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{{short description|Puerto Rican poet and children's book author (born 1967)}}
{{COI|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox writer
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| birth_date = {{bya|1967}}
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| birth_place = [[New York, New York]]
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| occupation = Writer/Teacher
| nationality =
| nationality = Puerto Rican
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| genre = Poetry
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| awards = [[PEN/Open Book Award]]
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| website = {{URL|http://willieperdomo.com}}
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'''Willie Perdomo''' (born 1967) is a [[Puerto Rico|Puerto Rican]] writer. He is the author of ''Smoking Lovely: The Remix'' (Haymarket Books, 2021), ''The Crazy Bunch'' (Penguin Poets, 2019), ''The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon'' (Penguin Poets, 2014), a [[National Book Critics Circle Awards]] finalist, ''Where a Nickel Costs a Dime'' ([[W. W. Norton & Company]]), a [[Poetry Society of America]] [[Norma Farber First Book Award]] finalist, 1996),<ref name="norton">[http://www.wwnorton.com/catalog/fall95/031383.htm Willie Perdomo's author page] at Norton Poets online.</ref> ''Postcards of El Barrio'' (Isla Negra Press, 2002), and ''Smoking Lovely'' (Rattapallax Press, 2003),<ref name="Rattapallax">[http://www.rattapallax.com/perdomo.htm Willie Perdomo's author page] at Rattapallax Press.</ref> which received a [[PEN Beyond Margins Award]] (now known as PEN/Open Book).<ref name="Pen">[https://pen.org/pen-open-book-award/ PEN America Literary Awards| PEN Open Book Award | History]. Retrieved August 20, 2023.</ref> His children's book, ''Visiting Langston'', received the [[Coretta Scott King]] Honor. Winner of the Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship, the New York City Book Award (2019), and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Cy Twombly Award for Poetry, Perdomo was also the recipient of a [[New York Foundation for the Arts]] Poetry Fellowship in 2001 and 2009. He is currently an Instructor in English at [[Phillips Exeter Academy]] and was appointed State Poet of New York, 2021-2023.
==Overview==
'''Willie Perdomo''' is a prize-winning [[Nuyorican]] poet and children's book author. He is the author of ''Where a Nickel Costs a Dime'' ([[W. W. Norton & Company]], 1996),<ref name="norton">http://www.wwnorton.com/catalog/fall95/031383.htm | Willie Perdomo's author page at Norton Poets online</ref> ''Postcards of El Barrio'' (Isla Negra Press, 2002), and ''Smoking Lovely'' (Rattapallax Press, 2003),<ref name="Rattapallax">http://www.rattapallax.com/perdomo.htm | Willie Perdomo's author page at Rattapllax Press</ref> which received a [[PEN American Center]] [[PEN Open Book Award|Beyond Margins Award]].<ref name="Pen">http://www.pen.org/page.php/prmID/280 | Pen America Beyond Margins Awards page</ref> His children's book, ''Visiting Langston'', received the [[Coretta Scott King]] Honors. Perdomo was also the recipient of a [[New York Foundation for the Arts]] Poetry Fellowship in 2001, and a Fiction Fellowship in 2006. He is a [[Pushcart Prize]] nominee,<ref name="2007 pushcart">http://spindlezine.com/index.php/issues/2007-pushcart-prize-nominees.html | List of Spindle's 2007 Pushcart Prize Nominees</ref> and recently was a [[Woolrich Fellow]] in Creative Writing at [[Columbia University]]. He is co-founder/publisher of [[Cypher Books]] and teaches in [[New York City]].


