In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 22 April 1919
- Died
- 21 August 2011
- Birthplace
- Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
- Country
- Philippines
- Nationality
- Not independently established
- Known for
- Writing and the Silliman workshop
- Forms of work
- Poetry, fiction, criticism and teaching
- Institutional legacy
- Silliman National Writers Workshop
Why this life matters
Her career brings individual writing and sustained literary education into the same account. The work of a teacher continues through other writers without becoming sole authorship of their achievements.
Timeline
Key moments
A shared workshop
Established with Edilberto K. Tiempo.
The Builder
Listed in the institutional bibliography.
Death and remembrance
Died on 21 August.
A writing life in several forms
Tiempo was born in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, on 22 April 1919. Silliman’s founders’ account presents her as a poet, fiction writer, teacher and critic. Its publication list dates Abide, Joshua, and Other Stories to 1964 and The Tracks of Babylon and Other Poems to 1966.
Sources for this section: [1]
Writing with a community of learners
With her husband, Edilberto K. Tiempo, she founded the Silliman National Writers Workshop. In his tribute, university president Ben S. Malayang III remembered her care for students and the writers she helped to nurture.
The founders’ account describes the couple’s connection with Iowa and the workshop’s development in Dumaguete.
Malayang placed the teaching relationship at the centre of his remembrance. He described her concern for students and aspiring writers, and remembered her as a daughter, mother, mentor and friend within the university community.
Later books and continuing work
The same bibliography lists the novels A Blade of Fern, His Native Coast, The Alien Corn and One, Tilting Leaves, followed by The Builder in 2003. The Charmer’s Box and Other Poems extends the record of her poetry.
The range matters more than a single title used to stand for an entire career. Fiction, poetry, criticism and teaching provided different settings in which the craft of writing could develop.
Sources for this section: [1]
Remembrance and a continuing institution
Tiempo died at the Silliman University Medical Center on 21 August 2011. The following day’s presidential statement honoured both her literary work and her relationship with the university community.
A later call for the workshop’s sixty-third season offered ten fellowships, with a submission deadline of 31 January 2025. It documents an institution continuing beyond her lifetime.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about Edith Tiempo
- Did she work only in poetry?
- Her writing also included fiction and criticism.
- Was the workshop her work alone?
- The institutional tribute credits Edith and Edilberto K. Tiempo together.
Keep exploring
Lives connected to this story
- José García Villa
Compare another Philippine career in English-language poetry and prose.
- Lualhati Bautista
Compare a different route through fiction and the preservation of a writer’s life.
Sources and further reading
Explore the evidence
These references support the biography and offer further reading. Official records, first-person accounts and independent reporting provide different perspectives; image records document attribution and licensing.
- 1. Silliman UniversityFounders
Read both founder entries, which adapt NCCA material. The Edilberto entry says 1962. Listed book dates are not verified first-edition histories.
- 2. Silliman UniversityWhen Stars Twinkle
Read the dated president’s tribute. It says the workshop began in 1961. The timeline retains a broader period; memorial praise remains attributed.
- 3. Silliman University63rd National Writers Workshop Call
Read the indexed call. Its linked application was inaccessible, so no submission rules or uninterrupted annual series is inferred.
