Written in verse, this biography details the early life of Juan Francisco Manzano. He was a boy born into slavery. He was taken from his birth mother and treated as a "poodle" by Dona Beatriz. Although promised freedom at the event of Beatriz's death, he becomes the slave of La Marquesa de Prado Ameno. She is a vindictive, cruel, and unpredictable master. With frequent beatings and horrible punishments, Manzano someone preserves his spirits through his love of words, poetry, and art. He nutures many talents. Although he looses almost everything, he manages to keep his desire for his freedom. There is a really interesting afterward to the book about Manzano and even some samples of his poetry. ( )

THIS BOOK MADE ME CRY. THIS IS A VERY SAD STORY OF JUAN WHO WAS VERY INTELLEGENT BUT WAS A SLAVE. YOU HAD TO REMIND YOURSELF THAT THIS WAS A CUBAN SLAVE AND NOT AN AFRICAN SLAVE. HIS MISTERESS WAS CRAZY AND SUBJECTED HIM TO THE WORST KINDS OF TORTURE. I COULD NOT DECIDE WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT CHILDREN AND THIS BOOK. I'M A LITTLE AFRAID THIS BOOK MIGHT DEPRESS THEM. I DONT THINK YOU SHOULD SHEILD CHILDREN, BUT THIS BOOK SHOULD NOT BE READ WITHOUT A DISCUSSION.

"The Poet Slave of Cuba" captures the life in poetry of Juan Fransisco Manzano. The narrative takes many voices. The reader hears Juan demoralized and saddened at being a circus poodle required to recite and entertain; juxtaposed with Dona Beatiz describing Juan like a favorite poodle--only cleaner and more clever. Poetry and verse are beautifully distilled and make biographies accessible to reluctant readers who don't wish to wade through chapters. Juan's story is a beautiful double edged sword. At his baptism, Dona Beatiz grants his true mother and father "manumission;" only to insert the addendum that the freedom is not free. They must each pay 300 pesos for their freedom. Dona Beatiz weeps for posturing and her own worship as she perceives others are weeping for gratitude. Truly, the others weep for the tragedy of freedom held just out of reach. "The Poet Slave of Cuba" is an exceptional read! ( )

This is a book that was written by Magarita Engle. Engle has compiled a list of peoms from a young boy by the name of Juan Francisco Manzano. During the 18th century Mazano was forced to take care of a lady (slave owner in Cuba) her name was La Marquesa De Prado Ameno. She forced him to attend to all of her needs. She even takes him to parties and forces him to sing for her friends. She forces him to call her Mama, even though she is not his Mama. He does not like tending to her every need. He even explains how he perceives her " Once on a day when I was not tied up and gagged, I took some brushes that Don Nicolas had given me. I was angry. I painted a witch. The witch was doctoring a demon, healing the demon taking care of the demon. The witch was happy. The demon was sorrowful. Everyone who saw my painting laughed." Throughout the story Juan keeps making reference to this lady and how she tortures him and how much she dislikes being around her. She also complains about him as well. This is certainly a great book, however because of the content, I don't think I can read it again. It is to sad for me.

Pura Belpré Medal Award winner for text