Miguel Algarín
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Miguel Algarín Jr. (11 September 1941 – 30 November 2020) was a Puerto Rican poet, writer, co-founder of the
Nuyorican Poets Café The Nuyorican Poets Cafe is a nonprofit organization in the Alphabet City, Manhattan, Alphabet City neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican Movement, Nuyorican (Puerto Rican New Yorker) art movement, and has b ...
, and a
Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
professor of English.


Early years

Algarín was born in Santurce,
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
, and grew up in a culturally rich household that fostered a deep appreciation for the arts. In 1950, he and his family migrated to the
Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...
of
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, where he completed both his primary and secondary education. Algarín then pursued his studies in English, earning a B.A. from the
University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
in 1963 and an M.A. from
Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...
in 1965. He later obtained his Ph.D. in comparative literature from
Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
. While teaching English at
Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...
and
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
, Algarín developed a profound love for the works of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
. The timeless tales of Shakespeare inspired him to create a space where he could share the stories of his own community. Eventually, he became a professor of Shakespeare, creative writing, and United States
ethnic An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...
literature at Rutgers University. In 1973, Algarín began hosting gatherings for poets and artists in the living room of his Manhattan apartment. By 1975, the number of attendees had grown significantly, prompting him to seek a more suitable venue for these creative gatherings.


Nuyorican Poets Café

After some time of hosting poets in his apartment, Algarín, Miguel Piñero, Pedro Pietri, and other poets rented a location on East 6th street and named it the
Nuyorican Nuyorican is a portmanteau word blending "New York" (or "Nueva York" in Spanish) and "Puerto Rican," referring to Puerto Ricans located in or around New York City, their culture, or their descendants (especially those raised or currently livin ...
Poets Café. In 1980, Algarín purchased a building on East 3rd street to expand the café. The Café is now a non-profit organization that offers programs which include poetry and prose readings, theatrical and musical performances, and visual arts exhibits. It is one of the key cultural institutions of the Nuyorican Movement. The Nuyorican Poets Cafe popularized
slam poetry A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. Poetry slams began in Chicago in the 1980s, with the first slam competition designed to move poetry recitals from a ...
. The theater has won over 30 " AUDELCO Awards" and was honored with an
Obie The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theater artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Starting just after th ...
grant for excellence in theater. Of the screenplays read in the theater, 40 have been turned into films. The Latin
jam session A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without ...
which is celebrated at the Café has been a weekly "Critics Choice" at the New York Press for six consecutive years. The Café also has a radio broadcast on
WBAI WBAI (99.5 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station licensed to New York, New York. Its programming is a mixture of political news, talk and opinion from a left-leaning, liberal or progressive viewpoint, and eclectic musi ...
, where Algarín started the broadcast with his signature "We're live from the
Nuyorican Poets Café The Nuyorican Poets Cafe is a nonprofit organization in the Alphabet City, Manhattan, Alphabet City neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican Movement, Nuyorican (Puerto Rican New Yorker) art movement, and has b ...
". Algarín played an important role in the spread of Nuyorican literature by compiling, with Miguel Piñero, its first anthology ''Nuyorican Poetry: An Anthology of Puerto Rican Words and Feelings''. He also founded a publishing house called the Nuyorican Press, which only published one book, his own ''Mongo Affair''. He also helped launch Arte Public Press, which became a leading publishing house for Nuyorican works. Principally known as a poet, Algarín's books include ''Mongo Affair'', ''On Call'' (1980), ''Body Bee Calling from the 21st Century'' (1982), ''Time's Now/Ya es tiempo'' (1985), and ''Love Is Hard Work: Memorias de Loisaida/Poems'' (1997, Lower East Side Memories/Poems). He also published anthologies of works that were performed at the Nuyorican Poets Café, including ''Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Café'' (1994) which he co-edited with Bob Holman. He was the editor of ''Action: The Nuyorican Café Theatre Festival'' and co-editor of ''Aloud''. Among his award-winning poetry books are ''Time's Now/Ya Es Tiempo'' and ''Love is Hard Work''.


