MANILA, Philippines — Resil B. Mojares, an essayist, fictionist and scholar whose books on Philippine history, literary criticism and cultural studies earned him widespread admiration, as well as the title of National Artist for Literature, died in Cebu City on Saturday morning, a day after his 83rd birthday.
Mojares’ daughter Leigh Go Mojares announced his passing in a Facebook post on Saturday and expressed gratitude that his family “spent his final day honoring and celebrating his life.”
“Papa Resil was a pillar of our family, and although we will miss him dearly every day, we find comfort in knowing that he is now reunited with our dear mother, Sally, who left us in 2022,” she wrote.
The cause of death was not disclosed.
Members of the Philippine writing community paid tributes and voiced gratitude on social media after news of Mojares’ death broke. National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario said in Filipino that the Cebu-based author’s service to the country is “invaluable and cannot be matched by any grief.”
Author and Manila Times columnist Danton Remoto called Mojares’ mind “deep and wide and full of light,” while public historian and fellow columnist Michael Charleston “Xiao” B. Chua said the national artist’s “light will never dim,” even if he was gone.
Poet Merlie Alunan said “many of us took strength from the works of Resil Mojares,” and thanked him “for leading the way,” while fellow poet Aida Santos said “the literary universe lost another brilliant mind.”
Another poet, Michael M. Coroza, wrote in Filipino that “the entire country is mourning over his passing.”
Born to public school teachers in Zamboanga del Norte province on Sept. 4, 1943, Mojares earned his bachelor’s degree in English and master’s degree in literature from the University of San Carlos (USC) in Cebu City in 1964 and 1969, respectively. He finished his doctorate degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1979. He began teaching in 1964 at the USC, from where he retired as professor emeritus.
Mojares wrote several acclaimed books, including “Origins and Rise of the Filipino Novel: A Generic Study of the Novel Until 1940” (1983); “Theater in Society, Society in Theater: Social History of a Cebuano Village, 1840–1940” (1985); “War Against the Americans: Resistance and Collaboration in Cebu: 1899–1906” (1999); “Waiting for Mariang Makiling: Essays in Philippine Cultural History” (2003); “Brains of the Nation: Pedro Paterno, T.H. Pardo de Tavera, Isabelo de los Reyes and the Production of Modern Knowledge” (2008); and “Isabelo’s Archive” (2013). He also collected his personal essays in “House of Memory: Essays” (1997).
For these and his other contributions to Philippine literature, history and scholarship, Mojares was named National Artist for Literature by then-president Rodrigo Duterte in 2018.
Besides Leigh, Mojares is also survived by his other children Kim Carmel, Mark Soren, and Ressa Gail; daughter-in-law Therry and son-in-law James; and grandchildren Margaret Alexi, Maxine Therese, Micah Kathryn, Jamie Madeline, and Chloe Jeremy.
Details of Mojares’ wake and memorial service are expected to be announced later.