Peter Solis Nery

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Peter Solis Nery
Peter Solis Nery.jpg
Born (1969-01-06) January 6, 1969 (age 55)
Dumangas, Iloilo, Philippines
OccupationPoet, writer, author, actor, filmmaker
Language English, Filipino, Hiligaynon
NationalityFilipino
Alma mater University of the Philippines Visayas
SVD Christ the King Mission Seminary
West Negros College
Website
petersolisnery.com

Peter Solis Nery is a Filipino poet, fictionist, author, and filmmaker. Writing in Hiligaynon, he is a Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature Hall of Fame Awardee, [1] the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Literary Grant, and the All-Western Visayas Literary Contest (National Commission for Culture and the Arts) winner. [2] In 2015, he became the first Filipino author to be invited to the Sharjah International Book Fair in the United Arab Emirates. [3] Writing in English, Filipino, and Hiligaynon, he has authored at least 35 books, and has written screenplays. He wrote and edited newspapers in Iloilo City before becoming a nurse in the United States.

Contents

As an actor, Nery briefly appeared in Tikoy Aguiluz's film on cybersex, www.XXX.com, of which he was also the assistant director. [4] He has also written, produced, and directed a full-length feature film in Hiligaynon, Gugma sa Panahon sang Bakunawa (Love in the Time of the Bakunawa), which was a finalist at the 1st Sineng Pambansa National Film Competition of the Film Development Council of the Philippines. Nery resides in Reisterstown, Maryland, and continues to write in at least three languages.

He was awarded the UP Distinguished Alumnus Award in Championing Hiligaynon Literature and Regional Culture in 2023. [5]

Early life and education

Peter Solis Nery was born on January 6, 1969, and raised in the coastal town of Dumangas, Iloilo, Philippines. He is the eldest among five siblings and his parents were both public school teachers. Peter attended primary school at the Dumangas Central Elementary School, completed his secondary education at the Dumangas Polytechnic College (now Iloilo State College of Fisheries), where he was consistently a first honor student from grade school to high school. He finished his bachelor of science degree in Biology from the University of the Philippines in the Visayas, where he was named Most Outstanding Student (1989) and Most Outstanding Graduate of 1990. He also received the President’s Award of Merit as Outstanding Student in his graduation year. [6] [7]

While at school, Peter honed his talent for writing. Under his editorship, he led the UPV College of Arts and Sciences' official publication, Pagbutlak (Sunrise) to become the region’s best at the 1989 College Press Awards. [6] Peter also had attended the SVD Christ the King Mission Seminary in Quezon City where he took an Associate in Philosophy degree in 1992-1993. In 2004, he earned his Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the West Negros College (now West Negros University) in Bacolod, Negros Occidental. [8]

Writing career

Early works

After the EDSA Revolution of 1986, Peter found himself in a new wave of Philippine literature. There was a resurgence of interest in nationalistic writing. At U.P., Peter was lucky to meet Leoncio Deriada (2001 Palanca Hall of Fame awardee) who encouraged him to write in Hiligaynon. Peter won his first national award in writing for his poetry in Hiligaynon, Mga Ambahanon kag Pangamuyo sang Bata nga Nalimtan sa Wayang (Songs and Prayers of a Child Forgotten in the Fields)in 1992. For his performance poetry Si Eva, si Delilah, si Ruth, kag ang Alput (Eva, Delilah, Ruth, and the Prostitute) at the Premio Operiano Italia, he was named Hari sang Binalaybay (King of Hiligaynon Poetry) in 1993, a title he held until 1998. During his student activism days at the university, he wrote his first book, I Flew a Kite for Pepe, in 1993. He admits, “I cringe now at my boldness to call it poetry then but I always thought that the book had a big heart. I still cry when I read it.” It was followed by his earth song and hymn to the planet, First Few Notes of a Green Symphony.

Transition

While working as a religious missionary in Macau, Peter became more introspective and started his memoirs. The Essential Thoughts of a Purple Cat was published by Giraffe Books in 1996; Moon River, Butterflies and Me in 1997; and My Life as a Hermit again by Giraffe in 1998. In 1995, he won the NCCA Western Visayas Poetry Competition for his collection Umanhon nga Gugma (Love of the Rural Folks). Some of the poems were translated, reworked, and included in his provocative collection, Rated R (Giraffe Books, 1997).

Peter published four titles in 1997: the playful poetry collection Shy Evocations of Childhood and Other Poems that Came under Hypnosis, and Rated R for Giraffe; Shorts, a collection of haiku-like poems, and the memoir Moon River, Butterflies and Me for New Day.

He won his first Palanca gold medal for his magical realist Hiligaynon Short Story Lirio about a deaf-mute who is a victim of marital rape. [9] Furthermore, his first screenplay, Buyong, about a Katipunero revolutionary from Aklan won third prize in the screenplay category of the Centennial Literary Prize. Later that year, his second screenplay, Tayo na sa Buwan (Let’s Go to the Moon), won an honorable mention at the Film Development Foundation of the Philippines.

