Puerto Rican Poetry Judith Ortiz Cofer | Martin Espada | Sandra Maria Esteves Sandra Maria Esteves Poet Sandra María Esteves is a "Puerto Rican-Dominican-Boriqueña- Quisqueyana-Taino-African-American," born and raised in the Bronx. One of the founders of the Nuyorican poetry movement, she has published six collections of poetry including Finding Your Way (2001); Contrapunto In The Open Field (1998); Undelivered Love Poems (1997); Bluestown Mockingbird Mambo (1990); Tropical Rain: A Bilingual Downpour (1984); and Yerba Buena (1981) which was selected as Best Small Press in 1981 by the Library Journal. She has conducted literary programs at organizations including the Caribbean Cultural Center and El Museo del Barrio. Ms. Esteves was awarded as an Art Review 2001 Honoree from the Bronx Council on the Arts, and received the 1985 NYFA Fellowship in Poetry. She lives in New York City. Here Sandra Maria Esteves I am two parts/a person boricua/spic past and present alive and oppressed given a cultural beauty . . . and robbed of a cultural identity I speak the alien tongue in sweet boriqueno thoughts know love mixed with pain have tasted spit on ghetto stairways . . . here, it must be changed we must change it I may never overcome the theft of my isla heritage dulce palmas de coco on Luquillo sway in windy recesses I can only imagine and remember how it was But that reality now a dream teaches me to see, and will bring me back to me. From Yerba Buena, GreenŞeld, NY: GreenŞeld Review Press, 1981. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Not Neither Sandra Maria Esteves Being Puertorriqueña Dominicana Born in the Bronx, not really jibara Not really hablando bien But yet, not Gringa either Pero ni portorra, pero si portorra too Pero ni que what am I? Y que soy, pero con what voice do my lips move? Rhythms of Rosa wood feet dancing Bomba Not even here, but here, y Conga Yet not being, pero soy, and not really Y somos, y cómo somos? Bueno, eso si es algo lindo Algo muy lindo We defy translation Ni tengo nombre nameless, we are a whole culture once removed Lolita alive for twenty-five years Ni soy, pero soy Puertorriquñea commo ella Giving blood to the independent star Daily transfusions into the river of La Sangre Viva. From Stone on Stone/Piedra Sobre Piedra, edited by Zoe Anglesey. Seattle: Open Hand, 1994. Used with permission. All rights reserved. Judith Ortiz Cofer | Martin Espada | Sandra Maria Esteves Essays + Interviews: Puerto Ricans in America | Puerto Rican Poetry | Esmeralda Santiago Essays + Interviews | Puerto Rico: A Timeline Memoir to Film | Story Synopsis | Cast + Credits Links + Bibliography | Teacher's Guide | The Forum Home | About The Series | The American Collection | The Archive Schedule & Season | Feature Library | eNewsletter | Book Club Learning Resources | Forum | Search | Shop | Feedback ©