Background
He was born in Sampaloc, Manila. Antonio is the son of Emilio March Antonio, hari ng balagtasan (King of Balagtasan—a Filipino form of poetic joust) during the 1950s.
He was born in Sampaloc, Manila. Antonio is the son of Emilio March Antonio, hari ng balagtasan (King of Balagtasan—a Filipino form of poetic joust) during the 1950s.
He was educated at the University of Santo Tomas where he studied Fine Arts.
Antonio garnered numerous Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Poetry in 1973. 1975, 1976. 1986 and 1998. He also received a grant as Philippine Representative to the World Poetry Reading Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1996.
Previously, Antonio was UMPIL director and President of the Unyon ng mga Tagasalin sa Pilipinas (UNTAP).
Together with poets Virgilio Almario and Mike Bigornia, he co-founded Galian sa Arte at Tula (GAT), a writers" group. The University of the Philippines Press.
The University of Santo Tomas Publishing House. The Ateneo de Manila University Press and Anvil Publishing have published Antonio"s ten books
Antonio remains active in poetry jousts and readings across the Philippines as well as in selected international literary events.