Nancy Mercado
Encyclopedia
Nancy Mercado is a poet, editor and educator whose work focuses on environmental issues, on various kinds of injustice and on the Puerto Rican
and Latino
experience in the United States
. She forms part of the Nuyorican Movement
.
, where “jetties were the bridges {she} crossed,” (as she says in Identity Lessons). She moved to Manhattan after finishing her B.A. at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, with a double major in art/art history and Puerto Rican Studies, and her M.A. at New York University in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Script Writing and Cinema Studies. Her adult experiences and her aesthetic make her truly a Nuyorican
, in spite of early geography. Her love for the City is the theme of her forthcoming book of poetry, Rooms for the Living: New York Poems, which was also her dissertation at SUNY Binghamton, where she received her Ph.D. in English literature with a concentration in creative writing. Her long association with both the Nuyorican Poets Café
and many of the other poets who emerged from it is an essential part of her development as a writer. Of her first book of poetry, It Concerns the Madness, Miguel Algarín
, founder of the Café, says: “the language is crisp, muscular and spiritually medicinal.” Another Nuyorican heavyweight, Pedro Pietri
, said of her: “Nancy Mercado is a NuyoCosmoRican who refused to let poetry off the hook…”
If the personal is political, then such verses as “He was forgotten/ before he could be remembered/ by the heads of state/ he provided sugar for” written about her grandfather, “Don Portolo…Director of the Sugar Cane Field Workers” and “Milla can speak of/ The turn of the century land reforms, / Of the blinded enthusiasm/ For a man called Marin…” about her grandmother, “Milla,” and “Juanita…Providing food from soil, / Creating homes from ashes, / Teaching tolerance by living” about her aunt in Puerto Rico, offer testimony to the power of this type of poetic vision. Other poems deal more blatantly with political themes and world events evolving in such places as Somalia, Kosovo and Iraq but it is in the politics of lived experience that Mercado truly shines.”
(NJPAC), was an editor of Long Shot (1993–2004)http://longshot.org and the publication’s editor-in-chief for one of those years. She also served as a contributing editor and writer for Letras Femeninas volume XXXI, No 1: The Journal of the Asociación de Literatura Femenina Hispánica of Arizona State University.
Mercado was featured on PBS Newshour in America Remembers 911
. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/ Also featured in The Encyclopedia of Hispanic American Literature (Facts on File) and inducted into The Museum of American Poetics,https://www.poetspath.com/exhibits/ebeats.html Mercado was profiled in Latino Leaders Magazine, Volume 7 No 6 as "one of the most celebrated members of the Puerto Rican literary movement in the Big Apple".
Nancy Mercado began her literary career as a writer in 1979. As such, some consider her to be part of the second wave of writers, along with Martin Espada
, that constitute the Nuyorican
literary movement. She has toured throughout the US, Europe and in Canada as a featured poet and conference panelist; an abbreviated list includes: Club 350, Toronto Canada * Eastern New York Correctional Facility; a maximum security prison in New York * Espace Simone de Beauvoir, France * Festival of Arts and Ideas, New Haven, Connecticut * Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival in New Jersey * Kutztown State University, Pennsylvania * La Raza Center, San Francisco, California * New York City Book Expo * New York City Town Hall * Pannonica Jazz Club, France * Poets Passage, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico * Rutgers University, New Jersey * The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York * The Shakespeare Public Theater, New York * The State University of Illinois * The University of Nantes, France * The University of Puerto Rico in Bayamon * throughout Wiesbaden, Germany with jazz artist Billy Bang
& his Quintet * The Yari Yari Pamberi: Black Women Writers Dissecting Globalization Conference in New York University, New York.
Mercado's work has been extensively anthologized. A number of literary magazines have also published her work such as: Columbia University’s City Magazine; El Boletin del Centro from Hunter College-CUNY; GARE MARITIME published in France, New York University publications, Black Renaissance Noire edited by Quincy Troupe
; Brownstone Magazine and Gallatin Review; and independent magazines such as, A Gathering of the Tribes; Drum Voices; The Paterson Literary Review; phati'tude Literary Magazine; and Rattapallax, among others.
