[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Ptronila.jpg” caption=”Petronila Cleto is McMaster’s International Writer-in-Residence in the Department of English & Cultural Studies.”]McMaster University is opening its doors this term to journalist, playwright, poet and fiction writer Petronila Cleto, who will assume the role of International Writer-In-Residence for 2008 in the Department of English & Cultural Studies.

Organized in conjunction with PEN Canada, an independent, non-profit organization formed in 1926 that aids writers in exile and fights censorship, the position is also supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Growing up in the Philippines, Cleto began her writing career as a journalist and editor for her high school newspaper. Despite a strong affinity for writing, when she enrolled in university at the age of 14, it was to study medicine. However, the desire to write was ever present, forcing her to reconsider her career path.

She decided to join her sister in Canada and attended Carleton University, then Carleton College, where she studied medical technology and took literature classes. Although she soon returned to the Philippines, this would not be her last visit to Canada.

When Cleto returned to the Philippines, it was to a country being torn apart by corruption and injustice. She enrolled once more in university where she became heavily involved in student political groups who were protesting for governmental change.

As a member of these student groups, Cleto gave literacy lessons to the urban poor, was a strong presence in youth theatre and advocated for women's rights. As well as being heavily involved in the student political movement at university, she wrote constantly, producing poems and newspaper articles about the rich Filipino cultural scene.

After university, Cleto pursued a professional writing career, freelancing before being hired as a journalist by The Philippine Daily Inquirer. It was her reporting of the corruption taking place in the Philippines that led to a 1-million peso lawsuit being brought against her.

Cleto became an established writer in the Philippines, publishing art reviews and poetry along with her feature articles. However, by the early 1990s, political corruption and injustice in her homeland led her to return once more to Canada.

Here, she has asserted herself as a dynamic writer whose talent and integrity cannot be ignored. She joined PEN Canada, whose International Writers in Exile Network has helped establish the position of International Writer-in-Residence at several Canadian Universities.

As International Writer-in-Residence at McMaster, Petronila will be on campus Tuesdays and Thursdays from January to April. She will be available for classroom visits and personal consultations. Aspiring writers are encouraged to make an appointment with her to discuss their creative works.

She will also be involved in a number of other activities in the Hamilton and McMaster communities, including a series of contributions to The Hamilton Spectator, co-ordinating an adaptation of The Threepenny Opera involving McMaster students and a Filipino workers group, and organizing a panel of Writers in Exile for the upcoming Displacements conference at McMaster.

The Faculty of Humanities is hosting a reception to welcome Cleto to McMaster on Wednesday, Jan. 16 at 3 p.m. in the University Club, West Room. All members of the community are welcome to attend.

To contact the International Writer-in-Residence, please call the English department at 905-525-9140, ext. 24491 or e-mail englwir@mcmaster.ca