Juan Gelman

was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina May 3, 1930.  He has published more than twenty books of poetry since 1956. He won the Cervantes Prize in 2007, the most important in Spanish literature.  His poems contain themes touching on his Jewish heritage, family, Argentina, exile, and the tango.  His works celebrate life but are also tempered with social and political commentary and reflect his own painful experiences with the politics of his country.  He is felt by many of his peers to be one of the great living masters who has expressed in his life and work the power of suffering and redemption.