Gémino Abad
Gémino Henson Abad (born February 5, 1939) is a literary critic from Cebu, Philippines. His family moved to Manila when his father, Antonio Abad, was offered professorships at Far Eastern University and the University of the Philippines. He earned his A.B. English from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1964 "magna cum laude". His MA with honors and Ph.D. in English literature degrees were obtained from the University of Chicago in 1966 and 1970, respectively. He served the University of the Philippines in various capacities: as Secretary of the University, Secretary of the Board of Regents, Vice  President for Academic Affairs and Director of the U.P. Institute of Creative Writing. For many years, he also taught English, comparative literature and creative writing at U.P. Diliman. Abad co-founded the "Philippine Literary Arts Council" (PLAC) which published "Caracoa", a poetry journal in English. His other works include "Fugitive Emphasis" (poems, 1973); "In Another Light" (poems and critical essays, 1976); "A Formal Approach to Lyric Poetry" (critical theory, 1978); "The Space Between" (poems and critical essays, 1985); "Poems and Parables" (1988); "Index to Filipino Poetry in English, 1905-1950" (with Edna Zapanta Manlapaz, 1988) and "State of Play" (letter -essays and parables, 1990). He edited landmark anthologies of Filipino poetry in English, among them "Man of Earth" (1989), "A Native Clearing" (1993) and "A Habit of Shores: Filipino Poetry and Verse from English, ‘60s to the ‘90s" (1999). The UP Diliman has elevated Abad to the rank of "University Professor", the highest academic rank awarded by the university to an exemplary faculty member. He currently sits on the Board of Advisers of the U.P. Institute of Creative Writing and teaches creative writing as "Emeritus University Professor" at the College of Arts and Letters, U.P. Diliman. In 2009, he became  the first Filipino to receive the coveted Premio Feronia in Rome, Italy under the foreign author category. With Ace Palermo..