A FACULTY of Arts and Letters alumnus and a former Rector's Literary Award winenr has won the country's most prestigious and longest literary derby.
Rosmon Tuazon, who finished Legal Management in 2003, placed second under the category of Tula in the 61st Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature. The awards were handed out at the Manila Peninsula hotel last Sept.1.
His winning entry, “Mga Nakaw na Linya,” is his third Palanca recognition after winning the second and first places of the same category in 2004 and 2005, respectively.
“I had a good feeling about the collection. For six years, I only managed to write a handful of poems,” said Tuazon, who also received the Rector’s Literary Award in 2003.
Meanwhile, National Artist for Literature and former Varsitarian editor in chief F. Sionil Jose was conferred the “Gawad Dangal ng Lahi,” for his contributions to Philippine literature and as a five-time Palanca honoree.
Previous recipients of the award were National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera and Transportation and Communication Secretary Manuel Roxas III, among others.
In his speech, Jose paid tribute to Jose Rizal, who was a writer that “spoke the truth.”
He also encouraged fellow writers to “speak out their minds and criticize when criticism is necessary,” to upgrade the Filipino nation’s sensibility.
This year’s Palanca Awards had the most number of participants. Almost half of the winners were first-timers.
It is also dedicated to National Artist for Literature Edith Tiempo and Kerima Polotan-Tuvera who both recently passed away.
Remi Karen Velasco, an MA Communication student (on leave) at the UST Graduate School, won the 2011 Palanca first prize for Dulang May Isang Yugto for “Ondoy: Ang Buhay sa Bubong”.