2Leaf Press is pleased to announce that Hey Yo! Yo Soy! 40 Years of Nuyorican Street Poetry, A Bilingual Edition by Jesús Papoleto Meléndez is available for purchase to libraries and bookstores on Ingram.
It’s fitting that as our very first book has migrated to Ingram, it coincides with the celebration of 2Leaf Press’ second anniversary. It was on October 19, 2012, when we published Hey Yo! Yo Soy!. The folks who helped put that book together, who became affectionately known as “Team Papo,” created an experience unlike any other. I want to thank co-editor Kevin Pesántez; translators Adam Wier, Carolina Fung Feng, Marjorie González; and consultant and cover artist, Jaime “Shaggy” Flores, for their efforts. With an introduction by Sandra Maria Esteves; foreword by Samuel Diaz and Carmen Piertri Diaz; and an afterword by Flores, including historical photos of Meléndez that covers his fifty year career, this 368-page book really set the standard for 2Leaf Press and the books that would follow. We are indebted to Jesús Papoleto Meléndez for allowing 2Leaf Press to publish his works to help establish the press.
When we asked Papo what’s it like being the first author published by 2Leaf Press, he responded with this:
I remain quite moved and humbled to have been the first author to publish under 2Leaf Press, which, in its two-year existence continues to publish, against all odds, quite a number of new and established voices in poetry. To have been the first is quite an honor. I am especially thrilled because publisher and editor, Gabrielle David, has been an inspiration and the prime motivator in this endeavor. She believed in my work, and in this age of “spoken-word” poetry, I am happy that 2Leaf Press believes in the printed poem on the page. And I also get a kick out of lining up 2Leaf Press publications along their spines to view the many Latino surnames aligned with the 2Leaf Press logo.
Order Hey Yo! Yo Soy! 40 Years of Nuyorican Street Poetry, A Bilingual Edition by Jesús Papoleto Meléndez at bookstores today!
