"Cobra is composed of jewel-like sentences that unfold like paper origami in convoluted proliferation. . . . Maitreya is one of the most radiant texts I have ever read, and the translation by Suzanne Jill Levine appears as seamless as a single ocean wave, spilling us from high elegance to low camp and back again without pause."

Severo Sarduy (Camagüey, Cuba; February 25, 1937 - Paris; June 8, 1993) was a Cuban poet, author, playwright, and critic of Cuban literature and art.