Nuyorican spaces: mapping identity in a poetic geography

This paper examines the role spatial constructions in Nuyorican poetry have in the discourse on a Nuyorican identity. It revisits Juan Flores essay Qué assimilated, brother, yo soy asimilao : the Structuring of Puerto Rican Identity in the U.S. (1985). In his essay, Flores identified four moments of a Nuyorican consciousness he encountered in Nuyorican poetry. My paper attempts to elaborate on Flores argument and argue that the four moments are linked to relations with space. Moreover, these spatial constructions constitute a layered conversation on national identity. The paper examines major Nuyorican spaces in important Nuyorican poems.