Jesus Balmori was a renowned poet in the Spanish language.

JESUS BALMORI

Balmori‘s wrote a column in verse for the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia . His column Vida Manilena was a trenchant critique of society's power elite, showcasing his gift for irony and satirical humor, as well as serious verses. After the war, he wrote a similar column, "Vida Filipina", for the Vox de Manila. However, the number of Spanish-speaking readers was already diminishing by that time.

Balmori reached his pinnacle as a poet in November 1938 when his Mi Casa de Nipa, a collection of his best poems, gave him the first prize in the national literary contest. In 1940, his Mi Choza de Nipa (My Nipa Hut), another volume of poetry, won grand prize in the Commonwealth Literary Awards in 1940.

He wrote three novels during the Japanese occupation. The themes of these novels revolved around the issues of sensuality, the privacy of morality, the existence of God, and man's limitations in society. He also wrote three-act dramas.

10 January 1887

to 23 May 1948