Born in Sulu, Aida Rivera-Ford crossed over to Negros Oriental in 1949 for an English degree at Silliman University. Records toast her as the first editor of Sands and Coral, the school’s literary folio. In 1954, she flew to the University of Michigan on a Fulbright grant to secure her master’s degree in English.

“Love in the Cornhusks” is one of five well-crafted stories for which Rivera-Ford won the Jules & Avery Hopwood Prize in Michigan. In 1955, the Sunday Chronicle’s This Week magazine featured the prize-winning story, with illustrations by Rod Dayao. From N.V.M. Gonzalez to Epifanio San Juan, critics were one in hailing the story with uncommon praise, citing its masterful subtlety but also its earnest vision—a rare case of art prevailing upon all creeds and manners of persuasion. Two years later, Rivera-Ford released her five stories under the title Now and at the Hour and Other Short Stories (1957).

The Rivera-Ford memorabilia at ALIWW includes the story’s early draft, under the working title “Love in the Farm.” The ink manuscript establishes how, upon rewrite, Rivera-Ford renamed her now-famous protagonist—from Anselma Godoy to the simple, unassuming Tinang. Amado’s letter, much parsed in workshop circles for its naive busting of the King’s English, is untouched, attesting to Rivera-Ford’s quick sense of its comic effect.