WRITER and feminist Marra Patricia Licad Lanot used literature and journalism to challenge dictatorship, sexism and repression during the Marcos Sr. regime, causes that colleagues said remained central to her work throughout her life.
A staunch advocate for women’s rights in media, Lanot co-founded Women Writers in Media Now (WOMEN) in 1981. Its members traveled to remote areas to document life under the Marcos Sr. administration despite facing police interrogation over their reports.
For Lanot, the fight for press freedom was inseparable from the fight for women’s rights.
Toward the end of Marcos Sr.’s rule, a group of women journalists and advocates staged a protest at the Manila Hotel after then-presidential candidate Corazon Aquino was subjected to sexist remarks for challenging Marcos.
Feminist and activist Princess Nemenzo recalled in an interview with BusinessMirror that the women organized themselves to protest what they viewed as the dismissal of women’s political participation.
About 10 to 12 women, including Nemenzo and Lanot, joined the protest, raising placards and a large banner that read, “No to sexism! No to dictatorship!”
In 1984, Lanot pushed for the creation of a Women’s Desk within the Concerned Artists of the Philippines to advocate gender equality and confront discrimination and oppression against women.
Lanot died on Aug. 16 at the age of 82.
Fellow WOMEN writer Neni Sta. Romana-Cruz told the Varsitarian she was grateful to have encountered a woman like Lanot in her life.
“Marra will live on in the rich words she has left behind, and in her many thoughtful acts of kindness,” she said.
Acclaimed writer Susan Severino Lara, Lanot’s colleague at Philippines Graphic, said feminism was central to both her life and writing.
“Marra was a feminist through and through, and this was something she held firmly and consistently as a person and as a writer,” Lara told the Varsitarian.
“She used her voice to challenge patriarchal norms, question traditional gender roles, and center the lived experiences of women. She questioned historical expectations that restricted women to passive roles,” she added.
A life in literature
Born to renowned poet Serafin Lanot and classical pianist Gloria Licad, Lanot grew up surrounded by literature and music.
Alongside her husband Pete Lacaba, and writer Nick Joaquin, she joined Philippines Graphic when the magazine was revived in 1990. Her poem “Leaves” appeared in its inaugural issue.
In 1984, she published the poem “Babae Kami,” which confronted the sexualization and objectification of Filipina women.
In the same year, she edited and published “Filipina 1” and “Filipina 2,” described as among the first Philippine anthologies composed solely of works by Filipina writers.
Lanot authored 16 books, including the second edition of “Dream Sketches,” published by the UST Publishing House in 2013.
Her works included her debut poetry collection “Sheaves of Things Burning,” the 2000 collection “Witch’s Dance at iba pang tula sa Filipino at Español” and “Flowers of the Sun.”
Lanot received recognition from the Catholic Mass Media Awards in 1989 for her Filipino column “Siyanga Pala.”
In 2020, she received the Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas for her contributions to poetry and essays in English.
She returned to Philippines Graphic in 2022 as literary editor and became editor in chief of the Philippine Graphic Reader.
Lanot also served as a judge for the Nick Joaquin Literary Awards until 2026. Elizabeth Joy C. Castro
