What Scattered Ashes Leave behind: Expressions of Nuyorican Identity in Miguel Piñero’s A Lower East Side Poem

Marcia Alesan Dawkins

Abstract


Miguel Piñero’s (1985) A Lower East Side Poem offers social and spatial critique of New York City’s Lower East Side and the corruption and neocolonialism that made it a contested domain in the 1970s and 80s. In so doing, the poem functions as Piñero’s last will and testament and description of how the urban landscape of The Lower East side was ground for reshaping Nuyorican identity. This essay takes A Lower East Side Poem as a starting point for understanding Nuyorican identity as a dynamic expression of vernacular cosmopolitan and indigenous concerns using rich rhetorical representations.
Key words: Nuyorican; Rhetoric; Miguel Pinero; Puerto Rico; Identity; Vernacular Cosmopolitanism; Indigeneity

Resumé: Le poème de Lower East Side de Miguel Piñero (1985) offre une critique sociale et spatiale sur le Lower East Side de la cité de New York et sur la corruption et le néocolonialisme qui l'ont transformée en un domaine contesté dans les années 1970 et 80. Cela faisant, le poème fonctionne comme le dernier souhait et le testament de Piñero et la description de la façon dont le paysage urbain du Lower East Side a été broyé pour remodeler l'identité Nuyoricane. Cet essai considère Le Poème de Lower East Side comme le point de départ pour comprendre l'identité Nuyoricane comme une expression dynamique de quiétudes vernaculaires cosmopolitaines et indigènes en utilisant des représentation rhétoriques riches
Mots-clés: Nuyorican; Rhétorique; Miguel Piñero; Puerto Rico; Identité; Cosmopolitanisme Vernaculaire; Indigénéité

Keywords


Nuyorican; Rhetoric; Miguel Pinero; Puerto Rico; Identity; Vernacular Cosmopolitanism; Indigeneity;Nuyorican; Rhétorique; Miguel Piñero; Puerto Rico; Identité; Cosmopolitanisme Vernaculaire; Indigénéité

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/j.ccc.1923670020110702.001

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