IN HONOR OF FILIPINO WRITER, LINDA TY-CASPER

Today, I'm honoring LINDA TY-CASPER, a Filipino writer of over fifteen books.

I've had the privilege of knowing Linda and have enjoyed her generosity in writing Introductions and blurbs for my book projects. She is the quintessential "lady" - quiet, well-mannered, and with a keen mind.  

She was born as Belinda Ty in Malabon, Philippines in 1931. Her father worked in the Philippine National Railways; her mother was a school teacher. It was her grandmother who told her stories about the Philippine struggle for independence, a topic she picked up in her novels. She has law degrees from the University of the Philippines and Harvard. However, erroneous and biased statements in books at Widener Library converted her into an advocate, through faithfully researched historical fiction, of Filipino's right to self-definition/determination.

Her numerous books are generally historical fiction. The Peninsulares centers on eighteenth-century Manila; The Three-Cornered Sun written on a Radcliffe Institute grant, deals with the 1896 Revolution; and Ten Thousand Seeds, the start of the Philippine American War. Contemporary events, including martial law years, appear in Dread Empire, Hazards of Distance, Fortress in the Plaza, Awaiting Trespass, Wings of Stone, A Small Party in a Garden, and DreamEden.

Her stories, collected in Transparent Sun, The Secret Runner, and Common Continent, originally appeared in magazines such as Antioch Review, The Asia Magazine, Windsor Review, Hawaii Review, and Triquarterly. One was included in The Best American Short Stories of 1987 Honor Roll.

She has held grants from the Djerassi Foundation, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the Wheatland Foundation. She and her husband, (literary critic and professor emeritus of Boston College) Leonard Casper, reside in Massachusetts. They have two daughters.

Educational Background:

            University of the Philippines (1949-1955)

Harvard Law (1956-57), Silliman (1963)

Radcliffe Institute (1974-75)

Publication History:

            Books Published:

The Transparent Sun (short stories), Peso Books, 1963

The Peninsulars (historical novel), Bookmark, 1964

The Secret Runner (short stories), Florentino/National Book, 1974
The Three-Cornered Sun (historical novel), New Day, 1979
 Dread Empire (novella), Heinemann, Hong Kong, 1980
 Hazards of Distance (novella), New Day, 1981

 Fortress in the Plaza (novella), New Day, 1985

 Awaiting Trespass (novella), Readers International, London, 1985
Top 5 Women's Fiction Choice, 1986 UK Feminist Book Fortnight.
 Wings of Stone (novella), Readers International, London, 1986
 Ten Thousand Seeds (historical novel), Ateneo, 1987  

A Small Party in a Garden (novella), New Day, 1988; Kindle & Nook, 2012

Common Continent (short stories), Ateneo, 1991
  Kulasyon: Uninterrupted Vigils (collected first chapters), Giraffe Books, Quezon City, 1995

 DreamEden (historical novel), Ateneo, 1996/University of  Washington Press, 1997 

Awards/Honors Received:

Djerassi 1984 
Filipino-American Women Network Award for Literature 1985
Top 5 Women's Fiction, Feminist Network, London  1986
Massachusetts Artists Foundation  1988
Wheatland 1990
UNESCO/P.E.N. Short Story  1993.
SEAWrite Award, Bangkok  1993.
Bellagio 1994

Employment History:

UNESCO Philippine Commission 1956


External Links re Linda Ty-Casper:

http://www.literaryhistory.com/20thC/Groups/Ty_Casper.htm 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Ty_Casper

http://bostonreview.net/BR18.1/casper.html

http://www.umich-cseas.org/eventsandnews/abstracts/ty-casper/CasperAbstract.htm

 http://www.palhbooks.com/Linda.htm

http://www.answers.com/topic/linda-ty-casper

Tags: literature, Philippines, Philippine, Philippine American, Filipina, author, writer, novelist, books