Jesús Balmori

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Jesús Balmori (10 January 1886 — 23 May 1948) was a Filipino writer, journalist, playwright, and poet in Spanish. He was born in Ermita, Manila.

Balmori studied at the Ateneo Municipal. He later enrolled in Colegio de San Juan de Letrán where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree.

[edit] Literary career

At 17 he composed his first volume of poetry, Rimas Malayas (Malayan Rhymes). It was noted for its spiritual and nationalistic themes.

Critics began to notice his literary skills more when he joined a contest sponsored by the newspaper El Renacimiento in commemoration of Rizal Day. Three poems of his poems won. These were Specs, Vae Victis (Woe to the Victor), and Himno A Rizal (Hymn to Rizal).

In 1940, his Mi Choza de Nipa (My Nipa Hut), another volume of poetry, won grand prize in a contest sponsored by the US-sponsored Commonwealth Government.

He wrote three novels: Bancarrota de Almas (Failure of the Soul), Se Deshojó la Flor (I Tear The Pages Out of The Flower), and Pájaros de Fuego (Birds of Fire). 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.

Balmori was also known for his poetical jousts against Manuel Bernabé. Their poetical battles were known as Balagtasan, in reference to Tagalog poet Francisco Balagtás.

Balmori was able to regularly contributed to the literary pages of newspapers during his time. In La Vanguardia, El Debate, La Voz de Manila, Philippines Free Press, and El Renacimiento, he established his pseudonym Batikuling.

In 1926, he and Bernabé were awarded the Premio Zóbel for his contributions to Philippine literature.

He died of throat cancer, shortly after writing his last poem, A Cristo (To Christ), which he dedicated to his wife.