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"The Queer Nuyorican is the first queer genealogy and critical study of the historical, political and cultural conditions under which the term "Nuyorican" shifts from a raced/ethnic identity marker to "Nuyorican," an aesthetic practice. While "Nuyorican," uppercase "N," marks an ethnic, political, and cultural identity signifying Puerto Rican community, culture, and struggle in New York City from the late 1960s through the 1980s, "Nuyorican," lowercase "n," references an aesthetic practice that developed alongside the spoken word and competitive slam poetry scene in the 1990s. The Nuyorican aesthetic queers fixed definitions of Nuyorican identity by recognizing and including queer poets and performers of color whose writing and performance build upon the politics inherent in the Cafe's founding. Initially situated within the Cafe's physical space and countercultural discursive history, the Nuyorican aesthetic extends beyond these gendered and ethnic boundaries, broadening the ethnic marker Nuyorican in order to include queer, trans, and diasporic performance modalities"--
About the author
Karen Jaime is Assistant Professor of Performing and Media Arts and Latina/o Studies at Cornell University. As a published poet, Karen's work is included in
The Best of Panic! En Vivo From the East Village and
Flicker and Spark: A Queer Anthology of Spoken Word and Poetry.
