2Leaf Press is pleased to announce the eBook publication of Hey Yo! Yo Soy! by Jesús Papoleto Meléndez, and Brassbones & Rainbows by Shirley Bradley LeFlore.
Hey Yo! Yo Soy! 40 Years of Nuyorican Street Poetry is a bilingual collection that is comprised of three of Meléndez’ previously published books: Casting Long Shadows (1970), Have You Seen Liberation (1971), and Street Poetry & Other Poems (1972). Born and raised in New York City from parents who migrated from Puerto Rico, and considered one of the founders of the Nuyorican Movement, Meléndez writes about growing up Puerto Rican in New York City’s El Barrio.
The Spanish translations, which appear alongside the English, have been superbly rendered by Adam Wier, Carolina Fung Feng, and Marjorie González. The collection includes a forward by Samuel Diaz and Carmen M. Pietri-Diaz, a commentary about the translation process by Wier, an introduction by Sandra Maria Esteves, and an afterword by Jaime “Shaggy” Flores, as well as historical photos of Meléndez and an exclusive interview, edited by Gabrielle David and Kevin E. Tobar Pesántez.
Legendary poet Shirley Bradley LeFlore’s debut poetry collection, Brassbones & Rainbows, is a personal odyssey centered on LeFlore’s life growing up and living in St. Louis, Missouri. LeFlore weaves the fabric of verse through jazz, blues and gospel in an easy going, smooth and soothing Southern American dialect mixed with African American Vernacular that rolls off the reader’s tongue. The collection includes a foreword by Amina Baraka, an introduction by Gabrielle David, historical photos of the poet, with cover art by Frank Frazier.
Hey Yo! Yo Soy! and Brassbones & Rainbows, which were recently released in print, are both available as eBooks on Amazon Kindle, retaining the formatting of the print edition.
Very few literary publishers have committed to publishing poetry in an eBook format,” says Gabrielle David, publisher of 2Leaf Press. “The biggest problem is figuring out the best way to reproduce the work without losing the spacing or formatting of the poems, so in order to maintain the aesthetics of the author’s poetry, we’ve paid special attention to line breaks and spacing.”
The press has decided to break out its eBook titles with Amazon’s Kindle before expanding its market to Nook and Kobo. “For the benefit of anyone reading this,” explains David, “you don’t have to own a Kindle to read our books. You can download one of the free Kindle Apps on Amazon.com for your Android phone or tablet, iPad, iPhone, Mac, Windows 8 PC or tablet, BlackBerry, or Windows Phone.” 2Leaf Press plans to upload titles directly to Barnes & Noble and KoboBooks in the immediate future.
“Launching the eBooks took more time than we initially anticipated,” says David, “so there was a gap between Meléndez and LeFlore’s print and eBook editions. Going forward, 2Leaf Press will be issuing print and eBook editions simultaneously, with Tony Medina being the first author to do so this summer.”
Be sure to check out Hey Yo! Yo Soy! and Brassbones & Rainbows on Kindle today.
