Tiempo took her Masters Degree at the University of Iowa. At the university, she was the recipient of an international fellowship that lasted from 1947 to 1950. In 1958, Tiempo received a scholarship grant from the United Board of Christian Higher Education in Asia and she used it to get a doctorate degree in the English language at the University of Denver in Colorado.
She was conferred a National Artist for Literature in 1999. In 1962, along with her husband Dr. Edilberto K. Tiempo, they founded the Silliman National Writers Workshop in Dumaguete City. Tiempo received her M.A. in Creative Writing from the State University of Iowa in the United States. She also held a Ph. D. from the University of Denver.
In 1979, Tiempo's novel His Native Coast won first prize at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Award for the Novel. In 1988, she and her husband received the Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas (UMPIL Award/Balagtas Bicentennial National Achievement Literary Award). Tiempo has also won the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Poetry and the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Short Story. He won multiple times (1951, 1955, 1967, and 1969). In 1955 and 1959, Tiempo won the Philippines Free Press Short Story Contest.
In 1979, Tiempo's novel His Native Coast won first prize at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Award for the Novel. In 1988, she and her husband received the Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas (UMPIL Award/Balagtas Bicentennial National Achievement Literary Award). Tiempo has also won the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Poetry and the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Short Story. He won multiple times (1951, 1955, 1967, and 1969). In 1955 and 1959, Tiempo won the Philippines Free Press Short Story Contest.
In 2002, the Ateneo de Manila University honored Tiempo with its Tanglaw ng Lahi Award. The university gave her the award "for a vision that has supported the institutional practice of creative writing in the Philippines".
In 2019, in celebration of the centenary of Tiempo's birth, the Philippine Postal Corporation printed and released 25,000 commemorative postage stamps bearing the image of Tiempo.
In August, 2020, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the University of Santo Tomas Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies organized a special webinar called Manila Reads Edith Tiempo. As part of the event, Dr. Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo delivered a lecture titled Women and Power in Edith Tiempo's Fiction.
She is acknowledged by some as the Mother of Philippine Literature. Tiempo died on August 21, 2011. Cause of death was myocardial infarction.
Poetry Collections:
1. The Tracks of Babylon and Other Poems (1966)
2. Beyond, Extensions (1993)
3. The Charmer's Box and Other Poems (1993)
4. Marginal Annotations and Other Poems (2010)
She is acknowledged by some as the Mother of Philippine Literature. Tiempo died on August 21, 2011. Cause of death was myocardial infarction.
Poetry Collections:
1. The Tracks of Babylon and Other Poems (1966)
2. Beyond, Extensions (1993)
3. The Charmer's Box and Other Poems (1993)
4. Marginal Annotations and Other Poems (2010)
5. Commend Contend/Beyond Extensions (2010)
Writing Guides:
1. Six Uses of Fictional Symbols (2004)
2. Six Poetry Formats and the Transforming Image (2008)
Novels:
1. A Blade of Fern (1978)
2. His Native Coast (1979)
3. Alien Corn (1992)
4. One, Tilting Leaves (1995)
5. The Builder (2004)
6. The Jumong (2006)
Short Story Collections:
1. Abide, Joshua, and Other Stories (1964)
Novels:
1. A Blade of Fern (1978)
2. His Native Coast (1979)
3. Alien Corn (1992)
4. One, Tilting Leaves (1995)
5. The Builder (2004)
6. The Jumong (2006)
Short Story Collections:
1. Abide, Joshua, and Other Stories (1964)
Poems:
2. Bonsai
Short Stories:
1. The Corral
2. The Black Monkey
