Loler Polipol

Federico Licsi-Espino was born on April 10, 1939 in Pasig, Rizal. He was editor of seven college publications, an occupation that started his writing career. He won a prize in a poetry contest sponsored by the Institute of National Language. He has published two volumes of poetry. In “Apocalypse in Ward 19” the tension “lies in the conflict between the poet-artist against the man-sufferer. A prolific writer in Pilipino, English and Spanish. Perhaps, no other writer can match the number of plaques and awards he has received since he started joining literary contest – the Free Press , Palanca, Graphic, the Institute of National Language’s Timpala Balagtas, etc. This year, he intends to participate in a contest in Spain. Poet, essayist , fictionist and playwright , Espino disdains employment; he devotes his time to writing; he is a professional man of letters. Little surprised , he is still a bachelor. Espino is a LittB graduate of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. He is a native of Pasig, the capital of Rizal province. ederico Espino Licsi is a poet from Pasig who is considered as the most prolific literary artists in Tagalog.

A number of his short stories, essays and poems have won prizes. He won first prize in the poetry contest in Tagalog, sponsored by the Institute of National Language, of the Department of Education and Culture in 1967. He was also a contributor of some weekly magazines such as the Free Press and Liwayway. The National Pres Club cited him as “Most brilliant poet in Tagalog” in 1970. Also a proficient in English, he has written literary works in the language. His first collection of bilingual verses, Ave en Jaula Lirica (Bird in a Lyric Cage) was published in 1970. The collections of his poemsCaras y Caretas de Amor Filipino (Faaces and Guises of Filipino Love) and Latigazos de Luz (Flagellations of Light) appeared in 1974. He won several times in Palanca Literary Contest and a Premio Zobel awardee of 1978.

Awards
Some of the numerous awards he received:
* first prize in English Poetry, 1969
* third prize in English Poetry, 1971
* third prize in English Drama, 1972
* third prize in English Short Story, 1971
* first prize in a contest sponsored by a weekly magazine Philippine Graphic
* third place in the Third Biennial Ramon de Basterra Poetry Contest for his fourth collection, Tambor de Sangre (Drum of Blood) in 1977