N.V.M.
GONZALEZ
Néstor Vicente Madali González
BIOGRAPHY
He was born on 8 September 1915 in Romblon, Philippines.[1]
González, however, was raised in Mansalay, a southern town of the
Philippine province of Oriental Mindoro. González was a son of a school
supervisor and a teacher. As a teenager, he helped his father by delivering
meat door-to-door across provincial villages and municipalities. González
was also a musician. He played the violin and even made four guitars by
hand. He earned his first peso by playing the violin during a Chinese funeral
in Romblon. González attended Mindoro High School (now Jose J. Leido Jr.
Memorial National High School) from 1927 to 1930. González attended
college at National University (Manila) but he was unable to finish his
undergraduate degree. While in Manila, González wrote for the Philippine
Graphic and later edited for the Evening News Magazine and Manila
Chronicle. His first published essay appeared in the Philippine Graphic and
his first poem in Poetry in 1934. González made his mark in the Philippine
writing community as a member of the Board of Advisers of Likhaan: the
University of the Philippines Creative Writing Center, founding editor of The
Diliman Review and as the first president of the Philippine Writers'
Association. González attended creative writing classes under Wallace
Stegner and Katherine Anne Porter at Stanford University. In 1950, González
returned to the Philippines and taught at the University of Santo Tomas, the
Philippine Women's University and the University of the Philippines (U.P.).
At U.P., González was only one of two faculty members accepted to teach in
the university without holding a degree. On the basis of his literary
publications and distinctions, González later taught at the University of
California, Santa Barbara, California State University, Hayward, the
University of Washington, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the
University of California, Berkeley.
Gonzalez is buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
On 14 April 1987, the University of the Philippines conferred on
N.V.M. González the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa,
"For his creative genius in shaping the Philippine short story and novel, and
making a new clearing within the English idiom and tradition on which he
established an authentic vocabulary, ...For his insightful criticism by which
he advanced the literary tradition of the Filipino and enriched the vocation for
all writers of the present generation...For his visions and auguries by which
he gave the Filipino sense and sensibility a profound and unmistakable script
read and reread throughout the international community of letters..."
N.V.M. González was proclaimed National Artist of the Philippines in
1997. He died on 28 November 1999 at the age of 84. As a National Artist,
Gonzalez was honored with a state funeral at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
Néstor Vicente Madali González (September 8, 1915 – November
28, 1999) was a Filipino novelist, short story writer, essayist and, poet.
Conferred as the National Artist of the Philippines for Literature in
1997.
WORKS
The works of Gonzalez have been published in Filipino, English,
Chinese, German, Russian and Indonesia.
Novels
The Winds of April (1941)
A Season of Grace (1956)
The Bamboo Dancers (1988)
The Land And The Rain
The Happiest Boy in The World
Bread of Salt
Essays
A Novel of Justice: Selected Essays 1968–1994. Manila:
National Commission for Culture and the Arts and Anvil
(popular edition), 1996
Work on the Mountain (Includes The Father and the Maid,
Essays on Filipino Life and Letters and Kalutang: A
Filipino in the World), University of the Philippines Press,
1996
Short fiction
Short fiction
"The Tomato Game".1992
A Grammar of Dreams and Other Stories. University of the
Philippines Press, 1997
The Bread of Salt and Other Stories. Seattle: University of
Washington Press, 1993; University of the Philippines Press,
1993
Mindoro and Beyond: Twenty-one Stories. Quezon City:
University of the Philippines Press, 1981; New Day, 1989
Selected Stories. Denver, Colorado: Alan Swallow, 1964
Look, Stranger, on this Island Now. Manila: Benipayo, 1963
Children of the Ash-Covered Loam and Other Stories. Manila:
Benipayo, 1954; Bookmark Filipino Literary Classic, 1992
Seven Hills Away. Denver, Colorado: Alan Swallow, 1947
AWARDS AND
PRIZES
Given a Trophy from A Jokarts company (1997-1998)
