- Creator
- Nuyorican Poets Cafe
- Call number
- 8-MWEZ + n.c. 30,503
- Physical description
- .25 linear feet (1 box)
- Preferred Citation
- Nuyorican Poets Cafe ephemera, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library
- Repository
- Billy Rose Theatre Division
- Access to materials
- Request an in-person research appointment.
The Nuyorican Poets Cafe was founded by Miguel Algarín in 1974. The original "cafe" was located in Algarín's own apartment, but by the late 1970s he had found a space on East 6th Street between Avenues B and C for poetry readings, music, live radio broadcasts, readings of plays and screenplays, and other performances. The cafe closed for renovations for several years in the mid-1980s, but reopened and found new popularity, especially after being featured in a cover story in the New York Times Magazine and a segment on MTV's Unplugged program, both in 1993. Plays performed at the cafe include Amiri Baraka's MEETING LILLIE, Rome Neal's JULIUS CAESAR SET IN AFRICA, Wesley Brown's LIFE DURING WARTIME, and Ishmael Reed's HUBBA CITY. The Nuyorican Poets Cafe ephemera consists of clippings, fliers, and programs. In addition to the documents, the collection includes photographs of playwrights Amiri Baraka and Vinie Burrows, and two production photographs from Baraka's play MEETING LILLIE.
Administrative information
Source of acquisition
papers:Key terms
Names
Material types
Using the collection
Location
Billy Rose Theatre DivisionNew York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor