Ameriscopia

by Edwin Torres

In this vibrant reflection of sound and word, poet Edwin Torres reignites the possibilities of poetry. From poems like “Me No Habla Spic,” a rumination of life’s major moments, to “Fixative,” which exercises shifting vantage points, Torres is nimble—surfing through memory, definition, and forms of social address. In this new collection, Torres offers some signature performance pieces for the first time in print.
    Ameriscopia reimagines New York City and its expansive inspirations, which for Torres capture the contradictions of America. Allusions to the Twin Towers, Coney Island hot dogs, and the Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe continuously recolor the pages. But even as he makes these iconic references, Torres allows his poems to invert and refract the identities they evoke—New-Yorker-American-Latino-Dad-Performer-Boy-Writer—to invigorate poetry out of its slumber into a deep cultural urgency. Torres’s kaleidoscopic vision is borne of decades of poetic experimentation. Audiences have delighted in his spontaneous mashups of disparate topic matters; writers have studied his skilled technique at synthesizing—for example, from a mundane curbside view to an imagined conversation with artists Marcel Duchamp and Yves Tanguy.
    Torres writes, “I discovered that, this world uncovered / is like the soul / of The Puerto Rican man — occupied / by the weight of his balance.” Ameriscopia is Torres’s statement on growing up and the inspirational facets that accompany his journey into fatherhood. From conversations in cars to fast-beat lullabies, Torres’s poetry taps into rhythms both distinctive and dynamic. In Ameriscopia Torres is at full force, a poet in control, a writer emboldened by the page—in flight.
 

Genres: Poetry

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Edwin Torres is a former New York State Supreme Court judge and author, who wrote the 1975 novel Carlito's Way. His book was the basis for the 1993 movie of the same name, starring Al Pacino, and for the 1979 book After Hours, the sequel to Carlito's Way.

In 1958, Torres was admitted to the New York State Bar. In 1959, as an assistant district attorney, Torres participated in the prosecution of Sal "the Capeman" Agron. Shortly thereafter he became a criminal defense attorney.

In 1977, Torres was appointed to the New York State Criminal Court. In 1980 he was selected to the State Supreme Court, where he served as a justice in the Twelfth Judicial District in New York City. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over felony cases, and Torres presided over a number of high-profile murder cases.

He retired from the bench in 2008 and since then has served on the New York State Athletic Commission.

A film adaptation of Q & A was released in 1990, directed by Sidney Lumet, and it starred Nick Nolte and Armand Assante. "After Hours" was filmed in 1993, but used the title Carlito's Way to avoid being confused with Martin Scorsese's 1985 film After Hours.

Reviews

[Martha Cinader · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was living in New York in the 1990's, I used to love watching (and listening) to Edwin Torres perform whenever I had the opportunity. I can't say that I always "understood" but it didn't matter. I enjoyed, and was inspired by his lyricism, and was definitely entertained by the entirety of the experience. I wondered, while I waited for his book to arrive in the mail, what it would be like to read his poetry instead of watch it happen.

"Ameriscopia" shows another facet of this unique gem we have in our midst named Edwin Torres. He reveals both a tender man and a cultural enigma grounded by his roots and reaching toward outer space. He speaks directly and simply one moment and dazzles the next, a master juggler of words, sounds and languages. He is at once an American of Puerto Rican descent and a Universal Man.

The poetry in Ameriscopia" is well worth the read to listen, your time to find commonality, your participation in the celebration.