Tomás Riley
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Tomás Riley is a poet, writer, educator and a veteran of the seminal Chicano spoken-word collective The Taco Shop Poets. He has appeared in the HBO documentary Americanos: Latino Life in the United States, Gregory Nava's PBS dramatic series American Family (2002), and is profiled in Hector Galán's ITVS documentary series on Latina/o arts: Visiones(2004). His self-released spoken word CD Message From the New Forreal debuted in 2003, and he performs on Raza Spoken Here Vol. III (Calaca Press, 2005). His other spoken word recordings include Chorizo Tonguefire (1999) and a jazz/word collaboration with Chicano artist-activist icons Jose Montoya and Raul R. Salinas entitled Intersections (2004). A finalist for the 2004 California Voices Award from Poets & Writers Magazine, his written work has been featured in Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam, Chorizo Tonguefire: The Taco Shop Poets Anthology, Pacific Review and various journals and literary publications. His ten-year performance history has brought him into spoken word venues, cultural centers, universities, galleries and taquerias nationwide in a continuing effort to bring proactive Chicano spoken word to relevant spaces including the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Chicago's Guild Complex, and a guerrilla-style poetry takeover at The Alamo in San Antonio. He holds an MA in American Literature with an emphasis in contemporary ethnic-American discourse, has taught from the elementary to the collegiate level, and is a founding member of the San Diego visual and performing arts space The Voz Alta Project. Currently he works as the Youth Development Program Director at Youth Speaks a literary arts organization for teen writers in San Francisco.
Taken from Tomás Riley's official site: http://www.yofoolio.com/
Tomás Riley's MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/yo_foolio
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