“Launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996, National Poetry Month is a special occasion that celebrates poets’ integral role in our culture and that poetry matters. Over the years, it has become the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K–12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events curators, publishers, families, and—of course—poets, marking poetry’s important place in our lives.” Poets.org 

Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Café (Published by Holt Paperbacks, Henry Holt and Company)

I’ve been reading from this volume for some months now. The 1994 American Book Award Winner, Aloud, was edited by the late Miguel Algarín, a Puerto Rican poet, writer, co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café, and a Rutgers University professor of English and poetry activist closely associated with the oral tradition, spoken word, and poetry slam, Bob Holman. The 514-page volume features a broad range of poets, not just Nuyoricans or poets from Puerto Rico. That’s what I love about this book. It embodies the welcoming ideals of the Nuyorican Poets Café.

According to the website, the Café is temporarily closed for a $24 million, 3-year building renovation project called the “Nuyoricanstruction” phase. But that hasn’t stopped their Open Mics, Poetry Slams, Grand Slams, Music Programs, and Educational Programs, “which are taking place in various venues around the Lower East Side and NYC in person as well as online via the Internet.”

I love a book that begins with a quote from Sun Ra: “If you are not suitable for the future, you probably won’t make it in the present either.”

I have so many favorites. Here are three:

Paul Beatty “Darryl Strawberry Asleep in a Field of Dreams” (Excerpt Page 29)

               they raised the price of dreams
blue inked can of del monte creamed corn
where baseball players
are reborn

Miguel Piñero “La Bodega Sold Dreams” (Excerpt Page 347)

dreamt i was a poet
&
writin’ silver sailin songs
words
strong & powerful crashin’ thru
walls of steels & concrete
erected in minds weak

Asha Bandele “In Response To A Brother’s Questions About What He Would Do When His Best Friend Beats Up His Woman” (Excerpt Page 392)

snatch him by the back of his neck   run him into his own fist   twice
tell him who the real enemy is   show him   make him swallow his own
teeth

You can find Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Café HERE.

Enormous Blue Umbrella Poems by Donna Hilbert (Moon Tide Press)

A fellow Long Beach, California resident, Donna Hilbert’s poems may seem distant from the work of the Nuyorican Poets Café. However, that contrast attracts me- the Southern California beaches, the Pacific Ocean, and the tranquility of both coasts. Hilbert is described as a “master of the shorter poem” on the book’s back cover, and perhaps that’s why her writing resonates with me. She provides so much in just a few lines, and I have always felt grateful for that.

Arms (Page 68)

Cracked branch of a white ash
Leans into the Japanese cherry.

Even Trees need friendly arms
to hold them. 

You can find Enormous Blue Umbrella HERE

We Still Be: Poems and Performances by Paul S. Flores (Published by El Martillo Press)

I met Paul several years ago in Long Beach, California, when he came to scout locations for his play, PLACAS: The Most Dangerous Tattoo.  We’ve reconnected multiple times since, and each time, I sense not only a very creative person but also a wise one. This collection of poems and performances is the winner of the American Book Award 2024.   

Spanglish (Excerpt Page 12)

I unearth my mother’s tongue
and hold it in my hand like a flopping fish
A gleaming survivor

My First Language Is Love (Excerpt Page 43)

My Mother’s Spanish
Saved me from loneliness
Saved me from feeling sorry for myself
When I felt embarrassed to explain my name
When they asked me, Where are you from?
When they asked me, What are you?

You can find We Still Be: Poems and Performances HERE.