Antonio Reyes Enriquez is the author of several books of short stories and novels.Heq was born in Barangay Labuan, Zamboanga city in 1936. He was educated at a local Jesuit school in Zamboanga. His parents wanted him to study medicine and sent him to a university in Manila, but after several years, he returned to Zamboanga City without a college degree. Enriquez later did various jobs like writing a news and other features for various news papers and magazines. He also joined a surveying company in Cotabato where his experience provided him settings and characters for his novel Surveyors of the Liguasan Marsh. Antonio Enriquez won a writing fellowship award which brought him to Siliman University where he graduated with a liberal degree in creative writing.
In 1982 and 1993 Enriquez won the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial grand prize for Literature.The Palanca award is considered as the most prestigious award for literature in the country.
In 1996,Antonio Enriquez was recognized with the Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas Award for Fiction in English by the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL) or Writer’s Union of the Philippinesity where he graduated with a liberal degree in creative writing.
In 1982 and 1993 Enriquez won the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial grand prize for Literature.The Palanca award is considered as the most prestigious award for literature in the country.
In 1996,Antonio Enriquez was recognized with the Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas Award for Fiction in English by the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL) or Writer’s Union of the Philippines
In 2000, Antonio Enriquez was presented by the Thai royal family with the S.E.A Write Award in Bangkok, Thailand. In 2013, The Fr. Eduardo Hontiveros Sj Award for culture and arts was awarded to him by the Ateneo de Zamboanga University.
According to The Chronicle (a newspaper in Australia), this collection of short stories is cast in an unusual setting-the island of Mindana, its principal city of Zamboanga and the rural and coastal areas.
The stories are characterized by the strength of atmosphere, a forceful fluidity of style and a deep perceptiveness as they delineate the various types of people- the simple, humble fishermen with their fears of superstitions, the struggling farmers, the city- bred types with their different problems-all with their loves and hates, ambitions and often bitter memories.
There is love, faithfulness and unfaithfulness, conflict and death in the stories, which have action, colour and commentary on a way of life not different from ours. The author of these often stark tales of the Philippines is himself a Zamboangueño.
The short stories and novels of Antonio Enriquez were published here in the Philippines and abroad. Most of his writings won international acclaims and some of his short stories were translated to German and Korean. Here are some of his works:
Surveyors of the Liuasan marsh – South of the city of Cotabato lies the famed Liguasan marsh, on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. It is probable that the author who worked for a time with a surveying company in the province of Cotabato has taken his material from actual experiences, but the episode in the novel whether whether the or in the hinterland depict less of the charm and hospitality of Zamboanga in particular than of the tensions and frustations of people that part of the world. Strong antagonism is seen between christians and muslims and the novel while not all sentimental reflects the point of view of the christians.
Subanons – Published in 1993 depicts the lives of the Subanons in Mindanao at the height of the government’s military campaign against NPAs. The Subanons are not merely caught in this crossfire; they are singled out as the primary casualties of war. Their days are fraught with a violence against which their only recourse are their values and their gods.
The novel Subanons by Antonio Reyes Enriquez is a fact-based occurring in the Zamboanga Peninsula, Mindanao during the Marcos’ regime. At a surface level, the main theme is to expose the conflicting situation of the Subanons being sandwiched between NPAs demand for revolutionary taxes and the Military’s inhuman and unjust killing of innocent residents of the Zamboanga Peninsula. Other themes could include the tension between solidarity and individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, preservation of cultural and personal values and strong faith in their gods amidst the terror of torture and death.
In the novel, Subanons, adults and children were tortured mercilessly and brutally killed by military with high powered rifles creating holes on helpless bodies. It happened after the brave Datu was executed by the guerillas. Atrocious killings followed after the datu’s nephew was caught with a WWW II grenade vintage which he brought with him to show off to his friends. The boy was made to name names that should be included in the hotlist as rebels. The Mayor of that town ordered the murder of all these people in the list.
Unseen war is collection of short stories, landscaped in Zamboanga peninsula and Maguindanao in the 17th century Spanish colonial days; conflict with religion, tradition and costum and a war fought between spears, arrows and long knives as only war could only be fought between Moro and Christian warriors in the olden days.
For me, the stories that Antonio Enriquez wrote is worth reading . I have learn a lot of things while reading his novels. I personally believe that some of his novels are the keys in understanding the cultures and present events that is happening right now in Mindanao.
THE 21st CENTURY LITERATURE 
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