For ten years she served as the Artistic Director of the Young Life Theatre Group; a young adult theatre group based in New Jersey and funded by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. During this time, she authored and directed 7 theatre plays: Palm Trees in the Snow, Chillin, Forever Earth, It is I; Stay Alive!, Planet Earth, Alicia in Projectland coauthored with renown writer Pedro Pietri
, and AWAY. Mercado's theatre work has been produced in such venues as the New Jersey Performing Arts Center
(NJPAC). Her play AWAY was commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
as part of an AIDS awareness and prevention campaign for young women of color making the work accessible to any theatre or community group wanting to stage the play. As such, it continues to be produced by various theatre and community groups, in English and Spanish, throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.
Mercado's film credits include two video productions in the Poetry Spots series directed by Bob Holman
and the documentary film, Yari Yari Pamberi: Black Women Writers Dissecting Globalization directed by Jayne Cortez
.
She has served as a panelist for the New York Foundation for the Arts
(NYFA) and the New York State Council on the Arts
(NYSCA).
Nancy Mercado is the co-founder of El Instituto de Cultura Lola Rodríguez de Tió
located in New Jersey.
Puerto Ricans in the United States
Stateside Puerto Ricans are American citizens of Puerto Rican origin, including those who migrated from Puerto Rico to the United States and those who were born outside of Puerto Rico in the United States...
and Latino
Hispanic and Latino Americans
Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
experience in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. She forms part of the Nuyorican Movement
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...
.
Life
Nancy Mercado was born and raised in Atlantic City, New JerseyAtlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
, where “jetties were the bridges {she} crossed,” (as she says in Identity Lessons). She moved to Manhattan after finishing her B.A. at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, with a double major in art/art history and Puerto Rican Studies, and her M.A. at New York University in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Script Writing and Cinema Studies. Her adult experiences and her aesthetic make her truly a Nuyorican
Nuyorican
Nuyorican is a portmanteau of the terms "New York" and "Puerto Rican" and refers to the members or culture of the Puerto Rican diaspora located in or around New York State especially the New York City metropolitan area, or of their descendants...
, in spite of early geography. Her love for the City is the theme of her forthcoming book of poetry, Rooms for the Living: New York Poems, which was also her dissertation at SUNY Binghamton, where she received her Ph.D. in English literature with a concentration in creative writing. Her long association with both the Nuyorican Poets Café
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:...
and many of the other poets who emerged from it is an essential part of her development as a writer. Of her first book of poetry, It Concerns the Madness, Miguel Algarín
Miguel Algarín
Miguel Algarín , is a Puerto Rican poet, writer, co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café, and retired Rutgers University professor of English.-Early years:...
, founder of the Café, says: “the language is crisp, muscular and spiritually medicinal.” Another Nuyorican heavyweight, Pedro Pietri
Pedro Pietri
Pedro Pietri , was a Nuyorican poet and playwright who co-founded the Nuyorican Poets Café. He was the poet laureate of the Nuyorican Movement.-Early years :...
, said of her: “Nancy Mercado is a NuyoCosmoRican who refused to let poetry off the hook…”
If the personal is political, then such verses as “He was forgotten/ before he could be remembered/ by the heads of state/ he provided sugar for” written about her grandfather, “Don Portolo…Director of the Sugar Cane Field Workers” and “Milla can speak of/ The turn of the century land reforms, / Of the blinded enthusiasm/ For a man called Marin…” about her grandmother, “Milla,” and “Juanita…Providing food from soil, / Creating homes from ashes, / Teaching tolerance by living” about her aunt in Puerto Rico, offer testimony to the power of this type of poetic vision. Other poems deal more blatantly with political themes and world events evolving in such places as Somalia, Kosovo and Iraq but it is in the politics of lived experience that Mercado truly shines.”