Regents Professor at the University of California at Los Angeles,
1998–1999
Philippines Centennial Award for Literature, 1998
National Artist Award for Literature, 1997
Oriental Mindoro Sangguniang Panlalawigan Resolution
"extending due recognition to Nestor V. M. González... the
commendation he well deserves..." 1996
City of Manila Diwa ng Lahi award "for his service and
contribution to Philippine national Literature," 1996
City of Los Angeles resolution declaring October 11, 1996
"N.V.M. González Day, 1996
The Asian Catholic Publishers Award, 1993
The Filipino Community of California Proclamation "honoring
N.V.M. González for seventy-eight years of achievements," 1993
Ninoy Aquino Movement for Social and Economic Reconstruction
through Volunteer Service award, 1991
City and County of San Francisco proclamation of March 7, 1990
"Professor N.V.M. González Day in San Francisco," 1990
Cultural Center of the Philippines award, Gawad Para sa Sining,
1990
Writers Union of the Philippines award, Gawad Pambansang
Alagad ni Balagtás, 1989
University of the Philippines International Writer-in-Residence,
1988
Doctor of Humane Letters (Honoris Causa) from the University of
the Philippines, 1987
Djerassi Foundation Artist-in-Residence, 1986
Philippine Foreign Service Certificate of Appreciation for Work in
the International Academic and Literary Community, at San
Francisco, 1983
Emeritus Professor of English, California State University, 1982
Carlos Palanca Memorial Award (Short Story), First Prize for 'The
Tomato Game,' 1971
City of Manila Medal of Honor, 1971.
Awarded Leverhulme Fellowship, University of Hong Kong, 1969.
Visiting Associate Professorship in English, University of
California, Santa Barbara, 1968.
British Council award for Travel to England, 1965.
Intemaciones Award for Travel in the Federal German Republic,
1965.
Philippines Free Press First Prize Award winner for Serenade
(short story), 1964.
Rockefeller Foundation Writing Grant and Travel in Europe, 1964
Jose Rizal Pro-Patria Award for The Bamboo Dancers, 1961
Republic Cultural Heritage Award for The Bamboo Dancers,
1960
Carlos Palanca Memorial Award (Short Story), Third Prize winner
for On the Ferry, 1959
Philippine Free Press Third Prize winner for On the Ferry, 1959
Republic Award of Merit for "the advancement of Filipino culture
in the field of English Literature," 1954.
Carlos Palanca Memorial Award (Short Story), Second Prize
winner for Lupo and the River, 1953
Rockefeller Foundation Study and Travel fellowship to India and
the Far East, 1952
Carlos Palanca Memorial Award (Short Story), Second Prize
winner for Children of the Ash-covered Loam, 1952
Rockefeller Foundation Writing Fellowship to Stanford University,
Kenyon College School of English, and Columbia University,
1949–1950
Nestor Vicente Madali Gonzalez is an award-winning Filipino
poet, essayist, fictionist, journalist, editor, and teacher of
creative writing.
He is the first president of the Philippine Writers’ Association.
He is also honored as one of the great Filipino writers who
advanced literary traditions andculture.
He was a recipient of the following awards: The Republic
Cultural Heritage Award, the JoseRizal Pro-Patria Award, the
Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature, and the
National Artist Award for Literature in 1997.
Some of his published works are
1. Seven Hills Away (1947),
2. Children of the Ash-CoveredLoam and Other
Stories(1954), and
3. The Bamboo Dancers(1949),
which appeared inRussian translation in 1965 and 1974.
4. Seven Hills Away
is a collection of short stories that sketch the daily lives
of the Filipinokaingeros in his hometown province,
Mindoro.
5. The Bamboo Dancers
is a diasporic novel that features the challenges faced by
Filipinos in America
Birthdate: September 8, 1915
Birthplace: Romblon, Capiz, Philippine Islands
Died: November 28, 1999 (aged 84)
Occupation: Teacher, author, journalist, essayist
Language: English
Nationality: Filipino
Alma mater: National University (dropped out)
Notable awards: Order of National Artists of the Philippines
Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, Palanca Memorial Award for
Literature, City of Manila Medal of Honor
Spouse: Narita Manuel González
SUBMITTED BY: LEOJAME LLOYD GEMPERO
SUBMITTED TO: SIR NYL JOHN DANO
CONTEMPORA
RY
PHILIPPINE
ARTS IN THE
REGION
SUBMITTED BY: LEOJAME LLOYD GEMPERO
SUBMITTED TO: SIR NYL JOHN DANO
