MOST writers struggle with balancing greatness and kindness, but the late writer Lualhati Bautista did it effortlessly.
Bautista, the author of Palanca-winning works “Dekada ‘70,” “Bata, Bata… Pa’no Ka Ginawa?” and “GAPÔ,” died on Sunday, Feb. 12, family members announced in separate Facebook posts. She was 77.
“Lagi ko nang leksiyon sa nagnanais maging manunulat: maging magaling na manunulat. Pero higit sa pagiging magaling, maging mabuting manunulat. Kinakatawan ni Lualhati ang magaling at mabuting manunulat, at the same time,” said Asst. Prof. Joselito de los Reyes, the UST creative writing program coordinator.
“Maraming manunulat na pinagkakakitaan lang ang galing pero hindi naman makatao. Maraming manunulat na kabaligtaran ang ginagawa sa isinusulat. Pero hindi si Lualhati,” he added.
De los Reyes, who said he was a fan of Bautista, remembered her graciousness to her admirers.
“Nang mauso ang social media, ini-add ko siya, pagkakataong maging mas malapit sa may-akda ng mga nobelang nagpaligalig sa akin. Nagkataon namang accommodating siya. Accepted ang friend request. May mga tanong ako, sinagot niya,” de los Reyes said.
Mark Angeles, a Filipino instructor at UST and a resident fellow at the UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies (CCWLS), said Bautista treated younger writers and fans as family.
“Kapamilya ang turi niya sa kaniyang mga tagahanga. Kahit sobrang busy niya, may oras siyang sumagot sa mga mensahe online at makipagkita sa mga kapuwa-manunulat at mga mambabasa,” Angeles told the Varsitarian.
He said Bautista was worthy of being a National Artist for Literature.
“Napakalaki ng impluwensiya niya [Bautista] sa panitikang Filipino. Binuo niya ang kuwento ng bayan sa mga akda niya, kaya dapat ding ituring na mga dokumentong pangkasaysayan ang mga katha niya,” Angeles said.
Prof. Felicidad Pereña of the Department of Literature, who often met Bautista in academic fora, praised Bautista’s humility.
“Lualhati was an authentic and warm persona, no airs, her feet planted firmly on the ground,” said Pereña, a former Varsitarian Filipino editor.
Pereña said she last saw Bautista during the stage adaptation of the latter’s novel, “Desaparesidos,” at the Doreen Black Box Theater in Ateneo de Manila University.
“With so many distortions about the dark period of our history, a work like ‘Desaparesidos’ can help change the way we think about the struggle we still face today. I pray for the eternal repose of Ma’am Lualhati. She has left such a brave and brilliant legacy in Philippine Literature,” Pereña said.
Bautista was born in Tondo, Manila on Dec. 2, 1945.
She gave up her journalism studies at the Lyceum of the Philippines to pursue a career in creative writing.
Among Bautista’s long list of awards are her grand prizes at the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature for her works “GAPÔ” (1980), “Dekada ‘70” (1983), and “Bata, Bata… Pa’no Ka Ginawa?” (1984).
Bautista’s works focused on women’s rights, activism, and life during Martial Law.
A wake for family and friends was held on Feb. 13 at St. Peter Chapels in Commonwealth, Quezon City. It will be opened to the public on Feb. 15.
Bautista’s remains will be interred at the Holy Cross Memorial Park in Novaliches, Quezon City, on Feb. 17. Angeli Ruth Acosta