Career
Mercado is the author of It Concerns the Madness (Long Shot Productions).http://longshot.org/books/mercado/index.htm She served as the editor of, if the world were mine; a children’s anthology published by the New Jersey Performing Arts CenterNew Jersey Performing Arts Center
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center , in downtown Newark, New Jersey, United States, is the sixth largest performing arts center in the United States...
(NJPAC), was an editor of Long Shot (1993–2004)http://longshot.org and the publication’s editor-in-chief for one of those years. She also served as a contributing editor and writer for Letras Femeninas volume XXXI, No 1: The Journal of the Asociación de Literatura Femenina Hispánica of Arizona State University.
Mercado was featured on PBS Newshour in America Remembers 911
911
Year 911 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.-Africa:* Rebellion of the Kutama Berbers against the Fatimid Caliphate...
. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/ Also featured in The Encyclopedia of Hispanic American Literature (Facts on File) and inducted into The Museum of American Poetics,https://www.poetspath.com/exhibits/ebeats.html Mercado was profiled in Latino Leaders Magazine, Volume 7 No 6 as "one of the most celebrated members of the Puerto Rican literary movement in the Big Apple".
Nancy Mercado began her literary career as a writer in 1979. As such, some consider her to be part of the second wave of writers, along with Martin Espada
Martín Espada
Martín Espada is a Latino poet, and professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he teaches poetry. Puerto Rico has frequently been featured as a theme in his poems.- Life and career :Espada was born in Brooklyn, New York...
, that constitute the Nuyorican
Nuyorican
Nuyorican is a portmanteau of the terms "New York" and "Puerto Rican" and refers to the members or culture of the Puerto Rican diaspora located in or around New York State especially the New York City metropolitan area, or of their descendants...
literary movement. She has toured throughout the US, Europe and in Canada as a featured poet and conference panelist; an abbreviated list includes: Club 350, Toronto Canada * Eastern New York Correctional Facility; a maximum security prison in New York * Espace Simone de Beauvoir, France * Festival of Arts and Ideas, New Haven, Connecticut * Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival in New Jersey * Kutztown State University, Pennsylvania * La Raza Center, San Francisco, California * New York City Book Expo * New York City Town Hall * Pannonica Jazz Club, France * Poets Passage, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico * Rutgers University, New Jersey * The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York * The Shakespeare Public Theater, New York * The State University of Illinois * The University of Nantes, France * The University of Puerto Rico in Bayamon * throughout Wiesbaden, Germany with jazz artist Billy Bang
Billy Bang
Billy Bang was an American free jazz violinist and composer.-Biography:...
& his Quintet * The Yari Yari Pamberi: Black Women Writers Dissecting Globalization Conference in New York University, New York.
Mercado's work has been extensively anthologized. A number of literary magazines have also published her work such as: Columbia University’s City Magazine; El Boletin del Centro from Hunter College-CUNY; GARE MARITIME published in France, New York University publications, Black Renaissance Noire edited by Quincy Troupe
Quincy Troupe
Quincy Thomas Troupe, Jr., , is a poet, editor, journalist-Early life:The son of Negro League baseball catcher Quincy Trouppe , Troupe Jr. attended Grambling State University on a baseball scholarship...
; Brownstone Magazine and Gallatin Review; and independent magazines such as, A Gathering of the Tribes; Drum Voices; The Paterson Literary Review; phati'tude Literary Magazine; and Rattapallax, among others.
For ten years she served as the Artistic Director of the Young Life Theatre Group; a young adult theatre group based in New Jersey and funded by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. During this time, she authored and directed 7 theatre plays: Palm Trees in the Snow, Chillin, Forever Earth, It is I; Stay Alive!, Planet Earth, Alicia in Projectland coauthored with renown writer Pedro Pietri
Pedro Pietri
Pedro Pietri , was a Nuyorican poet and playwright who co-founded the Nuyorican Poets Café. He was the poet laureate of the Nuyorican Movement.-Early years :...
, and AWAY. Mercado's theatre work has been produced in such venues as the New Jersey Performing Arts Center
New Jersey Performing Arts Center
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center , in downtown Newark, New Jersey, United States, is the sixth largest performing arts center in the United States...
