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, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Literary Grant, and the All-Western Visayas Literary Contest (National Commission for Culture and the Arts) winner. In 2015, he became the first Filipino author to be invited to the Sharjah International Book Fair in the

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. 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. As an actor, Nery briefly appeared in Tikoy Aguiluz's film on cybersex, ''www.XXX.com'', of which he was also the assistant director. 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 The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) is the national film agency under the Office of the President of the Philippines responsible for film policies and programs to ensure the economic, cultural and educational development of ...

. Nery resides in Reisterstown,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, 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.

Early life and education

Peter Solis Nery was born on January 6, 1969, and raised in the coastal town of Dumangas, Iloilo,

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. 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. 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. Peter also had attended the SVD Christ the King Mission Seminary in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

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.

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 Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, Peter became more introspective and started his

memoirs A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobio ...

. ''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 is a type of short form poetry that originated in Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases composed of 17 Mora (linguistics), morae (called ''On (Japanese prosody), on'' in Japanese) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern; that include a ''kire ...

-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. Furthermore, his first screenplay, ''Buyong'', about a Katipunero revolutionary from

Aklan Aklan, officially the Province of Aklan, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Its capital and largest town is Kalibo. The province is situated in the northwest portion of Panay, Panay Islan ...

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 A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

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. He won a Palanca in 2006 for his Hiligaynon psycho-thriller short story, ''Ang Kapid'' (The Twins). 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. 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 Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

diva and first female National Artist in Music. 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. He went to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in February 2006 and became a Registered Nurse in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in May of the same year and started working as an orthopedic nurse in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of 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. 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. Following immediately, the foundation created the Peter’s Prize for Excellence in Hiligaynon Writing that first gave out awards in September 2013. In May 2014, the foundation sponsored a month-long online Hiligaynon poetry workshop called ''Poem-a-thon with Peter Solis Nery''. 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.

Personal life

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

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

despite the church’s stand on homosexuality.

Published works

*''I Flew a Kite for Pepe'' (New Day Publishers. Quezon City: 1993.) *''First Few Notes of a Green Symphony'' (Giraffe Books. Quezon City: 1994.) *''The Essential Thoughts of a Purple Cat'' (Giraffe Books. Quezon City: 1996.) *''Rated R'' (Giraffe Books. Quezon City: 1997.) *''Shorts'' (New Day Publishers. Quezon City: 1997.) *''Moon River, Butterflies, and Me'' (New Day Publishers. Quezon City: 1997.) *''Shy Evocations of Childhood'' (Giraffe Books. Quezon City: 1997.) *''My Life as a Hermit'' (Giraffe Books. Quezon City: 1998.) *''Fireflies for a Yuppie'' (Giraffe Books. Quezon City: 1998.) *''A Loneliness Greater than Love'' (DreamWings Publishing. Iloilo: 2000.) *''Fantasia'' (DreamWings Publishing. Iloilo: 2000.) *''Rain as Gentle as Tears'' (DreamWings Publishing. Iloilo: 2001.) *''The Prince of Ngoyngoy'' (DreamWings Publishing. Iloilo: 2001.) *''The Passion of Jovita Fuentes'' (New Day Publishers. Quezon City: 2009.) *''100 Erotic Sonnets from the Hiligaynon'' (CreateSpace. U.S.A.: 2010.) *''Love in the Time of the Bakunawa'' (CreateSpace. U.S.A.: 2012.) *''If the Shoe Fits: Or, The Five Men Imelda Marcos Meets in Heaven'' (CreateSpace. U.S.A.: 2012.) *''Cory, Full of Grace'' (CreateSpace. U.S.A.: 2012) *''Kakunyag: Erotic Sonnets in Hiligaynon'' (CreateSpace. U.S.A.: 2012) *''Stories in a Mellifluous Language'' (CreateSpace. U.S.A.: 2012) *''Peter’s Prize Very, Very Short Stories in Hiligaynon'' (CreateSpace. U.S.A.: 2014) *''Peter’s Prize Love Poems in Hiligaynon'' (CreateSpace. U.S.A.: 2014) *''Peter’s Prize Children’s Stories and Poems in Hiligaynon'' (CreateSpace. U.S.A.:2014) *''Peter’s Prize The Saddest Love Stories Ever Told in Hiligaynon'' (CreateSpace. U.S.A.: 2014) *''The Poem-a-thon Anthology: Mga Binalaybay sang Mayo 2014'' (CreateSpace. U.S.A.: 2014) *''The Passion of Jovita Fuentes: International edition'' (CreateSpace. U.S.A.: 2015) *''Welcome to Grindr'' (CreateSpace. U.S.A.: 2016) *''Creative Writing: DIWA Senior High School Series'' (Diwa Learning Systems, Inc. Makati City: 2017) *''At My Father's Wake: 10 Elegies in 3 Languages'' (CreateSpace. U.S.A.: 2019) *''After: Prose Poems'' (KDP. U.S.A.: 2019) *''Funny, Sad, and Dangerous'' (KDP. U.S.A.: 2019) *''Nothing’s Lost: Stories by Peter Solis Nery'' (KDP. U.S.A.: 2020) *''The (Almost) Fabulous: a self-portrait in bits and pieces'' (KDP. U.S.A.: 2020) *''7: Palanca Award-winning Stories in Glorious Hiligaynon'' (KDP. U.S.A.: 2020) *''We Begin in Awe: Close Encounters with the PSN Corpus'' (KDP. U.S.A.: 2020) *''What We Had: 69 men in 100 erotic poems'' (KDP. U.S.A.: 2024)

