Nick Joaquin (May 4, 1917-April 29, 2004) is regarded by many as the most distinguished Filipino writer in English, writing so variedly and so well about so many aspects of the Filipino. Joaquin has also enriched the English language with critics coining "Joaquinesque" to describe his baroque Spanish-flavored English or his reinventions of English based on Filipinisms. He has written plays, novels, poetry, short stories and essays including reportage and journalism. As a journalist, he used the nome de guerre Quijano de Manila. Among his works are The Woman Who Had Two Navels, A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino, Manila, My Manila: A History for the Young, The Ballad of the Five Battles, Rizal in Saga, Almanac for Manileños, and Cave and Shadows. He was declared National Artist in 1976. (Agung, March-June 2015)
