Felice Belle Finale

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.

Poet Felice Belle curates a night of poetry to mark the end of her tenure as host of the Friday Night Slam at the Nuyorican Poets Café from 2001-2003. The video features performances from Tish Benson, Jen Murphy, Kirk Nugent, Celena Glenn, Roger Bonair-Agard, Kristin O'Keefe Askowitz, Kahlil Al-Moustafa, Mayda del Valle, Bryonn Bain, Clare Ultimo, Staceyann Chin, Steve Colman, Kayo, Shappy, Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, Regie Cabico, Nathan P, Yolanda Wilkinson, Peter of the Earth, and Felice Belle herself. Each poet shares personal remembrances of their interactions with Felice and speak to her role as host of the slam. Belle performs one of her own poems to close the evening's festivities, before naming Karen Jaime as her successor. Jaime goes on to serve as host of the Friday Night Slam from 2003-2005.