Renowned writer Danilo Francisco “DM” Reyes has been appointed as the director-in-residence for the upcoming 62nd National Writers Workshop in Dumaguete City. The appointment follows the recommendation of the advisory board of the Edilberto and Edith Tiempo Creative Writing Center, and the endorsement of administration officials of Silliman University where the Center is located.
D. M. Reyes, a distinguished scholar and educator, was awarded the prestigious Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas for Poetry in English by the Unyon ng Mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL) in April 2023. This esteemed honor is a testament to Reyes’ exceptional contributions in the field of literature and creative writing.
A graduate of Ateneo de Manila University with a Bachelor of Arts in Literature (English) in 1989 and a Master of Arts in Literature (English) in 1995, Reyes is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Creative Writing at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
An accomplished academic and cultural advocate, Reyes curated the Centennial Exhibit on National Artist Edith Tiempo for the Cultural Center of the Philippines in April 2019. His commitment to fostering intellectual exchange extends globally, having served as Representative Fellow to the Executive Committee of the Asian Public Intellectuals Program in November 2007.
Recognized for his scholarly pursuits, D. M. Reyes received the ASIA Fellows Awards, an Asian Scholarship Foundation Research Fellowship in Thailand from The Ford Foundation in May 2006. Prior to this, in 2003, he was named Junior Fellow for the Asian Public Intellectuals Fellowship Program of the Nippon Foundation, enabling him to do extensive cultural research in Indonesia and Thailand.
His dedication to academia is further exemplified by his teaching roles, including positions as assistant professor at Ateneo de Manila University from 1989 to his early retirement in 2023. Currently, he serves as Professorial Lecturer at the University of the Philippines Diliman in the Department of English and Comparative Literature and the Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature.
In addition to previous administrative responsibilities, D. M. Reyes also taught Literature and Southeast Asian Studies as visiting professor at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand and at Universitas Sanata Dharma in Indonesia. He also served as Editor-at-Large for the Asian Scholarship Foundation Newsletter of the ASIA Fellows Awards Program in Bangkok, Thailand.
He has consistently demonstrated his commitment to fostering cultural and intellectual exchange, including joining the Honor’s List for Translation of the International Book Board for Young People (IBBY) in 2001. More importantly, he continues to serve as periodic panel critic in the annual Silliman University National Writers Workshop from 1997 to the present.
D. M. Reyes continues to inspire and shape the future of literature with his remarkable accomplishments in creative writing and in academe. | NWI
