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Bienvenido N. Santos

ビエンベニード・ヌキ・サントス

Bienvenido Nuqui Santos

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1911-03-22 （Tondo, Manila, Philippines）
Died
1996-01-07 （Legazpi City, Albay, Philippines） age 84
Nationality
Filipino
Languages
English, Tagalog
Religion
Roman Catholic
Residence History
Manila (birth and upbringing) → United States (long-term residence, study and teaching) → Legazpi City (later years)

Career

Occupations
fiction writer, poet, nonfiction writer, university professor
Active Years
1930-1996
Affiliations
Wichita State University (professor), University of Iowa (Iowa Writers' Workshop), De La Salle University (Visiting Writer)
Influenced By
Paz Marquez Benitez, Jose Garcia Villa
Influenced
Asian American writers, Subsequent generations of Filipino-American literature

Education

University of the Philippines
College of Arts / Department of English
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Country: Philippines
Studied creative writing under Paz Marquez Benitez.
University of Illinois (study/fellowship)
Period: 1941（パンショナド／研修）
Country: United States
Went to the U.S. in 1941 as a government pensionado for study and training.
Columbia University (study)
Period: 1941（研修）
Country: United States
Short-term study/research participation.
Harvard University (study)
Period: 1941（研修）
Country: United States
Short-term study/research participation.

Awards

Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards (short fiction)
1956
Organization: Carlos Palanca Foundation
Result: Winner
Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards (short fiction)
1961
Organization: Carlos Palanca Foundation
Result: Winner
Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards (short fiction)
1965
Organization: Carlos Palanca Foundation
Result: Winner
American Book Award
1980
Work: Scent of Apples
Organization: Before Columbus Foundation
Result: Winner
Guggenheim Fellowship
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: Fellowship
Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship (Iowa Writers' Workshop)
Organization: Rockefeller Foundation
Result: Fellowship
Republic Cultural Heritage Award in Literature
Organization: Government of the Philippines
Result: Honor
Honorary Doctorate in Humanities and Letters
1981
Organization: University of the Philippines
Result: Honorary degree
Honorary Doctorate in Humanities and Letters
1981
Organization: Bicol University
Result: Honorary degree
Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters
1982
Organization: Wichita State University
Result: Honorary degree

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Scent of Apples

1979 short story collection

A collection of short stories exploring immigrant loneliness and nostalgia; notable for mixing humor and pain and regarded as an important work in Asian American literature.

immigrant lonelinessnostalgiacultural identity

The Volcano

1965 novel

A novel set against Philippine society in the mid-20th century, dealing with personal and social conflicts.

social conflictindividual interiority

The Day the Dancers Came

1967 short story collection

A collection of short stories focused on immigrants and life in a foreign land, addressing distance between homeland and abroad.

distance between homeland and new landcultural friction

Memory's Fictions: A Personal History

1993 memoir / nonfiction

A personal memoir reflecting on his life and memory, recounting immigrant experience and literary trajectory.

memorypersonal historyimmigrant experience

Bibliography

  • You Lovely People (1955)
  • Brother, My Brother (1960)
  • The Volcano (1965)
  • Villa Magdalena (1965)
  • The Day the Dancers Came (1967)
  • Scent of Apples (1979)
  • The Praying Man (1982)
  • The Man Who (Thought He) Looked Like Robert Taylor (1983)
  • Distances: In Time (1983)
  • Dwell in the Wilderness (1985)
  • What the Hell for You Left Your Heart in San Francisco? (1987)
  • Memory's Fictions: A Personal History (1993)
  • Postscript to a Saintly Life (1994)
  • Selected Letters: Book 1 (1995)
  • Selected Letters: Book 2 (1996)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
realist style blending humor and pathosconcise, observant narrative voice
Recurring Motifs
immigration and lonelinessnostalgiaconflicts of cultural identitycoexistence of humor and sorrow

Legacy

Bienvenido N. Santos is regarded as a pioneer of Filipino-American / Asian American literature. Through works like Scent of Apples he explored immigrant experience and nostalgia, influencing subsequent Filipino-American writers. His legacy includes honors, honorary degrees, and institutional recognition such as the creative writing center at De La Salle University being named after him.

Academic Societies

  • Asian American literary studies community
  • Philippine literature study groups

Archives

  • De La Salle University (Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center archives)
  • Wichita State University (archival holdings)

In Popular Culture

  • Frequently taught in courses and syllabi on Filipino-American and Asian American literature.

Quotes

  • "a man hiding tears in his laughter"
    Source: Comment by Florentino Valeros

Trivia

  • Arrived in San Francisco on October 12, 1941, leaving his wife and three daughters in the Philippines.
  • De La Salle University renamed its creative writing center in his honor.
  • Scent of Apples won the American Book Award in 1980.