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Distributed for 2Leaf Press

Hey Yo! Yo Soy!

50 Years of Nuyorican Street Poetry, A Bilingual Edition, Tenth Anniversary Book, Second Edition

Bilingual edition

Edited by Gabrielle David and Kevin E. Tobar Pesantez
Contributions by Gabrielle David and Beaumont Vagabond
Translated by Adam Wier and Carolina Fung Feng
With an Introduction by Jaime A. Estades and Sandra Mara Esteves
Foreword by Samuel Diaz Carrion and Carmen M. Pietri-Diaz
Afterword by Jamie “Shaggy” Flores

Distributed for 2Leaf Press

Hey Yo! Yo Soy!

50 Years of Nuyorican Street Poetry, A Bilingual Edition, Tenth Anniversary Book, Second Edition

Bilingual edition

Edited by Gabrielle David and Kevin E. Tobar Pesantez
Contributions by Gabrielle David and Beaumont Vagabond
Translated by Adam Wier and Carolina Fung Feng
With an Introduction by Jaime A. Estades and Sandra Mara Esteves
Foreword by Samuel Diaz Carrion and Carmen M. Pietri-Diaz
Afterword by Jamie “Shaggy” Flores
A bilingual collection of three significant works by a founder of the Nuyorican Movement.
 
This second edition of Jesús Papoleto Meléndez’s Hey Yo! Yo Soy! celebrates the tenth anniversary of the collection’s original publication in 2012. With a title update that reflects the tenth anniversary, this expansive collection comprised of three previously published books—Long Shadows, Have You Seen Liberation, and Street Poetry & Other Poems—brings together stories about growing up Puerto Rican in New York City’s El Barrio. Meléndez, long considered one of the founders of the Nuyorican Movement, offers an approach to political, intellectual, and linguistic topics that remain poignant and relevant today.
 
This tenth-anniversary edition offers a special introduction by professor, activist, attorney, and sociologist Jaime A. Estades, who surveys Meléndez’s career in a sociological framework, offering a fresh perspective of his body of work. Meléndez discusses his Hey Yo! Yo Soy! and provides a historical survey of the Nuyorican landscape and its existence today.
 

500 pages | 60 halftones | 6 x 9 | © 2023

Nuyorican World Series

Culture Studies

Latin American Studies

Poetry


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Table of Contents

Foreword / Proemio
Celebrating the Poetry of Jesús Papoleto Meléndez /
Celebrando la poesía de Jesús Papoleto Meléndez
by Samuel Diaz Carrion and Carmen Pietri-Diaz ix

Translator’s Note / Nota del traductor
Translating the Nuyorican Experience
Through the Eyes of Jesús Papoleto Meléndez /
La traducción de la experiencia nuyorriqueña
a través de los ojos de Jesús Papoleto Meléndez
by Adam Wier xvii

Preface / Prefacio
The Poet in Papoleto / El Poeta en Papoleto
by Jesús Papoleto Meléndez. Xxv

Acknowledgements / Agradecimientos xli

Introduction / Introducción
Meeting A Real Poet / Conociendo a un verdadero poeta
by Sandra Maria Esteves 1

Celebrating 50 Years /
Celebrando 50 Años 21

The Breath of Art / El aliento del arte
by Jesús Papoleto Meléndez 23

Revisiting Hey Yo! Yo Soy! in the Millennium /
Revisando ¡Ey Yo! ¡Yo Soy! en el Millennium
by Gabrielle David 47

After Words: Puerto Rican Being From Nothingness /
Después de las palabras: el ser puertorriqueño de la nada
by vagabond 59

Prologue / Prólogo 85
¡Hey Yo?/?Yo Soy! 86
¡Ey yo?/?yo soy! 87

Casting Long Shadows /
Proyectando sombras largas 95
Here I Sit?.?.?.?By An Open Window 96
Heme aquí?.?.?.?sentado junto a una ventana abierta 97

