Earl Lovelace was born in Toco, Trinidad & Tobago. He was educated in Trinidad and Tobago and the United States of America. He is the author of five novels, including Salt, (Best Book, Commonwealth Writers Prize, 1997). The Dragon Can't Dance, (1979), is considered a Caribbean classic. The Wine of Astonishment (1982), The Schoolmaster (1968) and While Gods Are Falling (1965) are his other novels. His fiction awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, 1980, and the British Petroleum Independence Literary Award in 1964. He is also the author of A Brief Conversion and Other Stories (1988). Some of his plays are collected in Jestina's Calypso and Other Plays (1984). His work has been translated into German, Dutch, French, Hungarian, and Japanese. In recognition of his contribution to literature and culture, Earl Lovelace was awarded the Chaconia Medal (Gold) in 1988 by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and an Honarary Doctor of Letters from The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago in 2002.