Piri Thomas
Piri Thomas | |
---|---|
Born | Juan Pedro Tomas 30 September 1928 New York City, New York |
Died | 17 October 2011 El Cerrito, California | (aged 83)
Genre | autobiography |
Literary movement | Nuyorican |
Notable works | Down These Mean Streets, Amigo Brothers |
Piri Thomas (born Juan Pedro Tomas; September 30, 1928 – October 17, 2011) was a Puerto Rican-Cuban writer and poet whose memoir Down These Mean Streets became a best-seller.
Early years
Thomas was born to a
Thomas was involved with drugs, gang warfare and crime. While spending seven years in prison for an attempted armed robbery, Thomas reflected on the teachings of his mother and father, and realized that a person is not born a criminal. Consequently, he decided to use his street and prison know-how to reach at-risk youth, and to help them avoid a life of crime.[3]
Down These Mean Streets
In 1967, Thomas received funds from the Rabinowitz Foundation to write and publish his best-selling autobiography
Later years
Thomas was an influential precursor to the
Thomas traveled around the
On October 17, 2011, Thomas died from pneumonia at his home in El Cerrito, California. He was survived by his wife Suzie Dod Thomas, six children, and three stepchildren.[6]
See also
- Nuyorican
- List of Puerto Ricans
- List of Puerto Rican writers
- Puerto Rican literature
- List of Cuban American writers
- List of Cuban Americans
- American Literature in Spanish
- Latino literature
References
- ProQuest 499955612.
- ^ JSTOR 813983.
- ^ Life and Flow Archived 2016-03-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ProQuest 1699279493.
- S2CID 165821249.
- ^ a b Berger, Joseph (20 October 2011). "Piri Thomas, Spanish Harlem Author, Dies at 83". The New York Times.
- ISBN 978-0-8142-1350-6.
- ISBN 978-0-521-63151-8.
- ISBN 978-3-86527-821-0.[page needed]