List of Cuban writers

A list of Cuban writers, including novelists, poets, and critics: Cuban authors and writers have influenced and shaped the history of the world. Throughout the years many of their contributions have caused radical shifts: from social movements to global perspectives in the Americas and beyond.

A

 * Brígida Agüero (1837–1866), poet
 * Mirta Aguirre (1912–1980), poet, novelist, and journalist
 * Magaly Alabau (born 1945), poet
 * Dora Alonso (1910–2001), author and journalist
 * Reinaldo Arenas (1943–1990), openly gay poet, novelist, and playwright, author of Before Night Falls (Antes que anochezca)

B

 * Emilio Bacardi Moreau (1844–1822), poet, writer, playwright, and patriot
 * Joaquín Badajoz (born 1972), poet and writer
 * Gastón Baquero (1916–1997), poet and writer
 * Miguel Barnet, anthropologist and testimonialist
 * Antonio Benítez-Rojo (1931–2005), author and critic
 * Pedro Luis Boitel (1931–1972), poet and dissident
 * Mariano Brull (1891–1956), postmodern poet

C

 * Lydia Cabrera (1899–1991), anthropologist and poet
 * Guillermo Cabrera Infante (1929–2005), novelist, author of Tres tristes tigres, Cervantes Prize winner
 * Onelio Jorge Cardoso (1914–1986), screenwriter and short fiction writer
 * Alejo Carpentier (1904–1980), novelist, author of El reino de este mundo, Cervantes Prize winner
 * Julián del Casal, 19th-century poet
 * Fidel Castro (1926–2016), former President of Cuba
 * Daniel Chavarria, Uruguyan-born author
 * Daína Chaviano, novelist and short-story writer
 * Enrique Cirules (1938–2016), novelist and essayist
 * Domitila García de Coronado (1847–1938), writer, journalist, editor, professor

D

 * Edmundo Desnoes, novelist, author of Memorias del Subdesarrollo
 * Jesús Díaz (1941–2002), novelist, filmmaker, and intellectual, founder of the influential cultural magazine Encuentro

E

 * Darío Espina Pérez (October 25, 1920 – September 6, 1996), writer, founder and president of La Academia Poética de Miami

F

 * Samuel Feijóo (1914–1992), author
 * Roberto Fernández Retamar (1930–2019), poet, essayist, and literary critic
 * Norberto Fuentes (born 1943), author and journalist

G

 * Michael John Garcés (born 1967), playwright and director.
 * Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda (1814–1873), novelist, playwright, and poet, author of Sab (1842) and Baltasar (1858)
 * Justo González (born 1937), author and historian
 * Jorge Enrique González Pacheco (born 1969), poet and cultural entrepreneur
 * Nicolás Guillén (1902–1989), Afro-Cuban poet
 * Pedro Juan Gutiérrez (born 1950) "dirty realist" novelist, poet, and painter

H

 * José María Heredia y Heredia (1803–1839), poet
 * Georgina Herrera (1936–2021), poet

L

 * Carilda Oliver Labra (1922–2018), poet
 * José Lezama Lima (1910–1976), novelist and poet, author of Paradiso
 * Eduardo del Llano (born 1962)

M

 * Jorge Mañach (1898–1961), writer
 * Juan Francisco Manzano (1797–1854), author and poet
 * Dulce María Loynaz (1902–1997), poet, Cervantes Prize winner
 * José Martí (1853–1895), poet, journalist, critic, translator, and patriot
 * Calixto Martínez, journalist and political prisoner
 * Rubén Martínez Villena, writer
 * Domingo del Monte (1804–1853), author and literary critic
 * Nancy Morejón (born 1944), Afro-Cuban poet
 * Dolan Mor (born 1968)
 * Manuel Maria Mustelier (1878–1941), writer and teacher

O

 * Fernando Ortiz (1881–1969), author and essayist
 * Lisandro Otero (1932–2008), novelist and journalist

P

 * Heberto Padilla (1932–2000), poet
 * Leonardo Padura Fuentes (born 1955), novelist and journalist
 * Ricardo Pau-Llosa (born 1954), poet
 * Regino Pedroso (1896–1983), poet
 * Gustavo Pérez Firmat (born 1949), poet, memoirist, literary critic
 * Jorge Armando Pérez (born 1961), writer, theologian, fiction
 * Virgilio Piñera (1912–1979), author, playwright, poet, short-story writer and essayist
 * Carlos Pintado (born 1974), poet

R

 * Félix Ramos y Duarte (1848–1924), educator, textbook writer and lexicographer
 * José Ignacio Rivero (1920–2011), exile journalist
 * Raúl Rivero (1945–2021), dissident poet and journalist
 * Antonio Rodríguez Salvador (born 1960), poet, fiction writer, dramatist and essayist

S

 * Pedro Pérez Sarduy (born 1943), poet, novelist and journalist
 * Severo Sarduy (1937–1993), neobaroque poet
 * Ana María Simo, playwright, essayist and lesbian activist

U

 * Úrsula Céspedes (1832–1874), poet

V

 * Zoé Valdés (born 1959), novelist
 * Enrique José Varona (1848–1933), author and journalist
 * Cirilo Villaverde, novelist, author of Cecilia Valdés (1882)
 * Cintio Vitier (1921–2009), poet, essayist and novelist

Z

 * Juan Clemente Zenea (1832–1871), author and poet
 * Héctor Zumbado, writer, journalist, humorist, and critic