Honors

Algarín held the status of
Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...
for his more than 30 years of service to Rutgers University. He has received three
American Book Award The American Book Awards are an American literary award that annually recognizes a set of books and people for "outstanding literary achievement". According to the 2010 awards press release, it is "a writers' award given by other writers" and "t ...
s and the Larry Leon Hamlin Producer's Award at the 2001 National Black Festival. In the movie '' Piñero'', about the life of Miguel Piñero, directed by Leon Ichaso and starring
Benjamin Bratt Benjamin Bratt (born December 16, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for playing Paco Aguilar in '' Blood in Blood Out''. He had supporting film roles in the 1990s in ''Demolition Man'' (1993), ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1994) and '' ...
, Algarín is portrayed by the actor
Giancarlo Esposito Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito (; born April 26, 1958) is an American actor and director. He rose to prominence by portraying Gus Fring in the AMC (TV channel), AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2009–2011), a role he reprised in ...
. Algarín received three American Book Awards and became the first Latino to win the Before Columbus Lifetime Achievement American Book Award in 2009.


Later years

Algarín retired as professor from Rutgers University, but continued as the executive producer of the Nuyorican Poets Café's theater and was working on a piece of literature titled "Dirty Beauty". In 2001, he was portrayed by actor Giancarlo Esposito in the Miguel Piñero biopic '' Piñero''.


Death

Algarín died from
sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...
at a hospital in Manhattan on 30 November 2020, at age 79.


Works

* * * * * *''Action.'' Touchstone. 1997. *
Survival Supervivencia
'. Arte Publico Press. 2009.


Editor

* * *


See also

* List of Latin American writers *
List of Puerto Rican writers This is a list of Puerto Rican literary figures, including poets, novelists, short story authors, and playwrights. It includes people who were born in Puerto Rico, people who are of Puerto Rican ancestry, and long-term residents or immigrants w ...
*
List of Puerto Ricans This is a list of notable people from Puerto Rico which includes people who were born in Puerto Rico (Borinquen) and people who are of full or partial Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican descent. Puerto Rican citizens are included, as the governm ...
*
Puerto Rican literature Puerto Rican literature is the body of literature produced by writers of Puerto Rican descent. It evolved from the art of Oral literature, oral storytelling. Written works by the indigenous inhabitants of Puerto Rico were originally prohibited ...
* Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States *
Before Columbus Foundation The Before Columbus Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 by Ishmael Reed, "dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of contemporary American multicultural literature". The Foundation makes annual awards for books published in ...
* Miguel Piñero, co-founder of Nuyorican Poetry movement *
Giannina Braschi Giannina Braschi (born February 5, 1953) is a Puerto Rican poet, novelist, dramatist, and scholar. Her notable works include '' Empire of Dreams'' (1988), '' Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998), '' United States of Banana'' (2011), and '' Putinoika'' (2024). ...
, author of Spanglish novel, ''Yo-Yo Boing!'' * Pedro Pietri, co-founder of
Nuyorican Poets Café The Nuyorican Poets Cafe is a nonprofit organization in the Alphabet City, Manhattan, Alphabet City neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican Movement, Nuyorican (Puerto Rican New Yorker) art movement, and has b ...


References


External links


Miguel Algarin Web Site

View Current TV's program on Nuyorican Power
*Manuscript materials of ttps://centropr.hunter.cuny.edu/collections/collection-descriptions Miguel Algarín´s literary workare held at Centro. Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Hunter, CUNY. {{DEFAULTSORT:Algarin, Miguel 1941 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Puerto Rican poets 20th-century American poets 21st-century Puerto Rican poets 21st-century American poets American Book Award winners Brooklyn College faculty Deaths from sepsis in the United States Infectious disease deaths in New York (state) People from the Lower East Side People from Santurce, Puerto Rico Pennsylvania State University alumni Puerto Rican male writers Rutgers University alumni Rutgers University faculty Writers from Manhattan University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni