Dead Poets Slam

The Nuyorican Poets Cafe Founders Archive Project is an effort of several Cafe founders to preserve the immense history of the famed cafe and to cement its importance as a foundational scene of poetry and artistic creation in New York's Lower East Side or Loisaida. Founded in 1973, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe began as a living room salon in the East Village apartment of writer and poet Miguel Algarín, along with other playwrights, poets, and musicians of color whose work was not accepted by the mainstream academic, entertainment or publishing industries. As time passed, the signature style of performance poetry became a central fixture of urban Latino and African-American culture, leading to the purchase of a former tenement building at 236 East 3rd Street, where the Cafe continues to reside. A historical and cultural landmark for nearly 50 years, the Cafe has launched numerous careers and supports a wide range of artistic endeavors such as plays, workshops, training sessions, and more.

This "Dead Poets Slam" footage features a themed night of poetry slam at the Cafe. In this competition between the Nuyorican poets and the People's Poetry Gathering, each team must perform the poem of a dead poet whom they have selected. Each team's members recite a poem from a dead poets in the two rounds of the slam as the judges decide who best honored their chosen poets. The People's Poetry Gathering featured team members Farrow, Juan Martínez, Dan Perry, Mara Kahn, and Jonathan Reed. The Nuyorican team featured Aya de Leon, Kalayla, and Yolanda Wilkinson. The event was hosted by Nathan P. and also featured guest performances by Thomas Lynch and DuEwa Frazier.