Edwin Torres (poet)
Encyclopedia
Edwin Torres is a "Nuyorican
" (New York-Puerto Rican) poet
.
and settled in the borough of The Bronx
in New York City
. His father died when he was young and he was then raised by his mother and her brother Martin. Martin provided comfort and family support. His uncle's sense of humor was a motivational inspiration for young Torres. He received his primary and secondary education in New York.
In 1989 Torres began working as a graphic designer
and a year later he discovered the Nuyorican Poets Cafe
, which inspired his creative instincts. Torres created a movement which he called "Interactive Eclectrcism", which combines movement, audience participation, music and songs. The Nuyorican Poets Cafe not only opened its door for his creation but it also opened the doors to a new world of reading poetry. Torres also created the "Poets Neurotica", where dancers and musicians performed alongside two to four poets. He was a member of "Real Live Poetry" from 1993–99, performing and conducting workshops across the US
and overseas.
Torres has represented New York in the 1992 National Poetry Slam
, celebrated in Boston
, and he has won the Nuyorican Poets Cafe First Annual Prize for Poetry with his poem "Po-Mo Griot".
He has also appeared on MTV
's Spoken Word Unplugged and the Charlie Rose Show
and been featured on Newsweek
, in Rolling Stone Magazine and in New York Magazine. His poem, "I Saw Your Empire State Building" was included in the book, Words In Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam in the chapter which dealt with the poetry slam community's response to 9/11, and his work has appeared in numerous anthologies such as Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Short Fuse: The Global Anthology of New Fusion Poetry, and Heights of the Marvelous: A New York Anthology, among many others.
, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
and the Museum of Modern Art
, amongst other venues.
Torres is also the author of I Hear Things People. He currently lives in New York and continues to take his performing show on tour and to write poetry.
Nuyorican 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...
" (New York-Puerto Rican) poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
.
Early years
Torres's parents moved from Puerto RicoPuerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and settled in the borough of The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. His father died when he was young and he was then raised by his mother and her brother Martin. Martin provided comfort and family support. His uncle's sense of humor was a motivational inspiration for young Torres. He received his primary and secondary education in New York.
Nuyorican Poets Cafe
Graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and...
and a year later he discovered the Nuyorican Poets Cafe
Nuyorican Poets Café
The Nuyorican Poets Café is a non-profit organization in Alphabet City, Manhattan. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican art movement in New York City, USA, and has become a forum for poetry, music, hip hop, video, visual arts, comedy and theatre.-History:...
, which inspired his creative instincts. Torres created a movement which he called "Interactive Eclectrcism", which combines movement, audience participation, music and songs. The Nuyorican Poets Cafe not only opened its door for his creation but it also opened the doors to a new world of reading poetry. Torres also created the "Poets Neurotica", where dancers and musicians performed alongside two to four poets. He was a member of "Real Live Poetry" from 1993–99, performing and conducting workshops across the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and overseas.
Torres has represented New York in the 1992 National Poetry Slam
National Poetry Slam
The National Poetry Slam is a performance poetry competition where teams from across the United States, Canada, and France participate in a large-scale poetry slam. The event occurs in early August every year and takes place in a different US city....
, celebrated in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, and he has won the Nuyorican Poets Cafe First Annual Prize for Poetry with his poem "Po-Mo Griot".
He has also appeared on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Spoken Word Unplugged and the Charlie Rose Show
Charlie Rose
Charles Peete "Charlie" Rose, Jr. is an American television talk show host and journalist. Since 1991 he has hosted Charlie Rose, an interview show distributed nationally by PBS since 1993...
and been featured on Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, in Rolling Stone Magazine and in New York Magazine. His poem, "I Saw Your Empire State Building" was included in the book, Words In Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam in the chapter which dealt with the poetry slam community's response to 9/11, and his work has appeared in numerous anthologies such as Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Short Fuse: The Global Anthology of New Fusion Poetry, and Heights of the Marvelous: A New York Anthology, among many others.
Other performances
Besides performing at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Torres has performed at the Guggenheim MuseumSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
and the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, amongst other venues.
Written works
Torres' poems include:- "15 Minutes";
- "Gigabyte Me - How Much Ram In Your Summer Of Love?";
- "Lessering In Lessage";
- "Lounging In The Age Of Aquarius";
- "Mirror-Fucation" and
- "Mister Hay's Trippy Moebius".
- "Pisacho".
Torres is also the author of I Hear Things People. He currently lives in New York and continues to take his performing show on tour and to write poetry.
See also
- List of Puerto Rican writers
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- Puerto Rican literature