Miguel Algarín facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Miguel Algarín Jr.
Miguel Algarín Jr.
Born	(1941-09-11)11 September 1941 Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Died	30 November 2020(2020-11-30) (aged 79) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Poet scholar editor playwright translator
Nationality	Puerto Rican
Education	University of Wisconsin–Madison Pennsylvania State University Rutgers University
Literary movement	Nuyorican
Notable awards	American Book Award (1980, 1985, 1994) Larry Leon Hamlin Producer's Award American Book Award for Lifetime Achievement Obie Award

Miguel Algarín Jr. (born September 11, 1941 – died November 30, 2020) was a Puerto Rican poet, writer, and a professor. He also helped start the famous Nuyorican Poets Café.

Early Life and Education

Miguel Algarín Jr. was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. His family loved culture and the arts. In 1950, when he was nine years old, his family moved to the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. He went to school there.

Algarín studied English at the University of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania State University. He later earned his PhD in literature from Rutgers University. He taught English at Brooklyn College and New York University. He especially loved the plays of Shakespeare. Shakespeare's stories inspired him to want a place where he could share stories about his own life and community. Later, he became a professor at Rutgers University, teaching about Shakespeare, creative writing, and American ethnic literature.

In 1973, Miguel Algarín started inviting poets and artists to his apartment in Manhattan. They would gather in his living room to share their poems and art. By 1975, so many people were coming that his apartment became too small. He decided it was time to find a bigger place.

The Nuyorican Poets Café

Miguel Algarín, along with Miguel Piñero, Pedro Pietri, and other poets, rented a new place on East 6th Street. They called it the Nuyorican Poets Café. In 1980, Algarín bought a building on East 3rd Street to make the café even bigger.

The Nuyorican Poets Café.

Today, the Nuyorican Poets Café is a non-profit organization. It hosts many events like poetry readings, plays, music shows, and art exhibits. It is a very important place for the Nuyorican Movement, which celebrates the culture of Puerto Ricans in New York. The café also helped make slam poetry popular. Slam poetry is a fun, competitive way for poets to perform their work.

The theater at the café has won over 30 "AUDELCO Awards" for its great performances. It also received an Obie grant, which is a special award for excellent theater. Many screenplays first read at the café have later been made into films. The café's weekly Latin jam session was even called a "Critics Choice" by the New York Press for six years in a row. Miguel Algarín also started a radio show from the café on WBAI, beginning each show with his famous line, "We're live from the Nuyorican Poets Café".

Miguel Algarín played a big part in sharing Nuyorican literature with the world. He worked with Miguel Piñero to create Nuyorican Poetry: An Anthology of Puerto Rican Words and Feelings. This was the first collection of Nuyorican poetry. He also started a publishing company called Nuyorican Press, which published his own book, Mongo Affair. He also helped start Arte Public Press, which became a leading publisher for Nuyorican writers.

Algarín was mainly known as a poet. His 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). He also edited collections of works performed at the Nuyorican Poets Café, like Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Café (1994). His poetry books Time's Now/Ya Es Tiempo and Love is Hard Work won awards.

Awards and Recognition

Miguel Algarín was a professor at Rutgers University for over 30 years. He was given the title of Professor Emeritus when he retired, which is an honor for long and excellent service.

He won three American Book Awards. In 2001, he received the Larry Leon Hamlin Producer's Award at the National Black Festival. In 2009, he became the first Latino to win the Before Columbus Lifetime Achievement American Book Award. This award recognized his amazing contributions over his lifetime.

In the movie Piñero, which tells the story of Miguel Piñero, Miguel Algarín was played by the actor Giancarlo Esposito.

Later Years and Passing

After retiring from Rutgers University, Miguel Algarín continued to be involved with the Nuyorican Poets Café. He was the executive producer for the café's theater. He was also working on a new piece of writing called "Dirty Beauty."

Miguel Algarín passed away on November 30, 2020, in a hospital in Manhattan. He was 79 years old.

Works

• Mongo Affair: poems (1978)
• On Call (1980)
• Body Bee Calling from the 21st Century (1982)
• Time's Now/Ya Es Tiempo (1985)
• Love is Hard Work: memorias de Loisaida (1997)
• Action (1997)
• Survival Supervivencia (2009)

Editor

• Nuyorican Poetry: An Anthology of Puerto Rican Words and Feelings (1975) – co-edited with Miguel Piñero
• Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Café (1994) – co-edited with Bob Holman
• Action: The Nuyorican Poets Café Theater Festival (1997) – co-edited with Lois Griffith

See also

• List of Latin American writers
• List of Puerto Rican writers
• List of Puerto Ricans
• Puerto Rican literature
• Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States
• Before Columbus Foundation
• Miguel Piñero, co-founder of Nuyorican Poetry movement
• Giannina Braschi, author of Spanglish novel, Yo-Yo Boing!
• Pedro Pietri, co-founder of Nuyorican Poets Café