Oldtimer and Other Stories, the author's first book, is seeing print again for the first time since the first edition was published by Asphodel Books in 1984. It contains ten stories described by Dalisay as "the stories of my first thirty years...of my first lifetime." The stories vary in their styles and concerns, from the friendship of two men in New York just after the war to the plight of an Army doctor ministering to a teenage insurgent and the heady charm of a kept woman living next door. "No two stories in the collection are alike: that's Dalisay's feeling for form operating," observed Francisco Arcellana in his introduction to the first edition. "In the work of Jose Y. Dalisay Jr., material is the given. The rest is his feeling for form." Jose Y. Dalisay Jr. has published ten books of fiction, drama, and non-fiction. He teaches English and creative writing at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, where he also chairs the Department of English and Comparative Literature. He has won Palanca, CCP, TOYM, and National Book Awards for his writing, and has been a Fullbright, Hawthornden, British Council, and David TK Wong fellow.
Author
Dr. José Y. Dalisay Jr. (Butch Dalisay to readers of his "Penman" column in the Philippine STAR) was born in Romblon, Philippines in 1954. As of January 2006, he had published 15 books of his stories, plays, and essays, with five of those books receiving the National Book Award from the Manila Critics Circle. In 1998, he was named to the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Centennial Honors List for his work as a playwright and fictionist. He graduated from the University of the Philippines in 1984 (AB English, cum laude ), the University of Michigan (MFA, 1988) and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (PhD English, 1991). He teaches English and Creative Writing as a full professor at the University of the Philippines, where he also serves as coordinator of the creative writing program and as an Associate of the UP Institute of Creative Writing. After serving as chairman of the English Department, he became Vice President for Public Affairs of the UP System from May 2003 to February 2005. Among his distinctions, he has won 16 Palanca Awards in five genres (entering the Palanca Hall of Fame in 2000), five Cultural Center of the Philippines awards for playwriting, and Famas, Urian, Star and Catholic Film awards and citations for his screenplays. He was named one of The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) of 1993 for his creative writing. He has been a Fulbright, Hawthornden, David TK Wong, Rockefeller, and British Council fellow.
