Every Child is Born a Poet: The Life and Work of Piri Thomas (Video)

For the record, before I begin, watching this made me want to add more value to my life, do and promote things with even more substance.

Piri Thomas (Born Juan Pedro Tomás) is a writer and poet born in New York City to a Puerto Rican mother and Cuban father. Piri's been there and done that, saw the mistakes he made in life, decided to write poems and short stories to help rehabilitate himself and later began to spread a message of positivity among youth in the states, Central and Latin America and Europe.

Piri is also known for penning the best-selling, autobiographical, "Down These Mean Streets," a look into the Spanish Harlem neighborhood that molded him. Good, bad and ugly, the book is embraced for its honest portrayal of the life of a young man who was smacked around by life and smacked back.

Honestly, the film started off a little bit slow for me. When I noticed the PBS logo at the bottom, left-hand corner and the playful tone of some the poetry I thought this was going to be, "Sesame-Street-meets-Def-Poetry." However, I'm really glad I stuck with it until the end. It's like a gum-filled lollipop, sandwich cookie or a FAMU football game; it doesn't really get good until the middle.

Identity issues facing Hispanics of all shades, violence, drug use and good old-fashioned Nuyoricanisms all combine to make this an interesting pot of habichuelas (beans).

I'd like to meet Mr. Thomas one day, and get some knowledge and maybe a good story or two over a plate of fricase de conejo or some mofongo and finish with un chispito de Barrilito.*

In hindsight, "Sesame-Street-meets-Def-Poetry," might not be so bad. ... Kids need teaching.

Respeto. Punto.



*Stewed rabbit, refried plantains and a little bit of Barrilito rum. Now you know.

Check Piri out here.