THE ENGINEER has reinvented himself as a writer.
Abdon M. Balde Jr., now in his 60s, may not have had formal writing lessons, but when he was taking up civil engineering at the Aquinas University in Legazpi City and eventually graduated in 1967, he was the features and managing editor of the campus paper “The Aquinian.”
He said he had to learn Filipino on his own in order to be proficient in the language, even though some readers found his use “very straight and formal.”
Balde has written seven novels and a compilation of short stories since he retired from his engineering profession in 2000, to follow his heart’s desire of telling tales about his birthplace—Bicol.
“All my writings are works intended to go back where I started to encourage writers to write about their birthplace. I write in Filipino so I could be read wider,” said Balde, a native of Barangay Busac, Oas, Albay.
But he confessed that he was a more proficient writer in Bicol. Sometimes, he would translate his original works into Filipino, he said.
Awards
It did not take long for Balde’s works to be recognized. He received the National Book Award thrice for his books—“Ma’yong,” “Hunyango sa Bato” and “Calvary Road.” The last two books also won the Juan C. Laya Prize, while “Hunyango” received one more citation—the Gintong Aklat Award.
Balde received the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature when he was 56, with his Filipino fiction “Supay.”
He has written other titles, including “Mga Pangarap at Pangitain,” “Sa Kagubatan ng Isang Lungsod” and “Awit ni Kadunong.”
The latest book, launched on Oct. 14, is about the trivia of people in their 60s and above.
Critic’s role
Balde revealed that he was into painting, too, but his wife Fe encouraged him to concentrate on writing when he retired after several years of working abroad to provide a comfortable life for his family.
Fe is his major critic as she reads and provides him criticism on his manuscript before he submits it to publishing houses, he said.
Balde takes pride in his handwritten manuscripts for his three novels—“Mga Pangarap at Pangitain,” “Sa Kagubatan ng Lungsod” and “Ma’yong.”
On Oct. 9, the Thai royal family bestowed on him the 2009 Southeast Asian (SEA) Write Award.
The family, along with Oriental Hotel in Bangkok and Thai Airways International, organized the SEA Write Award in 1979 to honor writers in Southeast Asia. The award honors body of works in poetry, short stories and novels, including scholarly and religious works.
During ceremonies held in Bangkok last month, Balde was honored along with selected writers from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma (Myanmar), Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The award was presented by Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn and Princess Srirasm.
“It’s a confirmation on my work even though I have never received formal training in writing,” Balde said.
Thirty Filipino writers have received the SEA Write Award since 1979. Among them were National Artist Virgilio Almario, Nick Joaquin, Bienvenido N. Santos, Marne Kilatis, Adrian Cristobal and Isagani Cruz.
