Barbados native CECIL FOSTER was born in 1954. He emigrated to Canada in 1978, becoming one of the country's most important writers.

Cecil has gained much prestige for his extensive journalism. He has been a reporter for various newspapers, including The Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail. As transportation expert and business columnist for the latter he has become recognized as a leading business commentator.

The scope of Cecil's work includes similar popular-media endeavours. He has been editor of Contrast , Canada's first Black-oriented newspaper. Until recently he was senior editor for The Financial Post . Cecil has also worked for the CBC in radio and television, and has written the expository Distorted Mirror: Canada's Racist Face (1991).

Cecil has gained literary importance for his novels, among them No Man in the House (1991) and Sleep On, Beloved (1995). Rich in verbal and thematic exploration, his fiction has been popular with both critics and the public alike.

Currently a resident of Toronto, Cecil Foster lives with his wife and two sons.

Reading: Foster, No Man in the House (Random House: 1991); Sleep On, Beloved (R. H.: 1995).