The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano

Margarita Engle

Macmillan, Apr 4, 2006 - Juvenile Nonfiction - 183 pages

A lyrical biography of a Cuban slave who escaped to become a celebrated poet.

Born into the household of a wealthy slave owner in Cuba in 1797, Juan Francisco Manzano spent his early years by the side of a woman who made him call her Mama, even though he had a mama of his own. Denied an education, young Juan still showed an exceptional talent for poetry. His verses reflect the beauty of his world, but they also expose its hideous cruelty.

Powerful, haunting poems and breathtaking illustrations create a portrait of a life in which even the pain of slavery could not extinguish the capacity for hope.

The Poet Slave of Cuba is the winner of the 2008 Pura Belpre Medal for Narrative and a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Latino Interest.

About the author

Margarita Engle is a Cuban-American poet and novelist. Her books include The Wild Book, Tropical Secrets, The Firefly Letters, The Lightning Dreamer, When You Wander, Mountain Dog, and Silver People. She has received several awards including the Jane Addams Children's Book Award, the Pura Belpré Award, the Américas Award, and the Claudia Lewis Poetry Award for The Surrender Tree and the Pura Belpré Award and the Américas Award for The Poet Slave of Cuba. Sean Qualls illustrated the widely acclaimed biographies The Poet Slave of Cuba and Dizzy. He lives with his wife and son in Brooklyn, New York.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano; MSU Children's & YA Literature Collection
• Author: Margarita Engle
• Illustrated by: Sean Qualls
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Macmillan, 2006
• ISBN: 0805077065, 9780805077063
• Length: 183 pages
• Subjects: Juvenile Nonfiction / Biography & Autobiography / Literary; Juvenile Nonfiction / People & Places / General; Juvenile Nonfiction / Poetry / General; Young Adult Nonfiction / Biography & Autobiography / Literary; Young Adult Nonfiction / History / Central & South America; Young Adult Nonfiction / Poetry