“When I was 19, I went to see Ninoy Aquino in his modest office in exile…”
With these words, veteran journalist Howie Severino opens his first book of essays, a collection that brings together personal memories, profiles, and reflections on heroes, newsmakers, artists, activists, colleagues, and other individuals who left an impact on his life and work.
Titled “People I Knew (And Some I Didn’t But Wrote About Them Anyway),” the book began as a series of online tributes to friends and colleagues who had passed away. Rather than simply expressing grief, Severino chose to write about the qualities, experiences, and contributions that made each person worth remembering.
“I didn’t want to just express my sadness, but write about what was worth remembering about them,” Severino said.
The idea of turning these tributes into a book came from writer Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo, then director of the UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies, who encouraged Severino to collect his personal essays and helped arrange a meeting with the UST Publishing House. Severino subsequently revisited his archives and gathered profiles previously published mostly on GMA News Online and GMA Regional TV.
Among the personalities featured are GMA colleagues Mike Enriquez and Cesar Apolinario, as well as former presidents Ninoy Aquino, Cory Aquino, Noynoy Aquino, and Fidel V. Ramos. The collection also includes essays on former senator Letty Shahani, former Commission on Human Rights chair Chito Gascon, and former Foreign Secretary Roberto Romulo, among others.
The book also remembers figures from the arts and entertainment world, including filmmaker Lino Brocka, with whom Severino shared jail time during Martial Law, theater artist Floy Quintos, writer Mario Miclat, painter Jaime de Guzman, and comedian Tado Jimenez.
Some of the book’s subjects are people Severino never personally met but whose lives nevertheless touched his own in unexpected ways. These include legendary actress Nora Aunor, broadcast pioneer Uncle Bob Stewart, basketball icon Kobe Bryant, and former president Ramon Magsaysay. Severino also makes room for ordinary individuals who may not have been famous but whose lives and contributions deserve to be remembered, including a security guard from his former townhouse who biked to work every day.
The collection reflects not only the diversity of its subjects but also the range of Severino’s writing. One chapter is written in Filipino, another takes the form of poetry, while others range from full-length reportage to pieces no longer than a photo caption. Together, they demonstrate the many ways stories can preserve memory and give meaning to the lives of others.
As Severino writes in his introduction, “This collection wasn’t curated according to the importance of the individuals featured, or even my personal affection for them — though I loved many of them dearly. My book simply reflects the various ways one can choose to remember others through words.”
“People I Knew (And Some I Didn’t But Wrote About Them Anyway)” will be launched at the Manila International Book Fair at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay on September 11 at 4 p.m. Book signings will follow the launch, with another signing scheduled on the evening of September 12.
