Poet Slave of Cuba Journal

I was not sure that one could write a biography in verse, but yet again I have been proven wrong. Engle is able to tell a beautifully written story about Juan Francisco Manzano and his not so beautiful life through poems.

Engle is able to allow the reader into the minds of all of the people in the book. She is able to use the different perspectives of all of the characters in the story. The reader is able to see the point of view from each individual such as his mother's(Maria Del Pilar) sadness. Engle writes,

I'll stay with you, Juanito, I promise...
We will not leave you behind
You will see us, we promise

His father is angry that his son is still a slave. The reader can feel that anger in the poetry.

Now they call my son the Golden Beak
and hearing such a flattering nickname, I ask
myself , I ask others, I even ask God:

Where is the rest of the bird?


Don Nicolas feels sorry for him. I almost felt sorry for Don Nicholas for feeling sorry for Juan. Engle has a gift for writing.

She has thrashed him.
We have to shun him, pretending he does not exist...

I hope he knows that when this is over
he will fish with me again,
and swim with me, and ride horses.
We will pretend we are brothers.


There are many uses for this type of literary work in a classroom. Students can see that a poem is a telling of something. The subject can be anything. You can compare the lives of slaves in Cuba to those in the United states and other countries.

I really enjoyed the poetry of Juan that was included at the back of the book. I also thought that the illustrations were very dynamic and enhanced the story.