==Performance==
== Biography ==
Willie Perdomo was born in 1967 and raised in [[East Harlem]], New York City.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latinxproject.nyu.edu/intervenxions/the-drumbeat-la-ciudad-y-la-descarga-the-plurality-of-willie-perdomos-the-essential-hits-of-shorty-bon-bon|title=The Drumbeat, la ciudad y la Descarga: The Plurality of Willie Perdomo's 'The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon'|first=Jacqueline |last=Jiang|website=The Latinx Project|publisher=New York University|date=April 15, 2022|access-date=August 20, 2023}}</ref> He received an MFA from [[Long Island University]] (LIU) Brooklyn.<ref name=poets.org>{{cite web|url=https://poets.org/poet/willie-perdomo|website=poets.org|title=Willie Perdomo, Poet Laureate of New York, 2021–2023|publisher=Academy of American Poets|access-date=August 20, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.exeter.edu/faculty/william-eulogio-perdomo|title=Willie Perdomo, Instructor in English|website=exeter.edu|publisher=Phillips Exeter Academy|access-date=August 20, 2023}}</ref> In 2021, he was appointed [[Poets Laureate of New York|State Poet of New York]].<ref>{{cite web |title=State Author and State Poet honorees |url=https://www.nyswritersinstitute.org/new-york-state-author-state-poet |website=New York State Writers Institute |access-date=20 August 2023}}</ref> He lives in [[Exeter, New Hampshire|Exeter]], [[New Hampshire]].
Milagros was here


==Awards and honors==
*2014: [[National Book Critics Circle Award]] (Poetry) finalist for ''The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon''<ref name=nbcc2014>{{cite web|url=http://bookcritics.org/blog/archive/national-book-critics-circle-announces-its-finalists-for-publishing-year-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122120832/http://bookcritics.org/blog/archive/national-book-critics-circle-announces-its-finalists-for-publishing-year-20|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 22, 2015|title=National Book Critics Circle Announces Finalists for Publishing Year 2014|date=January 19, 2015|publisher=[[National Book Critics Circle]]|access-date=January 29, 2015}}</ref>
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{{Portal|Puerto Rico|Biography|Literature|Poetry|Children's literature}}


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==See also==



He was a member of the 1991 Nuyorican Poetry Slam team<ref name="wiyf">Aptowicz, Cristin O'Keefe. (2008). ''Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam.'' [[New York City]]: Soft Skull Press. "Chapter 14: First and Always; Graduates from the NYC Poetry Slam's First Wave" ISBN 1-933368-82-9.</ref> and has performed his poetry on PBS' ''The United States of Poetry'' and HBO's ''Def Poetry''.<ref name="DefPo">http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2029167 | Willie Perdomo' page on IMDB.com</ref> He first read poetry aloud on a mic for the [[Nuyorican Poets Cafe]] at age twenty-two.<ref name="Mipoesias">http://www.mipoesias.com/2004/interview.htm | 2004 Interview with Mipoesias Magazine</ref> Despite being featured on many documentaries about poetry in performance, Willie Perdomo considers the performance to be secondary to the writing and rejects the [[performance poetry|performance poet]] label. He does, however, feel that powerful oral delivery of his poems can bring his words to more people.<ref name="Cornell Interview">http://writersatcornell.blogspot.com/2007/08/interview-willie-perdomo.html | 2007 interview with Cornell University (podcast)</ref>

He was also a collaborating artist in Rhythmicity at The [[Humana Festival of New American Plays]] (2002–2003) season.<ref name="VV-Aug1998">{{cite news
|url= http://www.curtainup.com/humana2003.html
|title=The Humana Festival: 2003 |work=Curtain Up
|publisher=Curtain Up|location=New York, NY|year=2003|last=Charles Whaley |first=Charles
|accessdate=2003}}</ref>

==Style and Influence==
Perdomo writes about the issues of [[East Harlem]] such as race, violence, addiction, and poverty. He often employs hip-hop rhythms, Spanish words, and a politically motivated anger. While race and culture are important to his Nuyorican poetry, he admits that his work is representative of himself, not his whole culture. In his own words, "I'm not here to represent a whole race of people. I can't do that.<ref name="Cornell Interview"/>" His literary influences range from [[Langston Hughes]] and [[Piri Thomas]] to [[Rilke]] and [[William Carlos Williams]]. He describes his poetic prowess to lie in the "ability to be universal without having to sacrifice the power of that East Harlem idiom.<ref name="Mipoesias"/>"

