A recognized master of the Spanish-American short story, Lino Novás Calvo is noted for his finely honed portraits of marginalized and alienated characters who struggle to survive against formidable odds. Stylistically, Novás Calvo's rendering of quintessentially Cuban popular speech, rhythms, syntax, and forms of expression has exerted strong influence on younger writers. His only novel, El negrero (The Slave Trader, 1933), has also held extraordinary interest for critics who admire the subtlety of its historical re-creation of a Spanish-born slave trader.

The first prominent Cuban writer exiled in the wake of the revolution of 1959, Novás Calvo continued to write in the United States, where he lived until his death. It is difficult to describe his reputation or the reception of his work without taking into account the profoundly pernicious schism that divides "the two Cubas," that is, writers in Cuba versus those living...