KAGAY-ANON Jaime An Lim has added yet another prize to his growing list of literary achievements.
Lim’s poem, The Small Bright Things, was awarded second prize for poetry written for children during the 66th Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in Manila Monday, September 5.
Jaime An Lim was born in Cagayan de Oro City in January 7, 1946. He received his Bachelor of Arts in English degree cum laude from Mindanao State University in 1968.
His literary works, which comprise mostly of poems, novels, essays, and short fiction, are commonly known to narrate and represent Filipino life and culture in the midst of globalization and the effects of foreign cultures which are slowly creeping in the Philippine society.
His renowned masterpiece and most famous work, the "Axiolotl Colony", was also awarded a first place award for short story in the Palanca awards of 1993.
The story narrated the conflicts of a Filipino academic who just recently migrated to the United States. The relates the struggles of the protagonist, Tom, who had to deal with culture shock and later, depression as he slowly realized the vast differences between Filipino and American cultures.
Jaime An Lim had a colorful career in the literary arts. Four years after he graduated from college, he immediately became a writing fellow at the Silliman National Writers Workshop and then in the UP Writers Workshop a year later.
In 1973, Lim started his career writing for publications such as the Philippine Free Press, Focus, and Panorama.
Before this most recent recognition, Lim also garnered prizes from the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards through the years. Some of his awards are his short story "The Liberation of Mrs. Fidele Magsilang" for fiction in English in 1973, his essay collection "The Changing of the Guard" in 1989, and his poem "Yasmin" in 1990. Aside from these he was also given awards in international literary workshops and contests.
For his outstanding achievement in fiction and poetry, he was awarded the 2000 Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas by the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas.
At 70, Lim recently retired as a professor of English from the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) where he organized the Mindanao Creative Writers Group, Inc., and founded the Iligan National Writers Workshop.
Lim is presently the Dean of the Institute of Arts and Sciences of Far Eastern University in Manila.