11. Kubanischer Sklavendichter

Cuban poet Juan Francisco Manzano was born into a slave owner’s household in 1797. From the time of his birth, his life was not his own. He was forced to call a woman „Mama,“ who wasn’t his real mother. And even though he was not allowed to go to school, he still had a remarkable way with words, and his talent showed through in his poetry.

As a poet slave, Manzano wrote many beautiful poems with haunting imagery to showcase the cruelty he went through as a slave. His poetry would help him out of many punishments and he would perform his poems in front of his mistress’guests. Learn more about Manzano’s rough life with Engle’s free verse book. / Jeff Rivera, Mediabistro 31.12.

The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzanao by Margarita Engle.

Der deutsche Wikipedia-Beitrag besteht nur aus zwei Sätzen – aber wenigstens gibt es ihn. Ansonsten nur noch auf Spanisch, ausführlich.

Juan Francisco Manzano (* 1797; † 1854 in La Habana, Kuba) war Sklave und Schriftsteller.

Juan Francisco Manzano wurde als Sklave geboren und bekam deshalb den Nachnamen des Gatten seiner Herrin, weder sein genaues Geburtsdatum noch sein Sterbedatum sind bekannt. „Vor dem Herrn ist der Sklave eine tote Seele“, schreibt er in seiner Autobiographie, wohl der einzigen in spanischer Sprache, die vor der Aufhebung der Sklaverei geschrieben wurde.

Kurzbiografie auf Englisch („http://www.famousamericans.net„)

eText der englischen Ausgabe

POEMS
BY
A SLAVE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA,
RECENTLY LIBERATED;
TRANSLATED FROM THE SPANISH,
BY
R. R. MADDEN, M. D.
WITH THE HISTORY OF THE
EARLY LIFE OF THE NEGRO POET,
WRITTEN BY HIMSELF;
TO WHICH ARE PREFIXED
TWO PIECES DESCRIPTIVE OF
CUBAN SLAVERY AND THE SLAVE-TRAFFIC,
BY R. R. M.

Einige Gedichte auf Spanisch