STANDING 59 years at Ermita, Manila, Solidaridad Bookshop, owned by the late National Artist for Literature F. Sionil José, is now on sale.
Reported by the official publication of the University of Santo Tomas, The Varsitarian, the eldest of José, Antonio “Tonet” José, had confirmed the sale of the bookstore. “Yes, we are selling it,” he said.
“After me, none of my siblings will be able to manage it. We are all getting old,” Antonio said. “My siblings are all abroad; it was only I who came back to take care of our parents and manage the bookshop. If I were a lot younger, I would not sell at all.”
Antonio told the Varistarian that they would like whoever buys it to continue the Solidaridad Bookshop.
First opened at 1965, the Solidaridad Bookshop became a “literary saloon” that discuss social and political issues.
The bookstore also served as a headquarter of the Philippine Chapter of the PEN (Poets & Playwrights, Essayists, and Novelists), an organization that the national artist had established in 1957.
Standing 60 years old on July 20, the bookstore still stands at Padre Faura Street in Ermita, Manila, and has been recognized as a cultural and historical landmark for almost six decades.
Known for his Rosales Saga, Francisco Sionil José was named the National Artist for Literature in 2001.
The highest recognition was granted by the Philippine Republic on Filipino artists.
In 2022, the National Artist passed away at the age of 97.
