Shaggy Flores
Encyclopedia
"Shaggy Flores" is a Nuyorican
poet, writer
and African Diaspora
scholar who forms part of the Nuyorical literary movement
.
, New York City
, as well as in Puerto Rico
and Springfield, Massachusetts
. He received his primary and secondary education in Puerto Rico and Massachusetts. As a child, growing up in Robinson Gardens Housing Projects, he was heavily exposed to the work of the early Nuyorican poets, his mother being a poet herself. Later in junior high and high school he showed a proficiency for writing and for creating short stories that depicted the Puerto Rican experience. He graduated from the High School of Commerce and eventually met a recruiter for the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (BCP Program) who helped him continue his studies.
During the early nineties, he was heavily involved with student politics at the University of Massachusetts, resurrecting old student organizations and creating new ones in the process. It was during this period that his work as a Nuyorican poet became known and he began to find elder Nuyorican poets who could serve as mentors.
He completed his education at the University of Massachusetts with a degree in the African Diaspora and by creating the annual Voices for the Voiceless poetry concert. Voices is one of the largest Diaspora poetry concerts in the Northeast, bringing nationally established African Diaspora writers to the five-college community for one night of poetry. It was at this event that he established the Louis Reyes Rivera lifetime achievement award to honor legendary artists.
Early readings would include performances at the Nuyorican Poets Café
, Columbia University, Smith College, Mt. Holyoke College, Springfield College, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and for a poetry troupe created by Louis Reyes Rivera and Felipe Luciano
call the Wordquestra in New York City. He would later get to meet and perform with many of the early Nuyorican writers who inspired him to become a writer.
His poems and interview have been published in journals, books, websites, and anthologies.
He was a member of the 2000 National Hartford Slam team and competed in the 2001 Nationals as an independent competitor representing Springfield, MA. Shaggy also performed at the National Poetry Slam 2001 Latino showcase and in the NPS African American Showcase in Seattle, Washington. Flores was also one of the first Latino poets along with Raul R. Salinas to feature at the Austin International Poetry Festival.
Flores is also the founder of Dark Souls Press and Aristotle’s Playground, a web and print design firm.
Nuyorican
Nuyorican is a portmanteau of the terms "New York" and "Puerto Rican" and refers to the members or culture of the Puerto Rican diaspora located in or around New York State especially the New York City metropolitan area, or of their descendants...
poet, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and African Diaspora
African diaspora
The African diaspora was the movement of Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world—predominantly to the Americas also to Europe, the Middle East and other places around the globe...
scholar who forms part of the Nuyorical literary movement
Nuyorican Movement
The Nuyorican Movement is a cultural and intellectual movement involving poets, writers, musicians and artists who are Puerto Rican or of Puerto Rican descent, who live in or near New York City, and either call themselves or are known as Nuyoricans...
.
Early years
Shaggy Flores, was born and raised in Spanish HarlemSpanish Harlem
East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem and El Barrio, is a section of Harlem in the northeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. East Harlem is one of the largest predominantly Latino communities in New York City. It includes the area formerly known as Italian Harlem, in which...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, as well as in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
. He received his primary and secondary education in Puerto Rico and Massachusetts. As a child, growing up in Robinson Gardens Housing Projects, he was heavily exposed to the work of the early Nuyorican poets, his mother being a poet herself. Later in junior high and high school he showed a proficiency for writing and for creating short stories that depicted the Puerto Rican experience. He graduated from the High School of Commerce and eventually met a recruiter for the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (BCP Program) who helped him continue his studies.
During the early nineties, he was heavily involved with student politics at the University of Massachusetts, resurrecting old student organizations and creating new ones in the process. It was during this period that his work as a Nuyorican poet became known and he began to find elder Nuyorican poets who could serve as mentors.
