Cebuano writer is National Artist for Literature

Resil Mojares

Resil Mojares, a multi-awarded writer and University of San Carlos (USC) professor emeritus, was named as National Artist for Literature. He will be conferred one of the country’s highest honors in a ceremony tomorrow.

“This is a historic and proud moment for all Cebuanos all over the world, the first-ever Cebuano to become a National Artist!” said Jose Eleazar Bersales, USC Press manager and Mojares’ colleague and fellow author.

Bersales, in a Facebook post, said Mojares was nominated by the USC Cebuano Studies Center.

“(Mojares deserves this award) because he has a body of published scholarly and literary work written in a uniquely Mojares-que style, if I may say so, that will forever remain unmatched in our lifetime and in many lifetimes to come,” said Bersales.

Mojares was the founding director of the Cebuano Studies Center and Professor of Literature at USC. He authored several books and numerous articles in academic journals. He was the recipient of a Ford Foundation Southeast Asian Studies Program fellowship and a Fulbright Senior Visiting Scholar fellowship to the United States. He served as a member of the executive committee of the Southeast Asian Studies Program of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.