The Chieftest Mourner

by Aida Rivera Ford

I.

About the Author

Aida Rivera-Ford was born in Jolo, Sulu. She became the editor of the first
two issues of Sands and Coral, the literary magazine of Silliman University. In
1949, she graduated with an AB degree, major in English, cum laude. In 1954,
she obtained an MA in English Language and Literature at the University of
Michigan and won the prestigious Jules and Avery Hopwood for fiction. She
taught at the University of Mindanao and Ateneo de Davao University where she
was the Humanities Division Chairperson for 11 years. In 1980, she founded the
first school of Fine Arts in Mindanao the Learning Center of the Arts, now known
as the Ford Academy of the Arts. In 1982, the city of Davao recognized her
contributions to culture and the arts through Datu Bago Award. In 1984, she was
an awardee in the Phil. Government Parangal for Writers of the post-war years. In
1991, she was a Gawad CCP awardee for the essay in English. In 1993, she was
the recipient of Outstanding Sillimanian Award for her contributions to literary
arts and culture. In 1993, the UP ICW named her National Fellow for Fiction. She
became the director of two NCCA Mindanao-wide Creative Writing Workshops
and two UP National Writers Workshops. As of 1997, she was the president of the
Mindanao Foundation for Culture and the Arts.

II.

Characters and description

POET Husband of Sophia; had a mistress named Esa; who passed away.
SOPHIA the wife of the poet.
NARRATOR niece of the poet and Sophia.
ESA the one who claims to be The Chieftest Mourner of the story.

III.

Setting
It predominant in a sense that it all happen in the wake that all of the
actions and emotions of the characters.

IV.

Summary

V.

Reaction/reflection