Meet Ludy Ongkeko — journalist, educator, and author whose writing carries the memories of a generation across the Philippines and America.
Writing can hold a lifetime: its love, history, resilience, and everything we hope the next generation will remember.
Two works rooted in personal history: an enduring postwar love story and a remembrance of wartime childhood.
A NOVEL · BY MYRNA LOU JASTRA
Beginning with a letter in postwar Philippines, Lor and Ermin's story follows love, ambition, and the choices that shape a life together. A novel about the written word and the people it connects.
WARTIME RECOLLECTIONS · BY LOURDES J. ASTRAQUILLO ONGKEKO, PH.D.
A child's firsthand perspective on the Japanese occupation of Baguio during World War II — and a testament to the courage, care, and family bonds that endure through extraordinary circumstances.
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Journalist. Educator. Author.
A life shaped by history and devoted to the written word.
For Ludy Ongkeko, writing is more than a profession. It is a way of remembering, questioning, and passing stories forward.
Known as Ludy Ongkeko, Lourdes J. Astraquillo Ongkeko grew up in the Philippines. She was attending high school in Baguio when World War II reached the city in December 1941. Her wartime experiences later became the heart of A Child of World War II Writes.
Her relationship with the written word began early: a sixth-grade essay, My Hometown, won a national competition. After the war, she studied at the University of the Philippines, and in 1949 began working as a reporter for the Manila Daily Bulletin. She later pursued graduate studies at the University of Southern California.
Her voice also reached Filipino-American readers. She began writing a column for Philippine News in 1971 and contributed to publications including TheFilAm. Through journalism and education, she explored community, identity, family, and life between the Philippines and the United States.
Writing as Myrna Lou Jastra, she authored When Writing Morphs into a Lifetime, a novel about correspondence, love, career, and migration. Her books and published essays reflect an abiding conviction that stories deserve to be remembered.
When Writing Morphs into a Lifetime · Myrna Lou Jastra · Pen Culture Solutions edition
Michelle Jacobs reviews When Writing Morphs into a Lifetime and its themes of love, family, and ambition.
READ THE REVIEW 02 / REVIEWArthur Thares reviews the author's personal account of life in the Japanese-occupied Philippines.
READ THE REVIEW 03 / REVIEWBarbara Bamberger Scott reviews Ongkeko's childhood account of wartime Baguio.
READ THE REVIEWIN THE END, THE WORDS REMAIN.