(NJPAC). Her play AWAY was commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services headquartered in Druid Hills, unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, in Greater Atlanta...
as part of an AIDS awareness and prevention campaign for young women of color making the work accessible to any theatre or community group wanting to stage the play. As such, it continues to be produced by various theatre and community groups, in English and Spanish, throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.
Mercado's film credits include two video productions in the Poetry Spots series directed by Bob Holman
Bob Holman
Bob Holman is a poet and poetry activist in the United States.- Career :After graduating from Columbia University in 1970, Bob Holman founded, with Sara Miles and Susie Timmons, the NYC Poetry Calendar, a free monthly publication with all the readings and poets "on the same page"...
and the documentary film, Yari Yari Pamberi: Black Women Writers Dissecting Globalization directed by Jayne Cortez
Jayne Cortez
Jayne Cortez is an American poet, and performance artist.-Biography:She grew up in California. She is the author of ten books of poems and performer of her poetry with music on nine recordings. Her voice is celebrated for its political, surrealistic, dynamic innovations in lyricism, and visceral...
.
She has served as a panelist for the New York Foundation for the Arts
New York Foundation for the Arts
The New York Foundation for the Arts was created in conjunction the in 1971. The organization gives grants to individual artists and writers and developing arts organizations with a mission to '.'-NYFA's Programs:...
(NYFA) and the New York State Council on the Arts
New York State Council on the Arts
The New York State Council on the Arts is an arts council serving the U.S. state of New York. It was established in 1960 through a bill introduced in the New York State Legislature by New York State Senator MacNeil Mitchell , with backing from Governor Nelson Rockefeller, and began its work in 1961...
(NYSCA).
Nancy Mercado is the co-founder of El Instituto de Cultura Lola Rodríguez de Tió
Lola Rodríguez de Tio
Lola Rodríguez de TióThis name uses Spanish marriage naming customs; the first is the maiden family name " Rodríguez" and the second or matrimonial family name is "Tió"., , was the first Puerto Rican born poetess to establish herself a reputation as a great poet throughout all of Latin America...
located in New Jersey.
Books
- It Concerns the Madness. Hoboken: Long Shot http://longshot.org Productions, 2000.
- if the world were mine. Editor. Newark: New Jersey Performing Arts CenterNew Jersey Performing Arts CenterThe New Jersey Performing Arts Center , in downtown Newark, New Jersey, United States, is the sixth largest performing arts center in the United States...
Publication
Anthologies
- The Dead, El Coto Laurel, In my Perfect Puerto Rico, Litany for Change, Milla, No Nothin, On My Return from Puerto Rico. Me No Habla with Acento: Contemporary Latino Poetry. Ed. Emanuel Xavier. New York: Rebel Satori Press, 2011.
- The Day They Went Shopping. Powwow, American Short Fiction from Then to Now. Ed. Ishmael ReedIshmael ReedIshmael Scott Reed is an American poet, essayist, and novelist. A prominent African-American literary figure, Reed is known for his satirical works challenging American political culture, and highlighting political and cultural oppression.Reed has been described as one of the most controversial...
. Philadelphia: Da Capo Press, an imprint of Perseus Books Group, Inc., 2009. - I Told You. Let Loose on the World: Celebrating Amiri Baraka at 75.Amiri BarakaAmiri BarakaAmiri Baraka , formerly known as LeRoi Jones, is an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism...
Newark:Independent Publication, 2009. - For Jimi HendrixJimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
. Kiss the Sky: Fiction & Poetry Starring Jimi Hendrix. New York: Paycock Press, 2007. - Milla. Bowery Women Poems.http://original.bowerypoetry.com/bowerywomen New York: YBK Publishers, Inc., 2006.
- Salomon Mercado. In the Arms of Words: Poems for Tsunami Relief. New York: Foothills Publishing and Sherman Asher Press, 2005.
- Jetties were the Bridges I Crossed, Latino Literature Today. New York: Longman, 2004.
