NICK ... BOW

Nick ... bow
by Adrian Cristobal
05/09/2005 Philippine Graphic

For the Ravens, the young writers who emerged in the 50s and are now in the departure lounge in their 70s. THE WRITER was Nick Joaquin; he remains so to this day as the only honorary Raven. Except for Virginia R. Moreno, known in her time as 'the literary dictator of U.P.', the Ravens are all male (two generically), but she's the most assertive of the group, having waged
many battles and wars for literature and film. If Nick Joaquin isn't remembered for his battles, it's because he quietly won them.

I remember one. It was a time when the National Artist Award for Literature sought the writer instead of the other way around. The outrageous Xoce Garcia Villa and the Marxist Tagalog poet Amado V. Hernandez did not have any supporters and advocates who filled forms in order to qualify them for the award. When it was Nick Joaquin's turn to receive it, there were grave doubts that he would accept it. It was martial law and some writers were in detention, one of whom was Jose "Pete" Lacaba. Pressed by friends who were connected to Malacanang to accept the award, Nick Joaquin imposed as a condition Pete's release from Bicutan. As a refusal of the honor on the part of the foremost fictionist in the country would make the National Artist Award trivial, to say the least, Pete was released and Nick regally accepted the award.

That incident remains one of the most memorable moments in Philippine literature. Henceforth, there would be political finagling, even on the part of presidents, in the selection of National Artists, although it did produce worthy awardees like the Tagalog poet, critic, and translator Virgilio Almario, otherwise known as Rio. Nick Joaquin -- the Ravens never referred to him as merely "Nick", and only, when he became one of us in the camaraderie of letters and liquor -- had a good and kindly eye for erstwhile young writers. Among them are Pete Lacaba and Gregorio Brillantes. He did not, however, write literary criticism, out of a deep, sense of what is ethical. When he liked a literary piece, he said so, when he didn't like it, he kept his opinion to himself. What he wrote was literary appreciation, of which Jose Rizal was the singular beneficiary.He made the finest translation of Rizal's "Mi Ultimo Adios," and transported Garcia Lorca's "Verde yo te quiero verde" into English. Xoce Garcia Villa would never let us forget Nick's beautiful line: "the frail blue doves of Aphrodite".

Not that Nick was less of a poet but his most memorable story was "Three Generations", which popularized the crab as the symbol of our ailing society. Many an indifferent writer and enthralled, if mediocre, teachers of literature have made their reputation by discoursing on the crab and the image of the senator who gave up poetry as if they were personal discoveries.

Indeed, Nick Joaquin had been used and misused for all kinds of literary and academic pretensions, which strengthens the argument that he was a living legend. At one time, when I was talking about a famous plagiarist, Nick told me that the plagiarist had plagiarized him many times. When I asked why he never once complained publicly, he said, "He's not a writer, after all". That's the only damning remarks that he has said of anyone who considered himself a writer.

Nick's public image is that of a man who always had a bottle of beer in hand. If there's anyone who has popularized San Miguel beer, it wasn't Fernando Poe Jr, but Nick Joaquin. His happiest moments, besides being with writers he liked -- the late Larry Francia, Virgie Moreno, etc -- and, of course, with his family -- were spent in beer joints drinking with policement and assorted denizens of the city. His column was even entitled "Small Beer", though there was nothing small in his consumption, his literary vision, and large humanity. His generosity, after all, was legend. No man I know has placed so little value on money and so high a value on friendship.

Ambassador Chua, the owner of Graphic, was once asked why Nick Joaquin stuck with Graphic when he would have been paid handsomely writing for another publication. Without a moment's hesitation, the ambassador replied, "Nick Joaquin is the Graphic, and the Graphic is Nick Joaquin."

Nick Joaquin is the writer.