The Ateneo University Press celebrates Dr Soledad S Reyes' literary legacy

The Ateneo de Manila University Press offers its sincerest congratulations to a prolific and illustrious writer and translator, Soledad S Reyes, for being chosen as one of the awardees of the 2025 Traditional University Awards, which recognize the life and works of outstanding individuals in their chosen fields who embody the values of the university. She will be conferred the Gawad Tanglaw ng Lahi Award "for her pioneering and groundbreaking work in Filipino literary criticism, cultural history, and scholarship." 

Dr Reyes is a literary scholar, literary and art critic, author, anthologist, consultant, professor, instructor, editor, annotator, researcher, and essayist. She also co-founded the Ateneo Library of Women’s Writings (ALIWW) with Dr Edna Manlapaz. Her work spotlights underappreciated Filipino novels, as well as Filipino women writers who have been silenced by time and forgetfulness. As an expert in Philippine popular culture and arts, Dr Reyes has provided in-depth examinations of our cultural expressions and behaviors. Her insights and interpretations hold a microscope to society of the past and present, allowing us to understand ourselves with greater clarity. She is indeed, a literary heavyweight in her own right, and the Ateneo University Press is proud to have her as one of our most prolific authors.

We believe there is no better way to celebrate her illustrious career and achievements than to bring attention to the outstanding work she has devoted her life to. Here are the books she has published with the Ateneo University Press, as a writer, editor and translator. These works range from her seminal scholarly works of literary criticism to her English translations of Tagalog classics.

Nobelang Tagalog, 1905–1975: Tradisyon at Modernismo (Bagong Edisyon) by Soledad S Reyes

With the use of a historical perspective, Nobelang Tagalog traces the development of the Tagalog novel in the first 70 years of the 20th century. By analyzing approximately 300 books, the book contextualizes the cultural and societal forces that drove the changes in the writing of the genre in the country. First published in 1982 and winner of the National Book Award in Literary Criticism, this new edition reintroduces Dr. Soledad Reyes' pioneering scholarship which opened the door for literary analysis from a historical and societal perspective. This edition contains a new introduction by the author.

Grab your copy in paperback: Website | Shopee and Lazada

I Am a Voice by Genoveva Edroza-Matute, edited by Soledad S Reyes

First published in 1952, Ako’y Isang Tinig introduced a distinct voice in the postwar Tagalog literary landscape. Edroza-Matute doesn’t waste her words. Each one is deftly used to move her narratives forward. She refrains from moralizing or displaying over-the-top emotion. She focuses on the characters’ experiences—how they feel and see the world with their limited and flawed perceptions, emphasizing the nuances in their humanity. Through Dr. Reyes’s translation, these carefully crafted stories are given new life for a modern audience.

Get your copy in paperback: Website | Shopee and Lazada

Love without a Heart by Iñigo Ed. Regalado, edited by Soledad S Reyes

Translated for the first in English, this Tagalog classic is set during the American colonial period, where teenage Sela falls for the charms of poet and journalist Fidel. It is revealed later on that he is betrothed to another woman. With her reputation in ruins, Sela goes on a long and arduous journey to find and reclaim her power in a patriarchal society. Sela and the other women characters provide glimpses into the complex lives of marginalized women of the time. 

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The Ravaged World: Short Fiction of Rosario de Guzman-Lingat, translated by Soledad S Reyes

Rosario de Guzman-Lingat doesn’t shy away from writing about the horrors of history that have wounded ordinary Filipinos. A weary war veteran watches young activists fight for freedom, a fight that he too once fought. A young boy faces real-life monsters: neglect, abuse, and poverty. Through her stories, Lingat dares readers to meet the eyes of ugly truths. Dr. Reyes’s translation of her work amplifies these truths so that they may never be forgotten.

Get your copy in paperback: Website | Lazada and Shopee

The Locked Door and Other Stories by Rosario de Guzman-Lingat, translated by Soledad S Reyes

Dr Reyes selected and translated the short stories of Rosario de Guzman-Lingat into a collection as they explore with nuance and sensitivity the complexities of the female experience through various points in Philippine history. They spotlight the resilience of the woman protagonists who grapple with an unjust system as it seeks to break their spirits. Still, they refuse to surrender and instead persevere to make sense of their lives despite the difficulties. 

Canal de la Reina: A Novel by Liwayway Arceo, translated by Soledad S Reyes

Canal de la Reina delves into the battle between the fictional De Los Angeles and Marciel families, a battle not fought with fists but with lies and manipulation. Their power struggle intensifies when the land they both stake claim to is devastated by a flood. Dr Reyes’s translation emphasizes the turmoil wrought by the social issues of the time, ones that seem to bleed into the present day.

The Last Timawa: A Novel by Servando de los Angeles, translated by Soledad S Reyes

The Last Timawa offers an interpretation of the Filipino experience under American colonial rule. It deftly and unambiguously deployed the term “timawa” to refer to the oppressed and the need to emulate the ideals of the nation’s heroes, through a collective effort, to liberate themselves from slavery and tyranny. The novel asserts that history is always in flux, to be lived through and completed by the people themselves. 

Timawa: A Novel by AC Fabian, translated by Soledad S Reyes

Timawa is a classic Tagalog novel that details the ills of society—the evils of racism, the alluring but ultimately fatal power of the “American Dream,” the burden of being poor in a conservative society, the disasterous effects of war where a small country was caught in the battle among giants, the brutality and violence wrapping themselves up around us, the dogged resistance to change—that still resonate in the contemporary world. 

Rosario de Guzman Lingat (1924-1997): The Burden of Self and History

Rosario de Guzman Lingat is one of the major figures in Tagalog literature. A pioneer in her own right, she and her work would have long been forgotten if not for the research and analysis of Dr Soledad Reyes, who has made great efforts to elevate popular Tagalog serial fiction to the realm of scholarship. This book weaves together the pieces of Lingat's life to give contemporary readers a more intimate portrait of a women and a writer ahead of her time, but also singularly of her time.

Reading Horacio de la Costa SJ: Views from the 21st Century, edited by Soledad S Reyes

Explored within this book is the legacy of Jesuit historian and humanist Horacio de la Costa through the essays of various scholars who were inspired and forever changed by his work. 

Pagbasa ng Panitikan at Kulturang Popular, Piling Sanaysay, 1976-1996 by Soledad S Reyes

This book consists of 28 essays written over 20 years. It seeks to impart to educators and students the different perspectives and ways one can understand the forms of literature and popular culture. 

Glimpses into my beginnings by Roque J Ferriols SJ, translated by Soledad S Reyes, edited by Leovino Ma Garcia 

Fr Roque J Ferriols SJ, was a pioneer in the field of Filipino philosophy. Rendering Fr. Ferriols’s narrative with immense care, Dr Reyes allows the reader into the life of this beloved educator and philosopher who sought to teach his fellow Filipinos to appraise the world with profound simplicity. 

Once again, we congratulate Dr Reyes for her achievements, and we celebrate her steadfast commitment to the development of Filipino literary criticism, cultural history, and scholarship. She continues to be one of the literary greats, and her legacy will live on in her work.