==Biography==
Willie Perdomo grew up in predominantly Spanish East Harlem, New York. His father emigrated from [[Puerto Rico]] in his early twenties.<ref name="LaPlaza Interview">http://www.wgbh.org/pages/laplaza/feature_article?item_id=2122999 | Interview with Ilan Stavans</ref> He attended public schools until sixth grade, when he won a scholarship to [[Friends Seminary]], a private Quaker school in lower [[Manhattan]].<ref name="Childrenslit">http://www.childrenslit.com/childrenslit/mai_perdomo_willie.html | Childrenslit.com Biography of Willie Perdomo</ref> This proved to be a shocking shift for inner-city Perdomo, unaccustomed to Quaker ways and suddenly surrounded by white prep-school boys. He got into a few fights there before he met a friendly school receptionist named Ed Randolph who told him, "You need to reroute this energy you have." Soon after hearing this advice, teenage Willie heard Ed read some of his poetry. He was inspired and began writing poems to submit to Ed for criticism. Ed became Perdomo's mentor, helping to craft his voice and style.<ref name="LaPlaza Interview"/> Perdomo's first published piece appeared in 1985 in a teen-written magazine called ''New Youth Connections'' (since renamed ''[http://www.ycteenmag.org YCteen]'').,<ref name="Childrenslit"/> which is published by the non-profit organization [http://www.youthcomm.org Youth Communication]. After graduating from Friends Seminary, he moved to nearby [[Ithaca College]] and studied a variety of subjects. He currently lives in New York City and is working on his next project, ''Emergency Money''.<ref name="LaPlaza Interview"/>
Perdomo is Co-Publisher of [http://www.cypherbooks.org Cypher Books], a publisher of today's most necessary poetry. Visit Willie's web site at [http://www.willieperdomo.com www.willieperdomo.com].

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==See also==
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{{Portal|Puerto Rico|Biography|Literature|Poetry}}
* [[List of Puerto Rican writers]]
* [[List of Puerto Rican writers]]
*[[List of Famous Puerto Ricans]]
*[[List of Puerto Ricans]]
* [[Puerto Rican literature]]
* [[Puerto Rican literature]]
{{Clear}}


== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{wikiquote}}


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[[Category:Living people]]
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Latest revision as of 15:35, 31 January 2024

Willie Perdomo
Born1967 (age 57–58)
New York, New York
OccupationWriter/Teacher
NationalityPuerto Rican
GenrePoetry
Notable awardsPEN/Open Book Award
Website
willieperdomo.com

Willie Perdomo (born 1967) is a Puerto Rican writer. He is the author of Smoking Lovely: The Remix (Haymarket Books, 2021), The Crazy Bunch (Penguin Poets, 2019), The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon (Penguin Poets, 2014), a National Book Critics Circle Awards finalist, Where a Nickel Costs a Dime (W. W. Norton & Company), a Poetry Society of America Norma Farber First Book Award finalist, 1996),[1] Postcards of El Barrio (Isla Negra Press, 2002), and Smoking Lovely (Rattapallax Press, 2003),[2] which received a PEN Beyond Margins Award (now known as PEN/Open Book).[3] His children's book, Visiting Langston, received the Coretta Scott King Honor. Winner of the Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship, the New York City Book Award (2019), and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Cy Twombly Award for Poetry, Perdomo was also the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts Poetry Fellowship in 2001 and 2009. He is currently an Instructor in English at Phillips Exeter Academy and was appointed State Poet of New York, 2021-2023.

Biography

[edit]

Willie Perdomo was born in 1967 and raised in East Harlem, New York City.[4] He received an MFA from Long Island University (LIU) Brooklyn.[5][6] In 2021, he was appointed State Poet of New York.[7] He lives in Exeter, New Hampshire.

Awards and honors

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Willie Perdomo's author page at Norton Poets online.
  2. ^ Willie Perdomo's author page at Rattapallax Press.
  3. ^ PEN America Literary Awards| PEN Open Book Award | History. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  4. ^ Jiang, Jacqueline (April 15, 2022). "The Drumbeat, la ciudad y la Descarga: The Plurality of Willie Perdomo's 'The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon'". The Latinx Project. New York University. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  5. ^ "Willie Perdomo, Poet Laureate of New York, 2021–2023". poets.org. Academy of American Poets. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  6. ^ "Willie Perdomo, Instructor in English". exeter.edu. Phillips Exeter Academy. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  7. ^ "State Author and State Poet honorees". New York State Writers Institute. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  8. ^ "National Book Critics Circle Announces Finalists for Publishing Year 2014". National Book Critics Circle. January 19, 2015. Archived from the original on January 22, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
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