Puerto Rican poetry

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Puerto Rican poetry

Puerto Rican poetry at the Whitney Museum

Soy boricua. In spite of my family and in spite of my country—I’m writing the process of the Puerto Rican mind—taking it out of context—as a native and a foreigner—expressing it through Spanish, Spanglish, and English—Independencia, Estado Libre Asociado, and Estadidad—from the 
position of a nation, a colony, and a state—Wishy, Wishy Washy, and Washy—not as one political party that is parted into piddly parts and partied out. Todos los partidos están partidos y son unos partidos.

Giannina Braschi, United States of Banana

Contemporary Puerto Rican Poetry

Did you experience the Puerto Rican poetry extravaganza at The Whitney?! Experience it here on YouTube.

El bello no ser de nuestros cuerpos/Our Bodies’ Beautiful Not Being: A reading at the Whitney Museum curated by Roque Salas Rivera, featured a dynamic mix of leading and emerging Puerto Rican poets of the day:

contemporary Puerto Rican poets

Puerto Rican literature anthologies

  • Diasporic Journeys: Interviews with Puerto Rican Writers in the United States, 2023. Carmen Haydée Rivera, Editor. Puerto Rican poets and writers: Giannina Braschi, Rodney Morales, Luisita López Torregrosa, Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes, Javier Ávila, José Luis Torres-Padilla, Aya de León, María Teresa “Mariposa” Fernández, Caridad de la Luz, Migdalia Cruz, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Quiara Alegría Hudes, and Raquel Salas Rivera.
  • Papiros de Babel: Antologia de la poesia puertorriquena en Nueva York, 1991. Pedro Lopez Adorno, Editor. Vanessa Droz, Jan Martinez, Mayra Santos Febres, Ivan Silen, Carmen Valle, Lourdes Vazquez, Manuel Ramos Otero, Giannina Braschi, Pedro Lopez Adorno, and Marithelma Costa.
  • Puerto Rico en mi corazón, 2019. Raquel Salas Rivera, Ricardo Maldonado, Carina del Valle Schorske, Editors. Joey de Jesus, Nicole Delgado, Kenning JP García, Yara Liceaga, Lara Mimosa Montes, Urayoan Noel, Nicole Sealey & more.
  • Breaking Ground: Anthology of Puerto Rican Women Writers in New York 1980-2012/Abriendo Caminos: antologia de escritoras puertorriquenas en Nueva York. 2012, Myrna Nieves, Editor. Myrna Nieves, Sandra María Esteves, Giannina Braschi, Nancy Mercado, Madeline Millán, and Corazón Tierra.

Page of Puerto Rican poetry
a page of Puerto Rican poetry from PUTINOIKA

Famous Boricua Poems

Enjoy Boricua.com‘s spotlight on Giannina Braschi, author of the famous Puerto Rican poem “Soy Boricua.” To read other famous Puerto Rican poems, visit The Literary Ladies Guide which illuminates the life and works of Julia de Burgos and other talented women writers from antiquity to today.  Go to Poetry Foundation to read masterworks by Pedro Pietri such as Puerto Rican Obituary.

Prominent Puerto Rican poets

Here are some of the influential Puerto Rican poets whose work is a vital part of contemporary American poetry:

Prominent Contemporary Puerto Rican American Poets (AI)

Pedro Pietri
  • Giannina Braschi: A highly disruptive and revolutionary voice known for her hybrid works in Spanish, English, and Spanglish, which are political and postmodern.
  • Roque Raquel Salas Rivera: A prominent bilingual poet and former Poet Laureate of Philadelphia whose work is in constant dialogue with the colonial present of Puerto Rico.
  • Pedro Pietri: A foundational figure of the Nuyorican movement, known for his epic poem Puerto Rican Obituary and the co-founder of the renowned Nuyorican Poets Café.
  • Miguel Algarín: A poet, writer, and co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café, which became a vital cultural institution for validating the Puerto Rican experience in the U.S.
  • Julia de Burgos: Though her main work was earlier, she is considered the contemporary foremother of the Nuyorican movement and one of the greatest poets of Latin America, whose themes of feminism and social justice deeply influence current poets.
  • Victor Hernández Cruz: The first Hispanic poet to be published by a mainstream U.S. publishing house (Random House) with his collection Snaps in 1969. 

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