Yet The World Still Turns 98
Pero el mundo sigue girando 99

A Question on Colors 100
Una pregunta sobre los colores 101

THEY–THOSE 102
ELLOS—ÉSOS 103

The Thinker 104
El pensador 105

I’ve Looked Deep Into Abyss 108
He mirado al profundo abismo 109

Silent Poem 112
Poema silencioso 113

Breakout; Revolt! Change. 114
Escápense; ¡Sublévense! Cámbiense. 115

Wind 118
Viento 119

in a sunflower seed box, OR
five cents worth of philosophy 120
en una caja de semillas de girasol o
cinco centavos de filosofía 121

The Chemistry of Racism 124
La química del racismo 125

Somewhere and Here 126
En algún lugar y aquí 127

It’s possible / it’s possible 128
Es posible / es posible 129

the brothers are dead 136
los hermanos están muertos 137

Have You Seen Liberation?
¿Has visto liberación? 141

prologue to understanding 142
prólogo a la comprensión 143

the revolutionary 148
el revolucionario 149

because it’s relevant 152
porque es relevante 153

message to the grass-root folk 158
un mensaje para la gente del pueblo 159

the flood came to Puerto Rico 164
la inundación llegó a Puerto Rico 165

superpig 168
superpuerco policía 169

in a moment 172
en un momento 173

have you seen liberation 174
¿has visto liberación? 175

junkies are very skillful people 180
los tecatos son muy hábiles 181

sister 186
hermana 187

little lost child 188
niñito perdido 189

Street Poetry & Other Poems
Poesía de la calle y otros poemas 193
happy thought 194
pensamiento feliz 195

OYE MUNDO / sometimes 196
OYE MUNDO / a veces 197

walking & thinking / within chaotic
revolution / within life 200

caminando y pensando / dentro
de la revolución caótica / de la vida 201

my ghetto love 210
mi amor del gueto 211

The Park Avenue Tracks 214
Los rieles de Park Avenue 215

The Old Man 218
El viejo 219

Poverty 222
La pobreza 223

The Answer 224
La respuesta 225

child 226
niño 227

love. 228
amor. 229

sunshining day 230
un día de sol brillante 231

it was so fly 232
era tan chévere 233

of a butterfly in el barrio or a stranger in paradise 238
de una mariposa en El Barrio o un extraño en el paraíso 239

she played the numbers 242
ella jugaba los números 243

stickball 244
béisbol callejero 245

message to urban sightseers 246
mensaje para turistas urbanos 247

hunger 252
hambre 253

thoughts no. 84 254
pensamientos n.o 84 255

my offerings to GOD 258
mis ofrendas para DIOS 259

& as you bow your heads to pray 262
y mientras inclinan la cabeza para rezar 263

of daily life 266
de la vida cotidiana 267

little bird 270
pajarito 271

living in the love of the ghetto people 272
viviendo en el amor de la gente del gueto 273

street poetry 280
poesía de la calle 281

tito y yo 284
tito y yo 285

deposit here 286
deposite aquí 287

the loneliest of loneliness 288
el más solitario de la soledad 289

spring again 294
otra vez es primavera 295

with my feet hanging out 296
con los pies suspendidos 297

i do hear tell 298
me han contado 299

a word’s gift to a poem 300
el regalo de una palabra a un poema 301

elements 302
elementos 303

Epilogue / Epílogo 307
In a Grain of Sand 308
En un grano de arena 309

Interview / Entrevista
Finding the Real Papo in Jesús Papoleto Meléndez
Encontrando el verdadero Papo en
Jesús Papoleto Meléndez
by Gabrielle David 313

Afterword / Postfacio
Because It Matters:
Jesús Papoleto Meléndez and the Nuyorican Aesthetic
Porque tiene importancia:
Jesús Papoleto Meléndez y la estética nuyorriqueña
by Jaime “Shaggy” Flores 373

PHOTO ALBUM / Album de fotos 385

CONTRIBUTORS / Colaboradores 416

INDEX OF TITLES / Lista de títulos 433

OTHER BOOKS BY 2LEAF PRESS 439

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