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The Reentry Project. Every Child Is Born a Poet: The Life & Work
of Piri Thomas
 "I
thought, 'God, I wanna get out of this hole. I promise if You help me
climb out, I ain't gonna push the cover back on that cesspool. Please
let me out and I'll push my arm back down there and help the others
climb out.'" - Piri ThomasAn incendiary mix of documentary, poetry, storytelling, drama and performance,
Every Child Is Born a Poet explores the life and work of Piri Thomas,
the 75-year-old Afro-Cuban-Puerto Rican author of the classic autobiographical
novel Down These Mean Streets (1967). One of the landmarks of modern
American literature, the novel continues to be taught widely today in
schools for its groundbreaking bilingual style and its realistic portrayal
of poverty, youth, violence, imprisonment and search for racial identity.
The book's author, Piri Thomas, the first writer of Puerto Rican ancestry
to receive national recognition, is considered by many to be a cultural
icon and community treasure. Thomas' writings, his poetry and his work
as an educator have inspired and influenced generations of students, writers,
artists and activists who have identified with his journey of struggle,
self-discovery and transformation.
Every Child Is Born a Poet aired Sunday, 12/19, 2004 at 11 p.m.
ET.
The film, like Piri's novel, traces Thomas' path from childhood to manhood
in New York City's Spanish Harlem from the 1930s to the 1960s; his parents'
immigrant experience, home life during the Great Depression, membership
in barrio youth gangs, his struggle to come to terms with his mixed-race
identity, travels as a teenage merchant marine, his heroin addiction,
his notorious armed robbery of a Greenwich Village nightclub, his six
years spent in prison, and his emergence as a writer.
Piri Thomas is not, however, simply a writer. When Thomas started on
his own path to self-reclamation and self-respect, he made a life-long
commitment to help others do the same. Since the time of his release from
prison in 1956 to this day, Thomas has devoted himself to the development,
health and well-being of youths and young adults. As a social worker,
he pioneered violence prevention and drug treatment efforts. As an educator,
he has promoted literacy and sought to stimulate the growth of individual
creative expression, not only as a means of human enrichment, but as a
tool of individual and community survival. And as a poet, Thomas' rhythm
and style pre-figured Rap by decades.
In the film, Thomas' coming-of-age story is counter-pointed with dramatizations,
spoken word poetry performance sequences and vérité scenes
of his ongoing work of forty-five years as an educator and activist empowering
marginalized and incarcerated youths.
A stylized, genre-spanning production, Every Child Is Born a Poet
includes a spellbinding collage of rare archival footage, still photographs
and provocative mixed-media artwork, as it examines Thomas' use of creative
expression as a means of confronting poverty, racism, violence and isolation.
Pulsating with an original Latin Jazz score, Every Child Is Born a
Poet is a riveting portrait of a life lived through struggle, self-discovery
and transformation.
The program's interactive
companion website features detailed information about the film, including
an interview with the filmmaker, cast and crew bios, as well as links
and resources pertaining to the film's subject matter. The site also features
a "talkback" section for viewers to share their ideas and opinions,
preview clips of the film, and more.
For more information on Every Child Is Born a Poet, and ways to
use it in Reentry settings, visit the Reentry
National Media Outreach Campaign Web site. A downloadable discussion
guide is available free.
Additional resources for Every Child Is Born a Poet:
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