Puerto Rican Obituary

This classic poem by Pedro Pietri holds up very well as an expression of "Nuyorican" literature and the New York City of its era. In light of the importance of Colon and Vega's earlier works in understanding the working-class and impoverished conditions of Puerto Rican migrants in the American metropolis, Pietri captures that oppressive experience brilliantly with the postwar generation. New York comes horrifically to life in the poems of Pietri, whose justifiable rage against the Vietnam War, the exploitation of workers, easy credit rip-offs, public housing projects and US imperialism demand the reader's attention. It is indeed a long, non-profit ride from Spanish Harlem to Long Island cemetery.