Cuba is a country whose literary heritage revolves around a rich legacy of song, poetry, and storytelling. Descendants from Spanish, African, and Native American populations and cultures, Cubans enjoy a deep and passionate interest in music, dance, and theater. Cuba has a national system of libraries, a chain of theaters, a movie industry, a jazz orchestra, touring ballet companies, and folk music groups. In Cuba there is a National Council of Culture and The Book Institute. Writers of the Americas is a conference held in Cuba at which thirty-five emerging American writers are given the opportunity to engage in an intensive cultural, literary, and intellectual exchange with Cuban counterparts. Bernardo studied at the Havana Conservatory receiving a Bachelors of Music in 1958. Bernardo writes about a part of the life of Jose Marti, the national poet of Cuba, in his historical novel Silent Wing . Song, poetry, and...