Puerto Rican Literature - Twentieth Century Migration To The U.S.

Twentieth Century Migration To The U.S.

During the early part of the 20th century, many Puerto Ricans moved to the eastern coast and Mid-western parts of the United States in search of a better way of life. Most settled in cities such as New York and Chicago. There they faced racial discrimination and other hardships. Jesús Colón, known as the Father of the Nuyorican Movement, was discriminated against because of the color of his skin (he was Black) and because of his difficulty speaking the English language. He wrote about his experiences, as well as the experiences of other immigrants, becoming among the first Puerto Ricans to do so in English. His best known work, A Puerto Rican in New York, set the stage for the literary movement known as the "Nuyorican Movement". The aim of the Nuyorican Movement is to maintain the cultural identity in a foreign land of the Puerto Rican people. This movement is composed by a group of intellectuals which includes writers and poets who express their experiences as Nuyoricans living in the United States. Some of these writers and poets founded the Nuyorican Poets Café. Colón inspired notable authors and playwrights such as Nicholasa Mohr (Whose El Bronx collection of stories earned her a finalist position for the National Book Award), Piri Thomas, Pedro Pietri, Esmeralda Santiago, Giannina Braschi and others.