He completed his education at the University of Massachusetts with a degree in the African Diaspora and by creating the annual Voices for the Voiceless poetry concert. Voices is one of the largest Diaspora poetry concerts in the Northeast, bringing nationally established African Diaspora writers to the five-college community for one night of poetry. It was at this event that he established the Louis Reyes Rivera lifetime achievement award to honor legendary artists.
Early Debut
Shaggy Flores made his early poetry debut by performing his work at the first North East Latino Student Conference at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in the early nineties then later for a series of events produced by the Puerto Rican Student organization. He was a member of the Umass poetry society and traveled frequently to New York to perform at events such as the annual Muévete Conference held at Hostos Community College and later at the National Poetry Slam held in Providence, RI.Early readings would include performances at the Nuyorican Poets Café
Nuyorican Poets Café
The Nuyorican Poets Café is a non-profit organization in Alphabet City, Manhattan. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican art movement in New York City, USA, and has become a forum for poetry, music, hip hop, video, visual arts, comedy and theatre.-History:...
, Columbia University, Smith College, Mt. Holyoke College, Springfield College, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and for a poetry troupe created by Louis Reyes Rivera and Felipe Luciano
Felipe Luciano
Felipe Luciano is an American poet, community activist, journalist, media personality, and politician. He is of Puerto Rican heritage....
call the Wordquestra in New York City. He would later get to meet and perform with many of the early Nuyorican writers who inspired him to become a writer.
His poems and interview have been published in journals, books, websites, and anthologies.
Writing history
Flores is the author of Sancocho - A Book of Nuyorican Poetry, and can be found in the anthologies Role Call and Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam, both edited by Tony Medina (the latter co-edited with Louis Reyes Rivera). He is one of the founders of the annual Voices for the Voiceless Poetry Concert which occurs in the five college Umass-Amherst area.He was a member of the 2000 National Hartford Slam team and competed in the 2001 Nationals as an independent competitor representing Springfield, MA. Shaggy also performed at the National Poetry Slam 2001 Latino showcase and in the NPS African American Showcase in Seattle, Washington. Flores was also one of the first Latino poets along with Raul R. Salinas to feature at the Austin International Poetry Festival.
Flores is also the founder of Dark Souls Press and Aristotle’s Playground, a web and print design firm.
Currently
Shaggy Flores resides in the Mid-Atlantic area where he is at work on various national writing campaigns and is completing a Masters in History Degree. He is an active and proud member of Iota Phi Theta fraternity and lectures around the country on issues pertaining to the African Diaspora. Shaggy is also completing his next book of poetry, Obatala's Bugalu: A Nuyorican Book of Sights and Sounds, to be released in the summer of 2008.See also
- Puerto Rican literature
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- List of Puerto Rican writers
- Nuyorican Poets CaféNuyorican Poets CaféThe Nuyorican Poets Café is a non-profit organization in Alphabet City, Manhattan. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican art movement in New York City, USA, and has become a forum for poetry, music, hip hop, video, visual arts, comedy and theatre.-History:...
- Nuyorican MovementNuyorican MovementThe Nuyorican Movement is a cultural and intellectual movement involving poets, writers, musicians and artists who are Puerto Rican or of Puerto Rican descent, who live in or near New York City, and either call themselves or are known as Nuyoricans...
- Performance poetryPerformance poetryPerformance poetry is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe poetry written or composed for performance rather than print distribution.-History:...
- Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.Iota Phi Theta Fraternity is a nationally incorporated, predominantly African-American collegiate fraternity. It was founded on September 19, 1963 at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. At present, it consists of over 70,000 members...
- Black history in Puerto Rico
External references
- Postcolonial Journal
- CENTRO Academic Journal: Puerto Rican Poetry of The Last Four Decades
- Hostos Review Journal
- Labor's Heritage Journal
- Latino Promo Booking Agency
- A History and Interactive Playground of Puerto Rican Performance Poetry
- Amherst College Article
- Nuyorican Poets Cafe Performance
- Voices for the Voiceless Article
- Florida State University Article
- Voices Article
- Sample of Work: Poem of the month
- Google Notable Search