Selected Poems

This is Cirilo F. Bautista’s twelfth book of poems, selected by the poet himself from his remarkable body of past work.
Bautista, declared National Artist for Literature in 2014, shows the craft and artistry that put him in the forefront of Philippine literary development.

A better epic poet than any American I know.
—GEORGE STARBUCK

My admiration for the mind and spirit of Cirilo F. Bautista.
—WILLIAM SAROYAN

Cirilo F. Bautista is the long-needed break-away from the lyric tradition that Jose Garcia Villa created.
—NICK JOAQUIN
National Artist for Literature

His writings have done much to enhance the framework of Philippine nationalism beyond the narrow bounds of the traditional concepts of what is Filipino and have brought in a global inclusiveness that has set the Philippines as a vibrant member among the other nations of the world.
—EDITH L. TIEMPO
National Artist for Literature

About the Author

Philippine National Artist for Literature Cirilo F. Bautista is a multi-awarded poet who is also a fiction writer, literary critic, painter, and educator. He is Professor Emeritus of Literature and University Fellow at the De La Salle University-Manila, where he obtained his DA in Language and Literature. He has published several books of poetry, fiction, criticism, including his first Tagalog novel in a trilogy, Galaw ng Asoge (UST Publishing House, 2004). His works have also been published in various anthologies and periodicals in the USA, Europe, China, Japan, and the ASEAN Region. He wrote a weekly column, “Breaking Signs,” for the Philippine Panorama for twelve years.
Winner of the Palanca Hall of Fame Award in 1995, Bautista was hailed as Makata ng Taon in 1993 by the Komisyon ng Wikang Pilipino for winning the poetry contest sponsored by the Philippine government. The last part of his epic The Trilogy of Saint Lazarus entitled “Sunlight on Broken Stones,” won the Centennial Prize for the Epic in 1998. He was awarded the Gawad Antonio Villegas (2005) and Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan (2001) in the field of literature by the City of Manila. He became an Honorary Fellow in Creative Writing at the University of Iowa in 1969, and was a visiting writer in 1987 at Trinity College, Cambridge University, UK. He is a member of the Manila Critics Circle and the Philippine Literary Arts Council (PLAC).
Cirilo F. Bautista resides in Quezon City with his wife Rose Marie Jimenez Bautista. They have three children and three grandchildren.