Merlinda Bobis (born 25 November 1959) is a contemporary
Filipina
Filipinos () are citizens or people identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian peoples, all typically speaking Filipino, English, or other Philippine languages. Despite formerly being subject to ...
-
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Aus ...
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...
and
academic
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
.
Biography
Bobis was born on November 25, 1959 in
Legazpi City
Legazpi (, American Spanish: , European Spanish: ), officially the City of Legazpi (; ), is a Component City, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Albay, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a ...
,
Albay
Albay (IPA: ), officially the Province of Albay (; ; Baybayin, ᜎᜎᜏᜒᜄᜈ᜔ ᜈᜅ᜔ ᜀᜎ᜔ᜊᜌ᜔), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Bicol Region of the Philippines, mostly on the southeastern part of the isla ...
, Philippines. She started writing poetry at the age of ten. She received her secondary education at Bicol University High School, then completed her B.A. at
Aquinas University
Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest, the foremost Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the Western tradition. A Doctor of the Church, he wa ...
in Legazpi City, followed by a post-graduate degrees from the
University of Santo Tomas
The University of Santo Tomas (UST; ), officially the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines or colloquially as ''Ustê'' (), is a Private university, private Catholic school, Catholic researc ...
. She achieved a Doctorate from the
University of Wollongong
The University of Wollongong (UOW) is an Australian public university, public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately south of Sydney. , the university had an enrolment of more than 33,000 s ...
in 1995,
and now lives in Australia. Written in various genres in both
Filipino and English, her work integrates elements of the traditional culture of the Philippines with modern immigrant experience.
Also a dancer and visual artist, Bobis has taught at Wollongong University.
[Australian National University website, ''Dr Merlinda Bobis'']
/ref>
Her play ''Rita's Lullaby'' was the winner of the 1998 Awgie
The AWGIE Awards are annual awards given by the Australian Writers' Guild (AWG), for excellence in screen, television, stage, and radio writing.
History
The AWGIE awards were conceived in 1967, with the first event being held in 1968. Bettina ...
for Best Radio Play and the international Prix Italia of the same year; in 2000 ''White Turtle'' won the Steele Rudd Award
The Queensland Premier's Literary Awards were an Australian suite of literary awards inaugurated in 1999 and disestablished in 2012. It was one of the most generous suites of literary awards within Australia, with $225,000 in prize money across ...
for the Best Collection of Australian Short Stories and the 2000 Philippine National Book Award. In 2006, she received the Gintong Aklat Award (Golden Book Award, Philippines) for her novel ''Banana Heart Summer'', from the Book Development Association of the Philippines. She also won the 2016 Christina Stead Prize for Fiction and NSW Premier's Literary Awards for her book, ''Locust Girl: A Lovesong''.
Work
Poetry
*''Rituals: Selected poems, 1985-1990''. (1990)
*''Summer was a Fast Train without Terminals''. (Melbourne: Spinifex, 1998)
*'' usaping ina at anak''
*''Accidents of Composition'' (Melbourne: Spinifex, 2017)
*"Mother's Break
Short stories
*''White Turtle''. (Melbourne: Spinifex, 1999)
review
*''The Kissing'' (Aunt Lute, 2001) [US reissue of ''White Turtle''
review
*''Dream Stories'' (Anvil Publishing, 2014) ISBN 9789712730184
Novels
* ''Banana Heart Summer'' (Murdoch Books, 2005)
* ''The Solemn Lantern Maker'' (Sydney: Murdoch Books, 2008)
* ''Fish-hair Woman'' (North Melbourne: Spinifex, 2011)
* ''Locust Girl: A Lovesong'' (North Melbourne: Spinifex, 2015)
* ''The Kindness of Birds'' (North Melbourne: Spinifex, 2021)
Awards
Among her awards are:
*Canberra Critics’ Circle Award for The Kindness of Birds (2021)
/ref>
*Gintong Aklat Award (Golden Book Award: Philippine publishers' award) for ''Banana Heart Summer'' (2006)
*Australian Literature Society Gold Medal for Banana Heart Summer (2006)
*Nomination: Best in Foreign Language in Fiction from the Manila Critics' Circle for ''Banana Heart Summer'' (2006)
*Judges' Choice Award, Bumbershoot Bookfair, Seattle Arts Festival for ''The Kissing'' (collection of short stories published as ''White Turtle'' in Australia and the Philippines) (2001)
*Arts Queensland Steele Rudd Australian Short Story Award (for the Best Published Collection of Australian Short Stories, joint winner) for ''White Turtle'' (2000)
*Philippine National Book Award for Fiction (Joint winner) from the Manila Critics' Circle for ''White Turtle'' (2000)
*NSW Ministry for the Arts Writers' Fellowship for novel in progress, ''Fish-Hair Woman'' (2000)
*Canberra Writing Fellowship jointly from the Australian National University, the University of Canberra, and the Australian Defence Force Academy (2000)
*Prix Italia (international award) for ''Rita's Lullaby'' (radio play) (1998)
*Australian Writers' Guild Award (AWGIE) for ''Rita's Lullaby'' (1998)
*Pamana Philippine Presidential Award for achievement in the arts (for Filipino expatriates) (1998)
*Shortlist: The Age Poetry Book of the Year Award for ''Summer Was a Fast Train Without Terminals'' (collection of poems) (1998)
*Winner, Out of the Ashes Trans-Tasman Short Story Competition for ''White Turtle'' (short story) (1998)
*Commended: National Short Story Competition, Society of Women Writers for ''The Sadness Collector'' (short story) (1998)
*Joint winner, ABC Radio National's 'Books & Writing Short Story Competition' for ''The Tongue'' (also known as ''The Parable of Illawarra Street'') (1997)
*Ian Reed Foundation Prize for Radio Drama for ''Rita's Lullaby'' (1995)
*Carlos Palanca Memorial Award in Literature (Philippine national award), Honourable Mention for ''Ms. Serena Serenata'' (one-act play) (1995)
*Gawad Cultural Centre of the Philippines (national award for poetry in Filipino) for ''Mula Dulo Hanggang Kanto'' ('From End to Corner', collection of poems) (1990)
*Likhaan Award for Daragang Magayon and other poems, University of the Philippines Writers' Workshop (1990)
*Carlos Palanca Memorial Award in Literature, Second Prize for ''Lupang di Hinirang: Kuwento at Sikreto'' ('Land Not Dearest: Story and Secret', collection of poems in Filipino) (1989)
*Carlos Palanca Memorial Award in Literature, joint winner, First Prize for ''Peopleness'' (collection of poems in English) (1987)
References
Sources
External links
animation of poem
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bobis, Merlinda
1959 births
Living people
Australian women novelists
Filipino emigrants to Australia
Filipino women short story writers
Filipino short story writers
Australian women short story writers
Australian women poets
Filipino women novelists
Filipino novelists
English-language writers from the Philippines
20th-century Australian novelists
University of Wollongong alumni
20th-century Australian women writers
People from Legazpi, Albay
20th-century Australian short story writers