Malkia Cyril | |
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Born | Malkia Amala Cyril May 2, 1974 |
Education | Sarah Lawrence College (BA) |
Malkia Amala Devich-Cyril (born May 2, 1974) [1] is a poet and media activist best known for spearheading national grassroots efforts of the Net Neutrality campaign, [2] framing the discourse on protecting net neutrality as shifting away from the notion of "media democracy" and instead as a case of "media justice." They are the executive director of the Center for Media Justice, [3] [4] and a co-founder of the Media Action Grassroots Network.
Devich-Cyril's writings on media activism frequently appear in national publications such as Politico , the Huffington Post , [5] and The Guardian [6] Creative writing, including poetry and short-stories, have been published in anthologies such as Afrekete: An Anthology of Black Lesbian Writing, [7] Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Café, [8] and In the Tradition: An Anthology of Young Black Writers.
Devich-Cyril was the spouse of comedian and editor Alana Devich-Cyril, and child of Janet Cyril, an activist in the Black Panther Party. [9] Born and raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, Cyril learned to read at the Liberation Bookstore in Harlem. They refer to growing up in the party as "in and of itself a blessing." [10]
A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. While formats can vary, slams are often loud and lively, with audience participation, cheering and dramatic delivery.
Nuyorican is a portmanteau word blending "New York" and "Puerto Rican", referring to Puerto Ricans located in or around New York City, their culture, or their descendants. This term is sometimes used for Puerto Ricans living in other areas in the Northeastern US Mainland outside New York State as well. The term is also used by Islander Puerto Ricans to differentiate those of Puerto Rican descent from the Puerto Rico–born.
Miguel Piñero was a Puerto Rican born American playwright, actor and co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café. He was a leading member of the Nuyorican literary movement.
The Nuyorican movement is a cultural and intellectual movement involving poets, writers, musicians and artists who are Puerto Rican or of Puerto Rican descent, who live in or near New York City, and either call themselves or are known as Nuyoricans. It originated in the late 1960s and early 1970s in neighborhoods such as Loisaida, East Harlem, Williamsburg, and the South Bronx as a means to validate Puerto Rican experience in the United States, particularly for poor and working-class people who suffered from marginalization, ostracism, and discrimination.
Miguel Algarín Jr. was a Puerto Rican poet, writer, co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café, and a Rutgers University professor of English.
Kevin Powell is an American writer, activist, and television personality. He is the author of 14 books, including The Education of Kevin Powell: A Boy's Journey into Manhood and When We Free the World published in 2020. Powell was a senior writer during the founding years of Vibe magazine from 1992 to 1996. Powell's activism has focused on ending poverty, advocating for social justice and counteracting violence against women and girls through local, national and international initiatives. He was a Democratic candidate for the United States House of Representatives in Brooklyn, New York, in 2008 and 2010.
Pedro Pietri was a Puerto Rican poet and playwright and one of the co-founders of the Nuyorican Movement. He was considered by some as the poet laureate of the Nuyorican Movement.
Bob Holman is an American poet and poetry activist, most closely identified with the oral tradition, the spoken word, and poetry slam. As a promoter of poetry in many media, Holman has spent the last four decades working variously as an author, editor, publisher, performer, emcee of live events, director of theatrical productions, producer of films and television programs, record label executive, university professor, and archivist. He was described by Henry Louis Gates Jr. in The New Yorker as "the postmodern promoter who has done more to bring poetry to cafes and bars than anyone since Ferlinghetti."
Peter A. Peyser was a United States representative from New York, serving from 1971 to 1977 as a Republican and from 1979 to 1983 as a Democrat.
The Nuyorican Poets Cafe is a nonprofit organization in the Alphabet City neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican art movement, and has become a forum for poetry, music, hip hop, video, visual arts, comedy, and theater. Several events during the PEN World Voices festival are hosted at the cafe.
Daniel Gallant is a theatrical producer, playwright, director, lecturer and actor based in New York City, New York. He has served as the executive director of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and as director of theater and talk programs for the 92nd Street Y; he is also the author of the short story collection Determined to Prove, and the recipient of a 2022 Fulbright Specialist Fellowship and a 2016 Eisenhower Fellowship. His writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Time Out, the New York Daily News and the New York Post. Gallant is a lecturer and consultant in the fields of institutional marketing, social media and arts technology. Forbes called Gallant a "social media expert". NPR's Planet Money podcast called him "a genius at raising money for artists". According to The Wall Street Journal, "since late 2009, Mr. Gallant has exploited expanding social-media tools to grow the cafe from a small, volunteer-led venue best known for weekly poetry events to a thriving arts center with partnerships across the city".
Sandra María Esteves is a Latina poet and graphic artist. She was born and raised in the Bronx, New York, and is one of the founders of the Nuyorican poetry movement. She has published collections of poetry and has conducted literary programs at New York City Board of Education, the Caribbean Cultural Center, and El Museo del Barrio. Esteves has served as the executive director of the African Caribbean Poetry Theater. She is the author of Bluestown Mockinbird Mambo and Yerba Buena. She lives in the Bronx.
Carlton T. Spiller is an American poet and lawyer.
Nancy Mercado is an American writer, editor, educator and activist; her work focuses on issues of injustice, the environment, and the Puerto Rican and Latino experience in the United States. She forms part of the Nuyorican Movement, a literary genre which arose from the Beat Movement.
Susan Scutti is an American fiction writer, poet and journalist currently writing on medical issues for Newsweek, CNN CBS Philly and Medical Daily.
Aja Monet Bacquie is an American contemporary poet, writer, lyricist and activist based in Los Angeles, California.
José Angel Figueroa is a Puerto Rican poet, actor, author, editor, and a professor in the Humanities who has published poetry, fiction, and drama in the United States. He is best known for his poetry and is considered one of the first Neorican poets and contributed to the rise of the Nuyorican Literary movement. He was an early contributor to the Nuyorican Poets Café and has influenced the scene of Latino literature in New York through education, writing, and outreach.
Jesús Papoleto Meléndez, also known as "Papo", or "Papoleto", is a New York-born Puerto Rican poet, playwright, teacher, and activist. He is a member of the Nuyorican Movement. He grew up during the Civil Rights Movement, Black Power movement, and the emergence of the Nuyorican Movement in East Harlem. His titles include the play The Junkies Stole the Clock (1974), and Hey Yo/Yo Soy! 40 Years of Nuyorican Street Poetry.
Diane Marie Burns was an Anishinaabe and Chemehuevi artist, known for her poetry and performance art highlighting Native American experience. After moving to New York City, she become involved with the Lower East Side poetry community, including the Nuyorican Poets Café.
Neil Raymond Ricco, formerly known as Noel Rico, is a Spanish-Italian American poet and writer known for his works featured in publications by Nicolás Kanellos, Eileen Myles and Mike Marqusee. Ricco was an early member of the Nuyorican Poets Café and he appeared in the film Friend of the World.