About the event
Poet, essayist and social activist Margaret Randall discusses her recent publication Haydée Santamaría, Cuban Revolutionary: She Led By Transgression (Duke University Press, 2015) with Sujatha Fernandes (Sociology, Graduate Center). Virtually unknown outside of Cuba, Haydée Santamaría was a trusted member of Fidel Castro's inner circle and friend of Che Guevara. Following the Revolution's victory Santamaría founded and ran the cultural and arts institution Casa de las Americas, which attracted cutting-edge artists, exposed Cubans to some of the world's greatest creative minds, and protected queer, black, and feminist artists from state repression. Randall will also read a selection of her new poetry, inspired by her recent trip to Cuba and her memories of Havana in the 1970s.
