The Maids of Havana
Born in 1943 in Santa Clara, Cuba, Pedro Pérez Sarduy is a poet, writer and journalist, now resident in London. His poetry includes Surrealidad(1967), Cumbite and Other Poems(1990), and Malecón Sigloveinte (2005), and is featured in The Oxford book of Caribbean Verse (2005). He co-edited with Jean Stubbs AfroCuban Voices: On Race and Identity in Contemporary Cuba (University Press of Florida, 2000) and Afro-Cuba: An Anthology of Cuban Writing on Race, Politics and Culture (1993); work in progress includes Journal in Babylon, chronicles on contemporary Britain. In 2008, he was awarded Le Prix du Livre Insular Ouessant for the French version of this novel, Les bonnesde la Havane; and in 2009, he was awarded the UNESCO Victor Hugo medal for his writings, 'which contribute significantly to the protection and promotion of the rights of man/woman and the oppressed'.