Writing is a solitary profession; you are really alone when you write. Then the emotions become well shaped and distinct. But their… — F. Sionil Jose Alone Copy Share Image
We recognize the distinctness of Asian art when we turn to its traditional forms, recognize it as Japanese, Chinese and Indian, even… — F. Sionil Jose Art Copy Share Image
The Japanese bureaucracy is unique. It is also very powerful, although it is now the object of so much criticism. Many of… — F. Sionil Jose Copy Share Image
Just because you have so much to give does not mean that they'll all be accepted. There's more to giving than just… — F. Sionil José Copy Share Image
“If you loved someone for many years, you become instinctively aware of his feelings, even divine his thoughts and anticipate his actions,… — F. Sionil José Copy Share Image
I said that if I were an industrialist or entrepreneur, I would invest in agriculture-based enterprises, for there is so much that… — F. Sionil Jose Business Copy Share Image
“How can we build trust among our own people? How can we make them confident of themselves and their countrymen so that… — F. Sionil José Trust Copy Share Image
“When I see justice sold to the highest bidder I remember Tio Baldo and how he had lost. So honesty then and… — F. Sionil José Honesty Copy Share Image
I write entirely in English; Tagalog chauvinists chide me for this. I feel no guilt in doing so. But I am sad… — F. Sionil Jose Copy Share Image
I believe in humanity - not just you or Mother, but all mankind. Do I sound like a preacher or a cheap… — F. Sionil José Copy Share Image
A virtuoso performance. Scott Thompson’s biography of the soldier statesman Fidel V. Ramos illustrates the fascinating and complex geography of Filipino politics… — F. Sionil José Copy Share Image
We are shallow because we have become enslaved by gross materialism, the glitter of gold and its equivalents, for which reason we… — F. Sionil Jose Copy Share Image
“Duty comes in many forms; at times duty to country may conflict with duty to family. Yet, with a lucid mind the… — F. Sionil José Duty Copy Share Image
In a much larger sense, the problem of Sabah is directly influenced by the duplicity of imperial Britain. For whatever devious reason,… — F. Sionil Jose Britain Copy Share Image
“A Man's suicide is the ultimate violence he can fling against the granite circumstance he could not vanquish. Its a lonely and… — F. Sionil José Death Copy Share Image
“I was shocked at the revelation of her vaulting ambition, her greed. I should have loathed her or, knowing what kind of… — F. Sionil José Greed Copy Share Image
For them who delay aging, who infuse decrepit bodies with youth and beauty - they must rejoice in the fullness of their… — F. Sionil Jose Aging Copy Share Image
Japan is very cosmopolitan - it values its origins, but a world view hovers above this narrow perspective. The interest of the… — F. Sionil Jose Copy Share Image
“But when a person commits suicide, he does not do violence only to himself; he inflicts death upon those whom he least… — F. Sionil José Death Copy Share Image
Industrialization starts with the formation of capital - it does not matter how. It can be created by saving, by the state… — F. Sionil Jose Capital Copy Share Image
In the Western tradition, the first writers were teachers and historians, vastly traveled, who spiced their reports with fantasies. They were also… — F. Sionil Jose Copy Share Image
“But when will Filipinas ever be free from its leaders who are wealthy and crooked, in whom we have put so much… — F. Sionil José Leadership Copy Share Image
The past could liberate or imprison - it creates a nation's character, provides the nourishment or the poison a people imbibe in… — F. Sionil Jose Character Copy Share Image
A weak people and its equally debilitated leaders are bludgeoned by history. It maims them into the cripples that they are meant… — F. Sionil Jose Copy Share Image
No man stops caring as long as he breathes. As long as he has a mind and memory, he will care. This… — F. Sionil José Animal Copy Share Image
November is auspicious in so many parts of the country: the rice harvest is already in, the weather starts to cool, and… — F. Sionil José Christmas Copy Share Image
“It is easy to forgive a person his faults when he is dead because in death, he atones for his sins somewhat… — F. Sionil José Death Copy Share Image
“But it really all boils down to this - we don't know them, for all our sincerity, our good intentions. We don't… — F. Sionil José Good intentions Copy Share Image
“While violence is necessary, it is not the only instrument for change. There are others just as good. But you must accept… — F. Sionil José Copy Share Image
Self-respect, the value of 'face,' is universal but is most pronounced in China, then in Japan where the Confucian ethic is most… — F. Sionil Jose China Copy Share Image
For decades, as literary editor, I have followed the growth of our creative writing in English. In my Solidaridad Bookshop, half of… — F. Sionil Jose Books Copy Share Image
In the visual arts, particularly painting, I distrust all those abstractions, those artificial constructions. I have a very simple way of judging… — F. Sionil Jose Abstraction Copy Share Image
All dictators, the rich and famous, to the lowest security guard who holds a gun, easily forget that power is transitory. — F. Sionil Jose Cybersecurity Copy Share Image
I was born in an Ilokano village called Cabugawan. Most of the houses in it were roofed with thatch, pan-aw, a species… — F. Sionil Jose Copy Share Image
The Japanese covet important symbols - their heroic past as enshrined in Yasukuni, the Imperial family which has never been sullied by… — F. Sionil Jose Copy Share Image
“There is a great promise for our cultural growth, but this promise is achieved only when our artists recognize that all great… — F. Sionil Jose Art Copy Share Image
In the '50s, I was traveling alone all over Mindanao, Basilan, all the way to Tawi-Tawi with just a camera and a… — F. Sionil Jose Alone Copy Share Image
“So honesty then and service are rewarded by banishment and people sell themselves without so much ado because they have no beliefs--only… — F. Sionil José Banishment Copy Share Image
“I did not hesitate to tell them that I not only had the authority of facts, but that it was my conviction… — F. Sionil José Conviction Copy Share Image
Life is always sad. That's what makes suicide so tempting because life is all that we really have and haven't. Death makes… — F. Sionil José Death Copy Share Image
