at the age of
86, we remember his vast contribution not just to fiction writing
but also to Philippine journalism.
Born on May 4, 1917 in Paco, Manila, he became a journalist despite
finishing only three years of secondary education at the V. Mapa High
School. He started as a proofreader at the Philippines Free Press
and later became its contributing editor and essayist using the nom
de plume Quijano de Manila. In 1970, he left the Philippines Free
Press and edited the Asia- Philippine Leader. Later on, he became
editor of the Philippine Graphic and publisher of the Women's Weekly.
Aside from his various awards in creative writing, he was conferred
the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and CreativeCommunication
Arts in 1966. Ten years after, he became a National Artist (Literature).
Students are encouraged to read his feature articles, mostly personality
profiles, compiled in books like Reportage on Lovers (1977), Nora
Aunor & Other Profiles (1977) and Gloria Diaz & Other Delineations
(1977). He writes in a manner that makes readers relate to what his
subjects went through, using the simplest of words and narrating stories
and circumstances as directly as possible.
His death is indeed a cause for mourning, but it should also be a
time for reflecting, understanding and remembering.