Eventually, he started his own publishing company and produced A Loneliness Greater than Love (2000), an exploration of homoerotic themes; and Fantasia (2000), a collection of his Palanca-winning fiction. In 2001, he published Rain as Gentle as Tears, a sequel to his 1997 Shorts collection, and The Prince of Ngoyngoy (The Prince of Sob), a collection of lyric poems in Hiligaynon that established Peter as the Ilonggo epitome of emotional poetry.

In 2003, he launched Pierre: The Magazine of Peter Solis Nery. It delivered three monthly issues.

When opportunity came in 2006, he went to the United States to work as a nurse. For 100 days in 2005, Peter endeavored to write 100 erotic sonnets in Hiligaynon. He called it Kakunyag (Thrill). It was launched during the National Arts Month 2006 in Iloilo, and was serialized in a newspaper. [10] He won a Palanca in 2006 for his Hiligaynon psycho-thriller short story, Ang Kapid (The Twins). [2] The win provided him another encouragement to persevere in writing in the Hiligaynon. In 2007, Peter won his second Palanca gold for his historical Hiligaynon Short Story Candido, about the anting-anting (amulet) of the revolutionary Candido Iban. [2] The following year, he won his third Palanca gold for his play in English, The Passion of Jovita Fuentes, about the tragic love of the first Filipino international opera diva and first female National Artist in Music. [2] Peter also completed translation of his 100 Erotic Sonnets in the Hiligaynon into English in 2008.

Nursing career

Nery enrolled in Nursing as he continued to write for the newspaper. He graduated his Bachelor of Science in Nursing in October 2004. [11] He went to the United States in February 2006 and became a Registered Nurse in California in May of the same year [12] and started working as an orthopedic nurse in Los Angeles in 2007. In October 2008, he was given various awards for his commitment to his nursing profession including the Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurses.

Peter Solis Nery Foundation

The Peter Solis Nery Foundation, or The Peter Solis Nery Foundation for Hiligaynon Literature and the Arts, Inc. was established in September 2012 by Nery, right after his induction into the Palanca Awards Hall of Fame. [13] [14] The foundation, which aims to promote, preserve, and propagate Hiligaynon literature, and Filipino art and culture, through research, publications, productions, education, and cultural dissemination, was incorporated by the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission on November 5, 2012. [15] Following immediately, the foundation created the Peter’s Prize for Excellence in Hiligaynon Writing that first gave out awards in September 2013. [16] In May 2014, the foundation sponsored a month-long online Hiligaynon poetry workshop called Poem-a-thon with Peter Solis Nery. [17] In August 2014, the foundation published five anthology books of new Hiligaynon writings culled from the Peter’s Prize competitions and the Poem-a-thon workshop. [18]

Personal life

Nery is gay, and was married to an American man from 2008 until the latter's death when Nery was 46. [7] [19]

Nery is a Roman Catholic despite the church’s stand on homosexuality. [7]

Published works

Palanca Awards won

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palanca Awards</span> Awards given annually for achievements in literature within the Philippines

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The 48th Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature was held to commemorate the memory of Don Carlos Palanca Sr. through an endeavor that would promote education and culture in the country. This year saw the inclusion of a new Regional Language Division with three categories, open for short stories in three regional languages, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, and Iluko.

The 50th Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature was held on September 1, 2000, at The Peninsula Manila in Makati to commemorate the memory of Don Carlos Palanca Sr. through an endeavor that would promote education and culture in the country. This year saw the inclusion of a new a new category, Future Fiction, open for short stories that deal with the future of the Philippines or the future of Philippine writing, in English and Filipino.

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Leoncio P. Deriada was a Filipino writer and professor emeritus of creative writing and literature at the University of the Philippines in the Visayas in Iloilo.

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The 62nd Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature was held on September 1, 2012, at The Peninsula Manila in Makati to commemorate the memory of Don Carlos Palanca Sr. through an endeavor that would promote education and culture in the country. This year, the Palanca received a total of 1,077 entries in 20 categories. Out of these submissions, 59 winning works were selected from 58 writers – with half are first-time winners. Department of Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. was Guest of Honor and Speaker at this year’s awarding ceremony.

Ricaredo Demetillo was a Filipino essayist, poet, and playwright. Demetillo was one of the most important and prolific literary figures in the Philippines during the Twentieth Century and has won numerous awards for his writing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter's Prize</span>

Peter’s Prize or The Peter Solis Nery Prize for Excellence in Hiligaynon Writing is a literary contest in the Hiligaynon language of the Philippines established by The Peter Solis Nery Foundation for Hiligaynon Literature and the Arts, Inc. in 2013 to fulfill its mission to promote, preserve, and propagate Hiligaynon literature. It was expanded to special prizes for excellence in literary scholarship and cultural work, and additional competitive prizes in the various art forms in its succeeding years. It was named after foremost Hiligaynon (Ilonggo) writer Peter Solis Nery from Dumangas, Iloilo.

