Sulpicio Osório


Sulpicio Selerio Osório was a Filipino editor, poet, and writer of fiction and essay in Cebuano language.

Personal life

Osório was born in Dalaguete, Cebu, Philippines on January 17, 1898 to parents, Estanislao Osório and Hilaria Selerio. His cousin is poet and novelist Amando Osorio. Sulpicio attended Cebu Normal University, and Philippine Normal College in Manila where he didn't finish his teaching degree. He once served as secretary of the municipality of Dalaguete.

Writing

A prolific novelist and one of the early short story writers in Cebuano in the pre-World War II period, Osório used the pen names Biyan Torinoy and Sulposor. His first articles saw print in 1918 and he was actively publishing his novels, short stories, and essays well into 1920s and 1930s in various prewar Cebuano periodicals including Vicente Rama's Bag-ong Kusog. At one time, he had four serialized novels running simultaneously.
He became an editor for the periodical El Democrata in 1921.
His best known novel was Mga Bungsod nga Gipangguba which when printed in 1929 caused a stir for its anti-clerical theme and earned the Catholic Church's ire. Similar to the works of his contemporaries, the novel was characterized as heavily influenced by the 19th century European realism and naturalism and the 20th century American realistic fiction. His later works featured romance and melodrama such as Carlito ug Amparing that was published in 1947 and the trilogy: Sa Kinahitas-an sa Panganud in 1928, Sa Kinahiladman sa Dagat in 1931, and Sa Kayutaan ni Konpusyo in 1932.
He died on March 26, 1970.

Works

Cebuano Studies Center of the University of San Carlos compiled a list of his works that were printed in ''Bag-ong Kusog.''

Historical commemoration