Charles Matz, poet, novelist, dramaturge, and performer. He created shout poetry, using techniques of oral and music composition, and based in part on traditional forms from the European Mediterranean area and Africa. Matz has contributed articles on contemporary artistic concepts to Opera News, Vogue, Testuale, and Digraphe-Mercure de France. Matz has worked with Norman Mailer and Andrea Zanzotto. A literature professor at Long Island University—his specialties are Dante and Comparative Western Literature (chiefly Italian and French). This is the first publishing of COLUMBUS, THE MOOR as one book of the performance text in English along with the Spanish, French, and Italian translations—all four texts include Taino (Arawak), Latin, and other languages. Matz taught in the university system of Italy for many years and is a Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur of France.