Robert Havard was born in Treherbert, Rhondda, in 1944. He was awarded his doctorate by the University of Wales in 1969 and subsequently held posts as Assistant Professor of Spanish at the University of California, Los Angeles and Senior Lecturer at Auckland University. He is currently Reader and Head of Spanish at the Univerisity of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he lives with his wife and two daughters. A recognized authority of modern Spanish poetry, Robert Havard has written several books and numerous articles on poets such as Becquer, Rosalia de Castro, Jorge Guillen, Pedro Salinas, Garcia Lorca and Rafael Alberti, as well as Antonio Machado.