Jose V. Ayala, Jr. was born on 22 April 1932 in Ermita, Manila. He was a poet, a fictionist and a painter. His wife, Tita Lacambra is also a poet/fictionist and one of their children, Joey Ayala, is a well-known poet, composer and singer.

He finished biology at the Ateneo de Manila and agriculture at the UP Los Baños, Laguna. After teaching and farming for several years, he worked as an advertising copy editor, editor for the US Information Service, and writer and fiction editor for the Philippine Free Press. He had since settled in Davao City and managed a plantation.

Ayala’s stories had been disseminated here and overseas, in publications like Short Story International, Asia Magazine, and a literature textbook published by Scott, Foresman and Co. He wrote several collections of poems that include Heart of Summer, 1961 and Poems for the Country of E, 1990, as well as a number of plays and essays. His stories won in the Palanca Awards and Philippine Free Press literary contest.

His works as a painter have been acquired by the National Museum and private collectors.

Written by F. Cao, from CCP Encyclopedia (volume 9)

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