- Milla. From Totems To Hip-Hop: A Multicultural Anthology of Poetry Across the Americas, 1900-2002. Ed. Ishmael ReedIshmael ReedIshmael Scott Reed is an American poet, essayist, and novelist. A prominent African-American literary figure, Reed is known for his satirical works challenging American political culture, and highlighting political and cultural oppression.Reed has been described as one of the most controversial...
. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2003. - Going To Work. Poetry After 9/11: An Anthology of New York Poets. New Jersey: Melville House Publishers, 2002.
- Justice In The Techno Age and Lyric For A New Life. Role Call: A Generational Anthology of Social and Political Black Literature and Art. Illinois: Third World Press, 2001.
- Somalia. Bum Rush The Page: A Def Jam. New York: Crown Publishing, 2001.
- Jetties Were The Bridges I Crossed. Identity Lessons: Contemporary Writing About Learning to be American. New York: Viking Penguin, 1999.
- Don Portolo. Changer L’Amérique Anthologie De La Poésie Protestataire Des USA. France: Maison De La Poésie, 1998.
- On My Return From Puerto Rico To The US. In Defense Of MumiaMumia Abu-JamalMumia Abu-Jamal was convicted of the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner and sentenced to death. He has been described as "perhaps the world's best known death-row inmate", and his sentence is one of the most debated today...
. New York: Writers and Readers Press, 1996. - Milla, and Juanita. ALOUD, Voices From The Nuyorican Poets CaféNuyorican Poets CaféThe 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:...
. New York: Henry Holt, 1994.
One-act plays
- Palm Trees in the Snow (1989)
- Chillin (1990)
- Forever Earth (1991)
- It is I; Stay Alive! (1992)
- Planet Earth (1993)
- Alicia in Projectland coauthored with Pedro PietriPedro PietriPedro Pietri , was a Nuyorican poet and playwright who co-founded the Nuyorican Poets Café. He was the poet laureate of the Nuyorican Movement.-Early years :...
(1994) - AWAY 1996)
Essays
- Biographical entry of Miguel PiñeroMiguel PiñeroMiguel Piñero was a Puerto Rican playwright, actor, and co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café. He was a leading member of the Nuyorican literary movement.-Early years:...
. The Encyclopedia of Hispanic American Literature. New York: Facts on File, 2009. - AIDS in My World. Not in My Family: AIDS in the African American Community. Los Angeles, California: Agate Publishers, 2006.
- About Face: My Brief Journey as a Female Puerto RicanPuerto Rican peopleA Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
Poet. Gare Maritime, Nantes, France: Maison de la Poesie, 2000. - Youth Performance Workshops Reach Students in Elizabeth. Resource, New Jersey Performing Arts CenterNew Jersey Performing Arts CenterThe New Jersey Performing Arts Center , in downtown Newark, New Jersey, United States, is the sixth largest performing arts center in the United States...
Publication, Newark, NJ, 1996.
See also
- La Red Biografica de Puerto Rico
- The Louder Arts Project
- The Museum of American Poetics
- Napalm Health Spa
- PBS Newshour: America Remembers 911
- Pen American Center Page
- Poets & Writers Page
- PoetsUSA.com
- Voices e/Magazine letras
- WBAI Radio Libre, Sunday September 26th 2PM
Resources
- Ramirez, Luz Elena (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Hispanic American Literature. New York: Facts on File, 2009. ISBN 0-8160-6084-3
Further reading
- The Balance of Understanding, Tribes Magazine
- A Blow by Blow, Volume by Volume History of Long Shot, Long Shot
- Book Reviewing African-American Style, The Nation
- End of an era Long Shot to cease publishing, The Hudson Reporter
- First on the Listening List, Top of the Reading Stack for 2001, About.com
- Making the Decolonized Visible: Puerto Rican Poetry of the Last Four Decades, Centro Journal CUNY
- Nuyoricans jubiliant about Supreme Court nominee, San Francisco Chronicle
- Remembering Gregory Corso, The Hudson Reporter
- Yari Yari Pamberi Black Women Writers Dissecting Globalization, Educational Media Reviews