Canticles for Dark Lovers

by Wilfrido D. Nolledo, Blanca Nolledo (Foreword)

“Soon the sun would warm the chill, the water would melt into tears, and the flesh would heal and the heart remember, for in the sunlight that walked in the rain, something had happened: for it had been a night of lovers.”

SOMETHING HAD HAPPENED: FOR IT HAD BEEN A NIGHT OF LOVERS.

A lover knifing another in defense and then defiance, the price of a daughter’s filial love, letters read aloud, a body draped in blood holding a spotless veil, a straitlaced salaryman overcharged for a recording of his son’s voice, infatuation at a teaspoon of sugar, long-distance space texting, and yet again a woman singing at the dreamlike edge between a man’s breath and the next.

By turns grisly and tender, Canticles for Dark Lovers presents sixteen short stories, initially published from 1955 to 1971, by Wilfrido D. Nolledo. The past devours the present in this new collection, which includes an early version of Nolledo’s novel But for the Lovers (“Of Things Guadalupe”); his most awarded short stories (“Rice Wine,” “Adios, Ossimandas,” and “Kayumanggi, Mon Amour”); and previously uncollected writing that illustrates the breadth of his repertoire (“Guernica and the Blue Star,” “For Alonzo, Among the Alfalfa,” and “Moratorium Est Finie”).

Blanca D. Nolledo says of her late husband in a new foreword, “Wilfrido . . . would probably prefer being remembered as a writer who echoed truths in life for all seasons, for all generations of writers.”

Genres: Classics

348 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2026

About the author

Filipino-American fictionist, playwright, essayist, and editor was once referred to by Nick Joaquin, Philippine National Artist, as a "young magus" who turned the Philippine war experience into a poem, referring to "But For the Lovers," the novel that brought Nolledo to the attention of publisher, E.B. Hutton.

In 1965, he was a Fulbright scholar at Iowa Writers Workshop; from then on, he was at the University of Iowa on various scholarship grants and served as the literary editor of the Iowa Review.

Nolledo led an enriching literary career, producing works that won prizes and awards. Among them were: the National Cultural Award for Drama from the City of Manila, National Award for Drama from the Writers’ Union of the Philippines, and the Roman Grand Prize for Novel. He also garnered a Great Filipino Achiever Award from the U.S.-Philippine Expo ’94 “for distinguished career in literary writing, for the pride he has bestowed on the Filipino people through the recognition given him by…American publishers and readers.” He was recognized in 2001 by his own school (San Beda University) with the Bedan of the Century trophy for lifetime achievement in literature.

His other works have been included in several American quarterlies and magazines (aside from Philippine publications). They can also be found in different fiction anthologies.

Reviews

[Chino · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a certain sweet spot with Wilfredo Nolledo, where his prose and plot are lyrical and sophisticated, but yet to become too convoluted and incomprehensible.

As stories in this collection went on, I found them to be less gripping and intentional. Ultimately, the last short stories ended up being an end akin to a whimper rather than a bang.

But I maintain my five-star rating despite this. Nolledo can definitely write his heart out, and the earliest stories in this collection are testaments to that.

Proud to have shared a nationality with a wordsmith such as Wilfredo Nolledo. I hope more of our countrymen, and the rest of the world, get to experience his brilliance.

[kyra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Canticles for Dark Lovers is a collection of 16 short stories anchoring on the many ways love manifests in human life. Well 17, if you include the beautifully written foreword which depicts how deeply ingrained writing was to Nolledo’s daily life and interactions.

Nolledo’s prose is challenging, but it’s a welcome challenge especially to those who prefer to sit with their thoughts, extract meaning behind text, and consume language in a way that’s different from our everyday use. It will force you to simmer with what you read, make you want to hold discussions, and encourage you to find companion texts to broaden your understanding.

I find that his work ages like fine wine – the message hits deeper as the details linger longer. If you’re interested to dive into Nolledo’s works, I highly recommend that you begin with his short stories. While they remain poetic and complex, they’re presented in varying degrees, making some stories easier to digest than the others. Upon completion, you’ll find that the overall experience of reading Nolledo’s work has helped you, one way or another, to evolve as a reader.

[Gabriela Francisco · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Nolledo is Joaquinesque in the baroque structure of sentences never simple, yet always, always beautiful. And the subject does not matter: even the stench of all the sins of wartime Manila is masked in the perfume of Nolledo’s prose, wordsmith-poet unraveling narratives one bejeweled syllable at a time."

Read the rest of the review at this link:

https://exlibrisphilippines.com/2026/...

[Nino Louis Belarma · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Old enough to die, but not old enough to love.”

Canticles for Dark Lovers by Wilfrido Nolledo is a collection that feels oddly personal.

My favorite story being “In Caress of Beloved Faces.” Beyond its romantic tone, it felt personally meaningful to me, especially as someone who has been in a relationship for nine years. I admired how Nolledo expressed both love and pain. Although I don’t usually consider myself a romantic, this passage stood out to me:

“I would linger longer in the campus just to see you and your eyes. Although you never looked, I knew you always saw me. Isn’t that vain? And for you I would imagine all kinds of trouble…”

Also, as someone who has always been drawn to history, especially war stories shaped by growing up in a military family, I found myself captivated by the stories rooted in wartime experiences as well as his anti-war undertones. In “Adios, Ossimandas,” this line particularly resonated with me because it reflects something I strongly believe in:

“I’ve seen this happen and I hate with all my guts whatever it is in our constitution that allows boys to be murdered even before they’ve been hurt by a woman.”

It captures the same thought perfectly: old enough to die, yet not old enough to experience love.

The foreword, written by his wife, adds another layer of intimacy, offering insight into Nolledo’s life and grounding the stories in the reality of the man behind them. Through this, I came to appreciate Nolledo, or “Ding,” not just as a writer, but as a voice that deserves to be rediscovered.

Overall, this collection feels like a hidden treasure, and I sincerely hope more readers discover Nolledo’s work and form their own connection with the powerful stories he left behind.

[june · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

modernist post-climax prosodies... this flores de mayo asf collection. favorites; "Guernica and the Blue Star," "Harana," "Amor de la Calle," "Canticle for Dark Lovers," & "Moratorium Est Finie"

[jc · Rating 4 out of 5]

not quite sure what all of it mean, especially the speculative fiction that closes it, but there are so many luminous images of manila—nolledo’s manila—in these stories