Loreto Paras-Sulit (December 10, 1908 – April 23, 2008) was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

writer best known for her English-language

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

Biography

Paras-Sulit was born in

Ermita, Manila Ermita is a district in Manila, Philippines. Located at the central part of the city, the district is a significant center of finance, education, culture, and commerce. Ermita serves as the civic center of the city, bearing the seat of city ...

. After finishing her secondary education in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

, she entered the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

, where she first gained notice for her short fiction. While at the university, she co-founded the U.P. Writer's Club in 1927 along with other student-writers such as Arturo Rotor and

Jose Garcia Villa Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in education, magna cum laude, in 1930. Paras-Sulit would join the faculty of

Florentino Torres High School Florentino Torres High School, commonly known as Torres High School (THS), is located in Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila, Philippines. It is one of the oldest public schools in Metro Manila. History Founded by James T. Burns in 1925, Florentino Torre ...

as an English teacher while maintaining an active writing career. She was a member of the Philippine Writers Association and the Literary Guild of the Philippines. In the 1940s, she joined the Philippine National Red Cross, of which she served as secretary-general for several decades. While at the Red Cross, she shifted her focus to short stories for children, publishing several works of that variety at the Philippine Junior Red Cross Magazine. She retired from public life after retiring from the Red Cross, dying in April, 2008 at the age of 99.

Works

Paras-Sulit was considered at her productive peak during the period from 1927 to 1937. Her contemporary at the University of the Philippines, Jose Garcia Villa, was an admirer of her works, and included several of her short stories in his annual honor roll of short fiction. The novelist Juan Laya extolled her in 1951 as "''one of the few remaining great pioneers of Philippine literature in English. Many of her stories remain unsurpassed in this day in sensitivity and depth of feeling.''"

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Paras-Sulit, Loreto Filipino women writers 1908 births 2008 deaths Filipino writers People from Ermita Writers from Manila University of the Philippines alumni English-language writers from the Philippines Filipino schoolteachers 20th-century Filipino educators 20th-century Filipino writers 20th-century women writers