He published four seminal books of poems between 19, in which, along with his longtime friend, Bienvenido Lumbera, helped modernize the traditionally sentimental Filipino style. The 'meaning' is hidden in the intentional actions of the actors and the unexpected reply of the audience (Lumbera). There is no real 'meaning' in the action and there is no definite storyline. The production was performed in a classroom rather than an auditorium and Tinio made the actors mingle freely with the audience. The last production of Tinio's 'personal' theater company was entitled ?. His work with the Ateneo Experimental Theater expresses the concept of the actor being merely one of the director's tools in shaping the stage communicate his vision through all aspects of the production. In his production of Oedipus Rex, he replaced the Greek costumes with modern renditions made primarily of metal pipes supposedly to express the thought of the industrial 20th century (Lumbera).

Productions of the Ateneo Experimental Theater are completely his vision. Tinio chose the plays, designs the stage, directs, creates the costumes and determines the musical score and other sounds. He served all these roles during his stay with the Ateneo Experimental Theater. Tinio was also an actor, director, and a set and costume designer.

Heaven and earth the gap between Tinio's works in English and those in Tagalog (Lumbera). If in Rage and Ritual, portrayals of art and the artist that are not closely associated with the Filipino lifestyle are communicated, Sitsit sa Kuliglig clearly portrays the everyday experiences of a Tondo-grown individual now living in Loyola Heights. In 1972, Tinio wrote another poetry collection, Sitsit sa Kuliglig, and this showed the great contrast between his old and new advocacy. Through this, he gave an authentic tone to the poetry of the native middle-class Filipino. Rolando Tinio was the sole inventor of 'Taglish' in Philippine poetry. In the mid-1960s, however, Tinio decided to try writing in Tagalog and the product of this trial was the collection of poems now called Bagay. The article's purpose was to prove the inadequacy of Tagalog as the writer's medium (Lumbera). In response to this, Tinio published an article in the scholarly journal Philippine Studies, which contained parts of English poems translated into Tagalog. Once, in a conference, an author delivered his belief in the value of the Tagalog dialect in Creative Writing. At this point in time, Tinio believed that only English can hone the themes that he wanted to communicate in his works. Bienvenido Lumbera, also an alumnus of the Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas, describes this collection as elegant and with a truly contemporary tone if taken from the European literary critical view. He wrote his poetic collection: Rage and Ritual which won an award from the University of the Philippines.

In Iowa, Tinio was known as a great writer that used English as the medium of the Filipino writer.

degree in Creative Writing: Poetry from the University of Iowa. Tinio graduated with honors (a magna cum laude achiever) with a degree in Philosophy from the Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas at age 18 in 1955 and an M.F.A. He is often described as a religious, well-behaved and gifted person. Tinio himself became a film actor and scriptwriter. He was an active participant in the Filipino movie industry and enjoyed working with Philippine celebrities who he himself had admired in his childhood. As a child, Tinio was fond of organizing and directing his playmates for costumed celebrations. He was born in Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila on March 5, 1937. Rolando Tinio is a Philippine National Artist for Theater and Literature.

Sitsit sa kuliglig by rolando tinio