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

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

Bibliography:

Engle, Margarita, and Sean Qualls. The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano. New York: Henry Holt, 2006.

Review:

Margarita Engle tells the heartrending story of Juan Francisco Manzano through verse and alternating speakers. Juan Francisco Manzano was a born into slavery in Cuba and was denied his basic human rights for his entire life. Through perspective, word choice ,and imagery Engles tells the sorrowful story of Juan Francisco Manzano.

The verse novel opens with a description of the daily life for Juan from Juan's perspective. Juan's voice is the space between sorrow and hope. Engles channels his love for words, stories, and poetry into breathtaking lines such as "Instead of the raging, terrifying storm/ I will choose to measure its silent, peaceful eye." The voice of Juan that Engles creates is powerful and brave yet peaceful and placid. Then, through the flip of a page a whole new voice is created through a different perspective. The most eerie voice is that of La Marquesa De Prado Ameno. Ameno was the second owner of Manzano and was cruel not just through violence but also through psychological abuse. The voice that Engles creates for Ameno through lines such as, "And even when this is done (beatings) nine days in a row/still he bleeds and weeps,/trying to show me/ that he has won/he has triumphed once again/he has proven that he can still/make me sad./Evil child," force the reader to put the book down and walkaway for a minute and remember that this kind of evil was/is real, but the true message rest in the story of Juan Francisco Manzano, and his ability to keep moving forward despite the evils he has endured. In order for the reader to know the true hero Juan was, we also have to know the depths of the evils he faced. Engles immortalizes Juan Francisco Manzano by recreating his painful story.

Spotlight Poem:

As I mentioned, the poems in the book toggle between points of views of different characters in the book. The spotlight poem is from the view point of La Marquesa De Prado Ameno, the owner of young Juan. The poems tone is priggish and wicked, and is a clear depiction of the epitome of slave owner mindset.

La Marquesa De Prado Ameno
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I let the sad poet-boy imagine
  that soon he will be free.

That way he learns
  many crafts
  preparing himself
  for the future
  as a tailor
  like his father
  or a pastry chef
  working with sugar and chocolate
  instead of ink.

Follow-up Activity:

I would use this poem in a history class prior to the civil war unit on slave owners in the United States and across the world. Often times when students are learning about slavery they imagine that if they were in the positions of the slaves they would simply runaway and that they just won't listen to the commands; however, with this poem I could illustration the evils of the institution of slavery. While the poem does not create an explicit image of smugness, the line "I let the sad poet-boy imagine that soon he will be free," is dripping with a self-righteous air. After reading and analyzing the power of word choice to create tone, I would ask students to think of other villains in history and create a sentence that shows their tone toward their heinous act.