Bienvenido N. Santos - Author Quiz

Study Notes

Bienvenido N. Santos - Author

Born in Tondo, Manila, March 22, 1911
Graduated from the University of the Philippines (UP) in 1932 (teacher's degree)
Taught in elementary/high schools in Albay
First published story, "The Horseshoe," in 1930 (in The Graphic)
Won 1st place in a government exam in 1941
Left for the US in 1941 as a government pensionado, wife and 3 children remained in the Philippines
Studied Master of Arts in English at the University of Illinois (1942)
Further studies at Columbia and Harvard University
Experienced exile in the US due to World War II (1939-1945)
Worked in the Philippine Embassy in the US, as a public relations officer.
Traveled across the US giving lectures about the Philippines
Met many Filipinos living in the US
His stories are often set in Chicago, New York, and other US cities.
Returned to the Philippines in January 1946
Worked as a professor and administrator in Legazpi, Philippines
Published "You Lovely People" (short stories, 1955), and "The Wounded Stag: Fifty-Four Poems" (1956)
Returned to the US in 1958 as a Rockefeller, Guggenheim, and Iowa Literary Foundation Fellow at the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop
Taught at the University of Iowa for 5 years
Wrote and published Villa Magdalena and The Volcano in 1965
Won the Philippine Republic Cultural Heritage Award for Literature (1965)
Traveled between the Philippines and the US in the 1960s.
His novel The Praying Man (criticizing government corruption) was banned in the Philippines in 1970s; published in 1982.
Resided in the US (1973-1982)
Became a US citizen in 1976.
Published Scent of Apples, short story collection (1979), the only book of Santos' short stories published in the United States.
Won 1980 American Book Award
Returned permanently to the Philippines in 1982
Worked as a visiting writer/artist at De La Salle University-Manila after wife died
Died in 1996