Backstory Talks: Martha Luisa Hernández Cadenas

Join us for a special evening with Cuban playwright, poet, and performer Martha Luisa Hernández Cadenas, as she presents her bold and uncompromising debut novel The Weasel and the Whore (Heloise Press, 2024), translated into English by Julia Sanches and Jennifer Shyue.

The novel follows Mary, a young artist navigating Havana’s bohemian underground while entangled in a dangerous relationship with a powerful regime official. At once a story of survival and rebellion, it captures the rage and defiance of a generation seeking freedom from the lingering shadows of Castroism.

Martha Luisa Hernández Cadenas is one of the most vital new voices in Cuban literature today. Author of three poetry collections and recipient of the David Prize for Poetry and the Havana Poetry Biennial Prize, her debut novel has already won the Franz Kafka Prize (2020) and the English PEN Award for its translation. Her performance work has reached audiences across Latin America, North America, and Europe.

Don’t miss this chance to discover a groundbreaking debut and meet one of Cuba’s most daring literary voices!