Palanca Awards won

*3rd prize, Poetry for Children (English) for Thirteen Ways of Looking at Books, 2024 *1st prize, Short Story (Filipino) for Ang Tariktik, 2023 *1st prize, Short Story (Hiligaynon) for Ang Macatol kag ang “Queen of Relief”, 2022 *2nd prize, Poetry for Children (English) for Picnic, Symphony & Other Concepts a 4th Grader Needs to Know, 2022 *2nd prize, Short Story (Hiligaynon) for Ang Milagro sa Ermita, 2017 *1st prize, One-Act Play (English) for Tic-Tac-Toe, 2016 *1st prize, Poetry for Children (English) for The Rainbow Collection, 2015 *1st prize, One-Act Play (Filipino) for Gladiolas, 2014 *3rd prize, Full-length Play (Filipino) for Agimat, 2014 *3rd prize, Poetry for Children (English) for Those Colorful Parts, 2014 *1st prize, Short Story (Hiligaynon) for Si Padre Olan kag ang Dios, 2013 *Hall of Fame Award, 2012 *1st prize, Poetry for Children (English) for

Punctuation Punctuation marks are marks indicating how a piece of writing, written text should be read (silently or aloud) and, consequently, understood. The oldest known examples of punctuation marks were found in the Mesha Stele from the 9th century BC, c ...

, 2012 *2nd prize, Poetry for Children (Filipino) for Sa Mundo ng mga Kulisap, 2012 *1st prize, Short Story (Hiligaynon) for Donato Bugtot, 2011 *2nd prize, Full-length Play (English) for If the Shoe Fits: Or, The Five Men Imelda Marcos Meets in Heaven, 2011 *2nd prize, Poetry for Children (English) for The Shape of Happiness & Other Poems, 2011 *3rd prize, One-Act Play (English) for The Wide Ionian Sea, 2010 *1st prize, Full-length Play (English) for The Passion of Jovita Fuentes, 2008 *1st prize, Short Story (Hiligaynon) for Candido, 2007 *2nd prize, Short Story (Hiligaynon) for Ang Kapid, 2006 *3rd prize, Short Story (Hiligaynon) for Ang Pangayaw, 2000 *1st prize, Short Story (Hiligaynon) for Lirio, 1998

References

External links

*
Filipino Writer Website: Peter Solis-Nery

National Commission on Culture and the Arts -Literature

Panitikan Online
*
Ateneo Kritikultura
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nery, Peter Solis 1969 births Living people 20th-century Filipino poets 20th-century Filipino short story writers 21st-century Filipino poets 21st-century short story writers English-language writers from the Philippines Filipino children's writers Filipino male dramatists and playwrights Filipino male film actors Filipino male poets Filipino male short story writers Filipino Roman Catholics Filipino writers of bilingual works Filipino nurses Hiligaynon people LGBTQ Roman Catholics Palanca Award recipients Roman Catholic writers Tagalog-language writers University of the Philippines Visayas alumni Writers from Iloilo Writers from Los Angeles Visayan people 20th-century Filipino male writers 21st-century Filipino male writers People from Iloilo