Omar Pérez grew up in Havana, the city where he was born in 1964, and earned a degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Havana in 1987. By his early twenties he had become an active participant in the city’s varied cultural scenes. His poetry and essays routinely appear in anthologies of new Cuban writing. Read More Pérez is the author of four poetry collections: Algo de lo Sagrado (1996), Oíste hablar del gato de pelea? (1999), Canciones y letanías (2002), and Lingua Franca (forthcoming). A book of essays, La perseverancia de un hombre oscuro, earned him Cuba’s National Critics’ Prize for that genre in 2000. He is also a translator with numerous publications ranging from Shakespeare to Creeley and Komunyakaa, as well as Italian and Dutch writings. Currently Pérez is a percussionist for dance-theater performances, and his interest in artistic collaboration informs recent writing projects. Translations of his poems appear in Washington Square, boundary 2, Origin~Longhouse, Mandorla, The Whole Island: Six Decades of Cuban Poetry, and elsewhere; Jacket 35 carries an extensive feature on Pérez.