ABS-CBN News: UST poet Ophelia Dimalanta dies, 76

MANILA, Philippines - Ophelia Alcantara-Dimalanta, one of the country's premiere women poets, died of a stroke on Thursday. She was 76.

Born June 16, 1934, Dimalanta finished her undergraduate and post-graduate studies in literature in the University of Santo Tomas. She started teaching in 1953 and became dean of the UST Faculty Arts and Letters in the 1990’s.

Dimalanta published three books : Anthology of Philippine Contemporary Literature, Readings from Contemporary English and American Literature, and The Philippine Poetic; and a collection of poems, Montage, which won the Iowa State University best poetry award(1969), and first prize in the Palanca Memorial awards for literature(1974).

She received numerous honors for her work, including the prestigious South East Asian or SEA Write Award in 1999, the Catholic Authors Award in 1995, and The Outstanding Thomasian Alumni Award in 2002. She was named UST's writer-in-residence last year. With a report from Kalaine Nikka Kay C. Grafil, UST Varsitarian