Max Soliven, 77

The journalistic career of Max Soliven marked a special era in column writing. With a few still holding on in the national papers, Amando Doronila and Juan Mercado of Inquirer, Adrian Cristobal of Manila Bulletin, and Emil Jurado of Manila Standard the era is slowly fading away.

We can only bask in its afterglow.

This is the era when column writing has been more of an art than just reporting simple events or dishing out lousy columns that lack the depth of the facts, the penetration of issues and an analytical conclusion.

This has been the era of world class opinion writers, like I.P. Soliongco, Ernie Granada, J.V. Cruz, Doroy Valencia, and Joe Guevarra. They were all effectively hard-hitting that politicians avoided the venom of their ire and the reach of their influence.

But Max Soliven stands out, not only because of his foremost achievement by outliving them all but because his writing, a class in itself, was marked by an elegant language, a prose that was poesy, a wit that stung and an accompanying humor that assuaged the pain.

And most important, reading Soliven one learned something new in literature, history, philosophy, government and general information because of his encyclopedia knowledge about everything.

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The first time I met Max was in Iloilo in the 50s during the national convention of the College Editors Guild where Max stood out because of his eloquence and brilliance.

I cannot forget a picture of him. He was always tucking an encyclopedia.

The last time I talked to Max was just recently where in the DAILY STAR's board meeting, it was decided to have Max as guest of honor in its Silver Jubilee April 12 next year.

He didn't say no nor yes but told me, "It's still far away." And added, "At our age Primo, we don't know if we'll be still around by then." When I complained of his morbid thoughts he said, he was not in the pink of health.

When he asked how was my health, I answered I was okay, then he said, "I envy you." It was lately I learned he underwent major surgeries, carotid, heart bypass, kidney transplant, and others.

We have similarities with Max and the other senior columnists. Ninfa, Rolly, and myself still use the old manual typewriter where, to me, the sound is like music that makes ideas flow freely.

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Whether in public speaking or in writing, in his conversations Max was always entertaining. Years ago he convinced college editors that he had Irish blood, his grand grandfather was "O'Sullivan.

But "salamabit, the Spaniards changed it to Soliven." Max spoke very many languages and fluent in most of them.

He told me his love story 40 years ago when we invited him to speak in the student convocation at La Salle. We were together after fetching him at the airport in the morning, a visit to then Mayor Romeo Guanzon, a tour of the city, a lunch, a speech at La Salle then taking him back to the airport.

I was Manila Times correspondent. He was columnist.

Some three years ago when DAILY STAR received its second award from the Rotary Club of Manila, we were also there for RCM journalism awardees.

It was a kind of a reunion of former awardees, Max and Amando Doronila getting another award to be in the Hall of Fame.

I told Max, "Gilda (Puey Locsin) told me, she stood by you. You did not stand by her." He answered, "No. I did. She did not." Then he asked that he would rather forget "that painful chapter of my life."

Max Soliven is gone. But the era that he lived in is the golden era of column writing. In whatever paper he wrote his avid readers always followed him.

The Philippine Star in the cargo manifest of the airlines ships daily to Negros Occidental more copies than the other national papers. Can it maintain its circulation without Max?

Columns are the things that sell the papers. News items are the same. Columns have varied ideas. True. When we left The Visayan Times and opened DAILY STAR, the former folded up.

I quote for Max the immortal lines of Horatio uttered on the death of Hamlet which Jose Rizal in "El Filibusterismo" patterned the laments of Padre Florentino over the dying Simon.

Said his friend Horatio when Hamlet breathed his last: "Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, Sweet Prince. May the flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."

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Congratulations to the two government colleges here, Bacolod City College which, though founded less than 10 years ago, scored impressively in the board exams for teachers.

And also to Carlos Hilado Memorial State College, chosen by the department of education for the training of teachers in science and math.

I am a board of trustees member of BCC but missed the dinner for the board passers at Sugarland Hotel last Friday. It will reap more laurels as the training ground for teachers.

At CHMSC where I also served in its board of trustees for two terms I recall the emphasis the board want was to have a good training ground for science and math. Now, they are bearing fruits.

Government colleges must be better than private colleges and universities.

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My condolence to the bereaved family of lawyer Ben Jochico who died yesterday. He was my secretary in the Negros Press Club last year.*

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