Gilda Cordero-Fernando passed away on August 27, 2020. To honor her, I am reprinting her story, The Eye of the Needle, which is part of the collection Growing Up Filipino: Stories for Young Adults (ed Cecilia Brainard, published by PALH, 2003). Reprinted by permission of PALH.
Please read "Literary Luminary and Cultural Icon Gild Cordero-Fernando Dies at 90".
Following is the excerpt with her story from the anthology.
GILDA CORDERO-FERNANDO
Gilda Cordero-Fernando was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. She received her B.A. and B.S. in Education from St. Theresa’s College; and her M.A. from the Ateneo Graduate School. She wrote short fiction in her "early housewife" years, from 1952-1970, then put it behind her to go into non-fiction and publishing. Her most recent collection is entitled Story Collection (Anvil 1994). As publisher, Gilda trailblazed with big and beautiful illustrated Filipiniana volumes such as Turn of the Century, Culinary Culture of the Philippines, and History of the Burgis. She was the Patnubay ng Sining awardee for literature in the 1993 Araw ng Maynila, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines' Gawad awarded for literature and publishing in 1994. She has also produced children's books; she has painted; she has organized fashion shows ― Gilda's ways for artistic expression have been boundless.