José Ortega Torres

José Ortega Torres was a Spanish poet and an author in the Andalusian poetic scene. A contemporary of the Novísimos poetic movement, his work follows more traditional forms, with a marked rhythm and deliberate word choice that bring to mind the classical Mediterranean tradition. His biography sheds light on the local history of poetry in the city of Granada.

Life and career

Ortega Torres was born in Granada, Spain in 1943. He majored in Romance Philology at the University of Granada between 1966 and 1969 and in 1971 read his dissertation "Aproximación a la poesía de Rafael Guillén", under the supervision of Professor Emilio Orozco Díaz. In 1975, he founded with poets José Lupiáñez and José Gutiérrez the Silene literary collection, which since then has published works by many local poets. He obtained his Ph.D. in Spanish Philology in 1971 with the work "La poesía de Rafael Guillén: lengua, temas y estilo".
During the 1990s and 2000s, he taught Spanish Literature at the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting of the University of Granada.
Ortega Torres used the anagram Narzeo Antino. He died from injuries sustained in a fire on 29 November 2025, at the age of 82.

Quotes

Aynadamar el recinto
del amor. Y tu presencia
claro fulgor: inminencia
alza el afán nunca extinto.
Conjunto de laberinto
entreteje la colina
.
Huésped tú de la hermosura
donde la ofrenda culmina.

Works and prizes

Cauce vivo, 1971, signed as Aldo Fresno
Ceremonia salvaje, 1973
Carmen de Aynadamar, 1974
Ritos y cenizas, 1975
"Poema de la Alhambra, de A.E.”
El exilio y el reino, 1979
Hierofanía, Federico García Lorca Prize in 1979.
La diadema y el cetro: himno, 1983
Diamante:, 1987
Olvido es el mar,, 1989
Domus aurea, Provincia de León Prize, 1994.
Laurel & glosa,, 1997
Centinela del aire, 1999, Ciudad de Salamanca Prize.
Amante desafío, 2001
Fulgor de la materia, 2003
Un título para Eros. Erotismo, sensualidad y sexualidad en la literatura, Chapter 7 - “Falomanía y travesura en El jardín de Venus de Samaniego”