Although he was a war seaman, José Luis Prado Nogueira devoted himself to poetry during the most part of his life. He lived in Madrid during his last years, where he participated in the literary gatherings at Gijón Cafè and the Athenaeum.
His first abook, Testigo de excepción, came out in 1953 and shortly after he published Oratorio del Guadarrama (1956), Respuesta a Carmen (1958), Miserere en la tumba de R.N. (1960), Sonetos de una media muerte (1963), La carta (1966) and La rana (1966).
He was awarded the National Poetry Prize for his work Miserere en la tumba de R.N.