Hasang mga kuwento ng pag-ibig

John Iremil E. Teodoro is all heart in his writing, whether it be prose or poem. And when you read his stories, it feels as if he has just been walking, or going about his daily routine when, just as casually, he proceeds to sit down and write until he finishes. And one is only too grateful to be taken (the reader’s hand firmly in his) into this brave engaging world of his that would otherwise have been lost to us if he had not bothered to write it.
—Reinerio A. Alba

More known as a poet, John Iremil E. Teodoro, I think, is a craftier storyteller—as these stories reveal—engaging one at the beginning as if gossip, juicily ordinary, earthy and amusing at times; then drawing one to relate to the desolation, the pain, the longing, the dreams, the loves of characters rendered so palpably as if they’re close friends, even one’s self; and touching one at the end with the luminosity that poetry brings. We smile, laugh, cry, ache and are astonished through each story. Honestly and powerfully, these stories speak to us of the pain and hope of those who are vulnerable—no, daring—enough to fall just by the little kindnesses of boys and men, and in doing so make known the distinctive intensity of their experiences, which at the same time we all share.
—Roel Hoang Manipon

Pinag-uugnay ang mga kuwento sa koleksiyong ito ng tema ng kasawian at kawalan na siyang bunga ng pag-ibig at pagnanasa. Malinaw ang mensahe ni John Iremil E. Teodoro sa kaniyang katha: hindi kailanman maaaring maangkin nang lubusan ang minamahal. Ito ang trahedya ng bawat nagmamahal, anuman ang kaniyang kasarian. Kung si Dickinson ang “Reyna ng Kalbaryo,” si Teodoro ang kaniyang pinakamasugid na tagasunod.
—Gerardo Z. Torres

Tungkol sa May-akda

Ipinanganak at lumaki si JOHN IREMIL E. TEODORO sa San Jose de Buenavista, Antique. Nagawaran na ng Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature ang kaniyang mga maikling kuwento, dula, at sanaysay. Awtor at editor siya ng 20 libro at antolohiya. Ang kaniyang kalipunan ng mga maikling sanaysay na Pagmumuni-muni at Pagtatalak ng Sirenang Nagpapanggap na Prinsesa ay nanalo ng National Book Award para sa Creative Nonfiction mula sa Manila Critics Circle at National Book Development Board noong 2008. Nagtapos siya ng Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing na may karangalang with high distinction at ng Doctor of Philosophy in Literature sa De La Salle University-Manila kung saan siya nagtuturo ng literatura at malikhaing pagsulat ngayon. Nakatira siya sa Lungsod Pasig.