Peter Solis Nery, the Storyteller

Ilonggo writer Peter Solis Nery, a native of Dumangas, Iloilo, Philippines has transformed himself into an icon of the literature and the arts for his countless awards and honors for two decades. He is a multi-awarded Ilonggo writer whose passion is overflowing, and put the Ilonggo literature in the limelight by achieving multiple Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards in Literature. In 2012, he was inducted in the Palanca Hall of Fame. This year, he received another gold medal from Palanca when he won the first prize for Poetry for children. Also, in 2012, he had a stint as a filmmaker when he was awarded for a film grant from the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) and turned his script into a full-length movie entitled “Gugma sa Panahon sang Bakunawa,” (Love in the time of the Bacunawa) which became an official entry in the first Sineng Pambansa Film Festival 2012. Nery together with his friends and family established the Peter Solis Nery for Literature and the Arts. Formerly, he is a feature editor and columnist of major newspapers in Iloilo, and worked as a nurse in America for a few years before he decided to retire.

Shedding his softer side as a storyteller and a true brilliant artist, Nery who is now enjoying a vacation in Iloilo, decided to bring his stories to various schools in his hometown Dumangas by conducting a storytelling campaign of his own writings. Having achieved enormous awards in his life as a living Ilonggo literary icon, Nery believes in his stories, his writings and his passion to send out a message from heart. It is a very humbling gesture and manifestation of his passion to reach out to the younger generation through his life’s works. He goes back to the grassroots of pure storytelling for young children in various schools, so that they would know one passionate Ilonggo writer whose calling is to preserve the Ilonggo literature. This gesture of artistic pursuit and noble cause is a reflection of his calling – to write and tell his stories with sincere and significant purpose.  

As a writer myself, I learned a lot from him and his brilliant ways to turn his thoughts into heartfelt writings. Having seen his rise and struggles, I firmly believe that Nery is a writer with pure intention of sharing his talents and inspire young writers and artists to find themselves in the name of pure passion. It is time for me to say that no other Ilonggo writer exists like him – fearless, brilliantly-creative and someone who knows how to infuse immortality in his writings.