Mila D. Aguilar (1949 – October 13, 2023) was a Filipina poet, novelist, essayist, activist, educator, website designer, and video documentarian. More broadly, she is also known for her leadership roles in the resistance against the authoritarian regime of Ferdinand Marcos, and the autobiographical novel "The Nine Deaths of M".

Early life and education

Mila D. Aguilar was born in Iloilo in 1949,

Life in the underground

In her poetry anthology "Journey: An Autobiography in Verse (1964-1995)," Aguilar described her writings from 1971 to 1984 as being part of her "red period," because it was a time when she was actively involved in the underground resistance against the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.

She finally joined the underground movement against Marcos in 1971 when Marcos used the Plaza Miranda bombing as a reason to suspend the writ of habeas corpus.

Over the course of the next 13 years, she started out as an ordinary member of the Communist Party of the Philippines assigned as a driver plying the route between Manila and Isabela,

Resignation from the CPP

Aguilar resigned from the Communist Party of the Philippines after the 1983 assassination of Ninoy Aquino. She had written a leaflet expressing sympathy for Aquino which the Central Committee rejected, and Aguilar resigned because of the disagreement.

Aguilar was held in solitary confinement as a political detainee at Camp Crame, where she was subjected to psychological, mental, emotional, and sexual abuse.

Acknowledging that part of her life which began with her conversion marked a final chapter rather than a mere phase, she later labelled her literary works from this time as simply "period" in contrast to the previous "blue", "red", and "purple" periods.

Death

On October 13, 2023, Aguilar died at the age of 74.

Works

As a poet, she has written about 400 poems in English, Filipino, and Ilonggo, about 125 of which are in Journey: An Autobiography in Verse (1964-1995), a collection published by the University of the Philippines Press in 1996. The poems in this collection were culled from six books printed in Manila, San Francisco, and New York City between the years 1974 and 1987 (including A Comrade is as Precious as a Rice Seedling), as well as from her writing in subsequent years up to 1995. Chronicle of a Life Foretold: 101 Poems (1995-2005) was published in 2012 by Popular Bookstore, and two more collections Poetry as Prophecy (2005-2013), and an untitled book, remain unpublished.

  • Dare to Struggle, Dare to Win! (Manila 1974) using nom de guerre Clarita Roja
  • The Mass Line (A Second Remoulding) (Manila 1977) using nom de guerre Clarita Roja
  • Why Cage Pigeons? (Manila 1984)
  • Pall Hanging over Manila (San Francisco 1984)
  • A Comrade is as Precious as a Rice Seedling (New York 1984, 1985 and 1987; also in Braille, Womyn's Series)
  • Journey: An Autobiography in Verse (1964–1995) (U of the Philippines Press 1996)
  • Chronicle of a Life Foretold: 110 Poems (1995–2004) (Popular Bookstore)
  • The Nine Deaths of M (Kindle 2013)

References

Additional reading

  • Josephine Bass Serrano, Trinidad Maño Ames, A Survey of Filipino Literature in English, Phoenix Publishing House, 1988
  • Philippine Studies, Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2005
  • Zapanta-Manlapaz, Filipino Women Writers in English: Their Story, 1905-2002, Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2003
  • Wall Tappings: An International Anthology of Women's Prison Writings, 200 to the Present. 2nd ed. Judith A. Scheffler, ed. New York: The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 2002. (“Haikus in Solitary Confinement,” “Prison,” “As the Dust,” “Lizard in Bicutan,” “Pigeons for my Son,” “Freed Pigeon I Shall Be,” pp 22–27, with introduction to the poet.)
  • Cultural Center of the Philippines' Encyclopedia of the Arts
  • http://mda.ph