The 64th Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature was held on September 1, 2014, at The Peninsula Manila in Makati to commemorate the memory of Don Carlos Palanca Sr. through an endeavor that would promote education and culture in the country. Gilda Cordero-Fernando was Guest of Honor and Speaker at this year’s awarding ceremony.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hiligaynon language</span> Austronesian regional language spoken in the Philippines

Hiligaynon, also often referred to as Ilonggo or Binisaya/Bisaya nga Hiniligaynon/Inilonggo, is an Austronesian regional language spoken in the Philippines by about 9.1 million people, predominantly in Western Visayas and Soccsksargen, most of whom belong to the Hiligaynon people. It is the second-most widely spoken language in the Visayas and belongs to the Bisayan languages, and it is more distantly related to other Philippine languages.

Hiligaynon literature consists of both the oral and written works in Hiligaynon, the language of the Hiligaynon people in the Philippine regions of Western Visayas and Soccsksargen.

Lirio is a short story by Peter Solis Nery, written originally in the Hiligaynon language of the Philippines, and in the magical realism style. It won first prize in the Hiligaynon Short Story category of the 1998 Palanca Awards for Literature The story is also widely used in the teaching of regional literature of the Philippines.

The Wide Ionian Sea is a play in English by Filipino playwright Peter Solis Nery. It was awarded as the sole winner in the one-act play category of the Palanca Awards for Literature in 2010.

Tic-tac-toe is a comedy by multi-awarded Filipino poet and playwright Peter Solis Nery, who won first prize at the 2016 Palanca Awards for this one-act play. It is the most frequently produced - and touted as the funniest - English-language play in Iloilo City in the new millennium.

Gladiolas is a one-act play in the Filipino language by Philippine poet and playwright Peter Solis Nery. It was the first prize winner at the 2014 Palanca Awards for Literature.

Joel M. Toledo is a poet, fictionist, critic, and journalist based in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. He has been granted residencies by the Rockefeller Foundation in Bellagio, Italy, and the International Writing Program (IWP) in Iowa, United States.

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References

  1. ↑ "Money –Staff Writer – Blog hosts an Essay Writing Contest". Business.inquirer.net. March 3, 2008. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved December 31, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "palancaawards.com". palancaawards.com. April 30, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Ilonggo sets record as first Filipino author in SIBF - Bicol Metropolitan Times". www.iloilometropolitantimes.com. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  4. ↑ "inq7.net". www.inq7.net. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  5. ↑ https://www.upv.edu.ph/index.php/news/ilonggo-artist-writer-feted-with-2023-upaa-distinguished-alumnus-award
  6. 1 2 ISBN   971-92146-1-9
  7. 1 2 3 Nery, Peter Solis (March 2, 2016). "On Gay Marriage and Moronic Boxers". Iloilo Metropolitan Times. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  8. ↑ "TOP Universities in Negros Occidental - West Negros University". Wnu.edu.ph. Archived from the original on July 3, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  9. 1 2 "Lirio • Peter Solis Nery". petersolisnery.com. July 14, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  10. ↑ "inq7.net". news.inq7.net. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Doc Stoc".[ dead link ]
  12. ↑ "rn.ca.gov". rn.ca.gov. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  13. ↑ "The Peter Solis Nery Foundation". www.facebook.com. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  14. ↑ Peter Solis Nery
  15. ↑ "Foundation • Peter Solis Nery". petersolisnery.com. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Peter's Prize winners named - Iloilo Metropolitan Times". www.iloilometropolitantimes.com. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  17. ↑ "POEM-A-THON WITH PETER SOLIS NERY - Iloilo Metropolitan Times". www.iloilometropolitantimes.com. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  18. ↑ "BOOKS OF SUMMER - Iloilo Metropolitan Times". www.iloilometropolitantimes.com. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  19. ↑ Nery, Peter Solis (March 15, 2015). "Dear Zach". petersolisnery.com. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Palanca Hall of Famer Peter Solis Nery shares his secrets to his award-winning writings".
  21. ↑ "Here are the winners of the 70th Palanca Awards".
  22. ↑ "Peter Solis Nery wins 19th Palanca award". September 2017.
  23. ↑ Peter Solis Nery wins another Palanca Gold panaynewsphilippines.com August 27, 2016 [ dead link ]
  24. ↑ "Si Padre Olan kag Ang Dios • Peter Solis Nery". petersolisnery.com. July 11, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  25. ↑ "PETER SOLIS NERY – Carlos Palanca Awards". www.palancaawards.com.ph. Archived from the original on April 24, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  26. ↑ Peter Solis Nery (December 30, 2012). "Punctuation: poems by Peter Solis Nery at the Palanca Awards 2012". Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2017– via YouTube.
  27. ↑ "Donato Bugtot • Peter Solis Nery". petersolisnery.com. July 11, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  28. ↑ Nery, Peter Solis (August 3, 2012). If the Shoe Fits: Or, The Five Men Imelda Marcos Meets in Heaven. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN   978-1466220331.
  29. ↑ Nery, Peter Solis (July 31, 2015). The Passion of Jovita Fuentes. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN   978-1515142423.
  30. ↑ "Candido • Peter Solis Nery". petersolisnery.com. July 11, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  31. ↑ "Ang Kapid • Peter Solis Nery". petersolisnery.com. July 11, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Ang Pangayaw • Peter Solis Nery". petersolisnery.com. July 11, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
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