Introduced by Licia Fiol-Matta (NYU Department of Spanish and Portuguese)

Antonio José Ponte (Matanzas, Cuba, 1964) is considered one of the most prestigious Cuban essayists. Among the most notable of his books are Las comidas profundas (Deleatur, Angers, 1997), Un seguidor de Montaigne mira La Habana/Las comidas profundas (Verbum, 2001), El libro perdido de los origenistas (Aldus, México, 2002). His and El abrigo de aire. Ensayos sobre literatura cubana (Adriana Viterbo, 2001). His most recent books are Un arte de hacer ruinas y otros cuentos (Colección Aula Atlántica, Fondo de Cultura Económica, México, 2006) and La fiesta vigilada (Anagrama, 2007).

Licia Fiol-Matta is Visiting Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at New York University. She is the author of A Queer Mother for the Nation: The State and Gabriela Mistral (2002, University of Minnesota Press) and The Great Woman Singer: Gender and Voice in Puerto Rican Music (Duke University Press, 2016).

With the support of NYU Department of Spanish and Portuguese and the MFA Program in Creative Writing in Spanish. The Creative Writing in Spanish Program acknowledges the generous support of Santander Bank through its Santander Universities Program.