My Life & Poetry

One of the goals of Magribine Press is to reprint rare materials on the history of Islam, Sufism, immigration, and Black Nationalism in America. As part of this goal, we reprint this collection of the writing of the Cuban poet Juan Francisco Manzano. These were written over 170 years ago and provide a unique look at Cuban slavery. The translator, Richard Robert Madden, was also responsible for preserving Islamic Slave Narratives and epistles in Jamaica and a travel narrative of his journeys in Egypt, Palestine, and Turkey. Madden had fluency in English, Spanish, Arabic, Turkish, and Irish Gælic. His work was ahead of its time in preserving the rights of minorities in the Caribbean and in England itself.