Jaime Manrique was born in Barranquilla, Colombia. His first book of poetry received Colombia's National Poetry Award. He has published novels and volumes of poetry and criticism in Spanish and English. In 1992 his novel The Interpreter (St. Martin's Press) and his epic poem Christopher Columbus on His Deathbed (Vehicle Editions) will appear. He teaches Creative Writing and Latin American Literature and Cinema in The Eugene Lang College of The New School for Social Research.