Biography of a Runaway Slave
Biography of a Runaway Slave, by Miguel Barnet
In this remarkable testimony, Cuban novelist and anthropologist Miguel Barnet presents the narrative of 105-year-old Esteban Montejo, who lived as a slave in the sugar fields, as a fugitive in the wilderness, and as a soldier in the Cuban War of Independence, and who ultimately lived to see the Cuban revolution’s promise of education and medical care, including a nursing home where he was being interviewed. This book was chosen for the series because the runaway slave’s life story is uniquely interesting since it introduces the reader to multidimensional cultural details about slavery and slave populations erased in general discussions of slavery. Furthermore, it is one of the few accounts that exist of Latin American slavery from the point of view of the slaves.
Biography of a Runaway Slave will be discussed at the September 15 session.