Belated thanks, Jim, for this fine piece, which I've just gotten around to reading. What a great privilege it must have been to know and travel with him. Thanks for introducing him to those of us who weren't aware of him and his work.
One of my dear friends, born there, says the youth call him "F. Senile" since he became a supporter of the murderous regime who apparently supports the murder of journalists.
He has always been in the middle of controversies, including in the past few years. My understanding of his positions in the past few years is that they're a little more complicated than that — but of course, that is *always* the case. I haven't been on scene in a long time, so I am reluctant to say more than that he was a brave, principled, and talented man who was always thinking about his country. (Even if people disagreed with where his thinking led.)
And (continuing reply to Ruth Ann) here is a Philippine article about why he supported a closure of a TV network — a closure that the writers' group he founded opposed. He said they exemplified plutocrat-backed misinformation, cronyism, etc. I don't know enough first hand to weigh in on this. My point again is that he took positions for a reason, and that reason mainly came from his long-time Filipino nationalism.
Belated thanks, Jim, for this fine piece, which I've just gotten around to reading. What a great privilege it must have been to know and travel with him. Thanks for introducing him to those of us who weren't aware of him and his work.
Thank you for such a compassionate and thoughtful article. A long life well-lived....
Thanks Diana. I feel fortunate to have known him.
One of my dear friends, born there, says the youth call him "F. Senile" since he became a supporter of the murderous regime who apparently supports the murder of journalists.
He has always been in the middle of controversies, including in the past few years. My understanding of his positions in the past few years is that they're a little more complicated than that — but of course, that is *always* the case. I haven't been on scene in a long time, so I am reluctant to say more than that he was a brave, principled, and talented man who was always thinking about his country. (Even if people disagreed with where his thinking led.)
And (continuing reply to Ruth Ann) here is a Philippine article about why he supported a closure of a TV network — a closure that the writers' group he founded opposed. He said they exemplified plutocrat-backed misinformation, cronyism, etc. I don't know enough first hand to weigh in on this. My point again is that he took positions for a reason, and that reason mainly came from his long-time Filipino nationalism.
Here is the article: https://latestchika.com/spotlight/2020/05/11/20432/national-artist-f-sionil-jose-in-favor-of-abs-cbn-shutdown-writers-group-disagrees-with-founder/