Piri thomas biography channel

Puerto Rican-Cuban poet

Pira Thomas
Born	Juan Pedro Tomas (1928-09-30)30 September 1928 New York City, New York
Died	17 October 2011(2011-10-17) (aged 83) El Cerrito, California
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 an American writer and poet of Puerto Rican-Cuban descent, whose memoir Down These Mean Streets became a best-seller.

Early years

Thomas was born to a Puerto Rican mother and Cuban father. His childhood neighborhood in the Spanish Harlem section of New York City was riddled with crime and violence. According to Thomas, children were expected to be gang members at a young age, and Thomas was no exception.

Thomas was also exposed to racial discrimination because of his Afro-Latino heritage.^[1] As an Afro-Latino man, Piri Thomas not only experienced racial dis