Patrick Joseph Caoile publishes debut collection of short stories of Filipino immigrants

Patrick Joseph Caoile’s “Tales from Manila Ave.” Caoile’s short story collection, released this month, traces the joys and struggles of Filipino immigrants as they navigate life and ponder identity outside their motherland.

Through touching reflection on community and memory, Caoile’s debut collection takes an honest yet playful look into the intricacies of longing and belonging, according to a press statement from publisher Sundress Publications. “Tenants gather to swap meals and stories, workers strive to prove their worth, sons and daughters revisit their relationships with faith, patriotism, and their own parents. Feelings of grief and alienation abide, but so do love and gratitude as these characters forge bonds and gain perspective in unexpected encounters.”

These contemporary tales are evidence of an inheritance that continues to flourish; they vocalize the lessons that have taken wordless root in our hearts, waiting for us to remember them.

“’Tales from Manila Ave.’ is an enthralling collection of stories set firmly in middle America yet dreaming of the Philippines,” writes Randy Gonzales, author of “Settling St. Malo.”

“In direct, fluid prose, Patrick Joseph Caoile reveals tensions between a Filipino American generation holding on to memories and traditions of a distant land and one ready for their own life. Caoile brilliantly treats readers with both tenderness and humor, as he deftly narrates moments when the dream recedes, when characters with emotions ‘wrapped up with the pork fillings in lumpia’ struggle between longing and community and conjure ghosts, doppelgangers, and this eerie familiarity that just can’t be explained. ‘Tales from Manila Ave.’ is a remarkable debut collection that some will find heartwarmingly familiar, and others will read as a primer to the 21st century Filipino American family.”

Mia Alvar, author of “In the Country,” also said, “These warm, intimate ‘Tales from Manila Ave.’depict the lives of Filipino immigrant families with such attentive care, you can practically smell the Nilaga stewing in the kitchen. Patrick Joseph Caoile has made a feast out of everyday ingredients: a cup of coffee, a nursery rhyme, or even an old game show episode delivers sudden, profound insights on love and grief, alienation and belonging, and the ties that bind and burden across generations and hemispheres. This is a book to savor, share, and remember for years to come.”

Caoile was born in the Philippines and grew up in northern New Jersey. He holds a BA in English from Saint Peter’s University, MA in English from Seton Hall University, and Ph.D. in English with a creative writing concentration from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. At Saint Peter’s, he served as an editor of The Pavan literary magazine and at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, he served as a fiction editor of the Rougarou literary journal and participated in the Thursday Night Reading Series.

His work has been featured in Solstice Literary Magazine, Chestnut Review, storySouth, Porter House Review, and Bright Flash Literary Review, as well as the anthology Growing Up Filipino 3: New Stories for Young Adults, among other publications. A previous draft of his manuscript Tales from Manila Ave. was recognized as a semifinalist in the 2023 Autumn House Press Fiction Prize. He has also written articles on film and television for Collider.

He currently lives in Clinton, N.Y. where he teaches at Hamilton College as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Literature and Creative Writing.