Poet, diplomat and politician, Eduardo Cote Lamus was born in Cúcuta,  did an external law degree at the University of Bogotá and studied Hispanic philology at the University of Salamanca, Spain. Together with Jorge Gaitán Durán, he made many contributions to literature and culture, placing Colombia on the contemporary world map through the journal Mito (Myth), Colombia’s first cosmopolitan literary publication. His poetic projects radiated into the field of expression and contributed to the renewal of poetic language. His five poetry books were written between 1950 and 1963, a short time span showing the intense process of his creativity; there are important transformations from his first book to his last, Estoraques, considered one of the most successful long poems in Latin American poetry.

Margarita Cardona Villa was born in Medellín, Colombia, in August 1949. Her work has been published in cultural magazines in Colombia and abroad; her poems have appeared in a book which, in accordance with the advice of J. R. Jiménez, was “published with scissors”. Cita del Mediodía (Midday Rendezvous) (published by Endymion, 2005) collects the poetic work of 30 years’ constant labour, which received little recognition from Colombia’s cultural authorities. In 1982 the poet published a chapbook with the library of the University of Antioquia, collecting the first part of the aforementioned book. An important short poetry sample was published in 1982 by the same university. She is currently studying Hellenic grammar and translating classical Greek poetry.