born Dec. 19, 1910, Havana, Cuba
died Aug. 9, 1976, Havana
Cuban poet, novelist, and essayist.
After studying law in Havana, Lezama was associated with several literary reviews and later with a literary group that published the work of young poets who revolutionized Cuban letters. Among his works are the poetry volumes Muerte de Narciso (1937) and La fijeza (1949) and the essay collections Analecta del reloj (1953) and La expresión americana (1957). The novel Paradiso (1966), considered his masterpiece, reaffirms his faith in his art and his own aestheticism in the face of the 1959 revolution, of which he largely disapproved.