Landicho was born on August 4, 1939 in Luntal, Taal, Batangas. His brother is
Tonton Landicho. He obtained his
Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science in journalism degrees from the
Lyceum of the Philippines, and an MA in education at the
National Teachers College. He later earned his Bachelor of Laws degree at Lyceum. In 1994, he obtained his Ph.D. in Filipinology from the
University of the Philippines Diliman, where he has served as Writer-in-Residence and professor at the Department of Filipino and
Philippine Literature and associate director for criticism at the Institute of Creative Writing. He was accorded Professor Emeritus stature by the University of the Philippines in 2005. He was Director for Asia of Poet Laureate International, member of PEN International, and honorary member of International Writers' Workshop,
University of Iowa. He received numerous awards such as several
Palancas, CCP Balagtas Awards, KADIPAN Literary Contest, Catholic Mass Media Awards, and Institute of National Language Awards. He is a poet, a novelist, an editor, columnist, a dramatist, a theatre and movie actor who has written close to 60 book titles to date with "Supremo", a dramatic play he co-wrote with his wife Edna May, about revolutionary leader and Philippine hero Andres Bonifacio. He served as the Editor-In-Chief of Tanod Publication and contributed to various Philippine publications such as Philippine Star, Liwayway Publications, and Pilipino Ngayon, among others. He was married to Edna May Menez Obien, a playwright and theatre director and has 4 children. He died in the morning of 29 July 2021. ==Some Publications==