Centennial celebration of the life of novelist artist NVM Gonzalez
NVM Gonzalez, writer, musician, professor of literature , father and loving husband. From Professor Myke Gonzalez collection.
NVM was born in Romblon, Philippines on September 8, 1916 and he passed away on November 28 1999 at the age of 84 in Manila.
He was a Filipino novelist, short story writer, essayist and poet. Gonzalez 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; he was also the founding editor of The Diliman Review, and was the first president of the Philippine Writers’ Association. Gonzalez attended creative writing classes under Wallace Stegner and Katherine Anne Porter at Stanford University. In 1950, he returned to the Philippines and taught at the University of Santo Tomas, the Philippine Women’s University and the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.
On the basis of his literary publications and distinctions, Gonzalez 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.
Filipino and Filipino American writers whom he taught and mentored are now distinguished authors and teachers themselves. He has written 5 novels, 8 short fiction and 2 Essays and his books have been published in Pilipino, English and translated into Chinese, German, Russian and Indonesian.
Noted professor and writer Peter Bacho (center) leads NVM workshops.
NVM Workshop attendees include young, students and professional writers. Photo from Prof. Myke Gonzalez collection.
The major sponsors of the event are Philippine Expressions Bookshop, Echo Park Branch Library and UCLA Asian American Studies Center. Community Partners include the Fil Am Library and the Filipino American Press Club of Los Angeles (est. 1978).
Dr. Michael Gonzalez of the Philippine Studies Department, City College San Francisco and Director/Founder NVM Gonzalez Writers’ Workshop will show a short film on his Dad, A Story Yet To Be Told which is an excerpt from a film by Jerome Academia & Russell Leung. He will also play classical guitar compositions of his dad’s favorites.
The works of NVM are rich in imagery of nature, and his stories are set in natural scenes of rural Philippines and the islands. They were written long before we become very aware of the enviroment and climate changes, and the fact that he described the natural settings vividly showed his own personal awareness of the environment way ahead of our time.
Michael will speak about the stories of his dad set in Mindoro and the homesteaders of Mindoro. The Province of Mindoro is NVM’s adopted province where NVM’s father moved his family from Romblon. His writings raised the awareness of people towards swidden farming (kaingin) which, if done correctly like what the indigenous Mangyan did, was sustainable farming (as against cash crop and fertilizer use).
His stories tell about the struggle of farmers during famine, floods, and other disastrous events that are both man-made and caused by nature. NVM’s books will support Echo Park Library’s program to create more awareness for sustainability and the climate change.
For more information, email Linda Nietes of Philippine Expressions Bookshop
Those who wish to share their recollection of NVM, are invited to contact Philippine Expressions Bookshop.
