Hal Sirowitz Papers
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Abstract
Hal Sirowitz (born 1949), known as "the people's poet," is an internationally known American poet, author, and retired public school teacher. He is most known for his work, Mother Said, and was a frequent competitor in Nuyorican Poets Café's Friday Night Poetry Slam in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1994, Sirowitz was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and in 2004, a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship. He became the second Poet Laureate of Queens, New York, a position he held for three years. In 2012, he was the co-winner of the Noir Con Poetry Contest. Sirowitz taught special education classes in the New York City public school system for twenty-three years. This collection dates between 1943 and 2002 (bulk 1990-2001) and consists of materials reflecting his career as a writer and public school teacher. Materials include print publications; original manuscripts; poems; plays; academic writings, clippings; teaching materials; newsletters; postcards; ephemera; photographs; receipts, address lists; author bios; correspondence; promotional materials and sales records; works by other authors; an award plaque; notebooks; an MTA Subway poster; and audiovisual materials documenting the spoken word.
Biographical / Historical
Hal Sirowitz (born 1949), known as "the people's poet," is an internationally known American poet, author, and retired public school teacher. Sirowitz first began to attract attention at the Nuyorican Poets Café Friday Night Poetry Slam in the late 1980's and early 1990's. He was on the 1993 Nuyorican Poetry Slam Team which competed in that year's National Poetry Slam in San Francisco. He has performed his poetry across the country and Europe and is known as the most popular translated poet in the history of Norway, where animated films and a play based on his poetry have been adapted. In 2007, he was a participant in the Jerusalem Conference of Writers and Poets. Sirowitz has performed and appeared on MTV's Spoken Word Unplugged; Lollapalooza; several international poetry festivals and public television programs; the Saint Mark's Church New Year's Day Poetry Marathon, NPR's All Things Considered and Fresh Air with Terry Gross; and PBS's Poetry Heaven and the United States of Poetry. He was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1994 and a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship in 2004. In 2000, Sirowitz became the second Poet Laureate of Queens, New York, a position he held for three years. In 2012, he was the co-winner of the Noir Con Poetry Contest judged by Robert Polito. Sirowitz taught special education classes in the New York City public school system for twenty-three years.
Source: http://www.halsirowitz.com/
Arrangement
Materials are arranged by subject.
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of materials created and collected by Hal Sirowitz that document his career as an American poet, author, and educator with the bulk of the materials documenting his writing career. Materials include print publications; original manuscripts; poems; plays; academic writings; clippings; teaching materials; newsletters; postcards; ephemera; photographs; receipts, address lists; author bios; correspondence; promotional materials and sales records; works by other authors; an award plaque; notebooks; an MTA Subway poster; 6 VHS tapes; 16 commercial CDs; 1 CDR; and 5 cassette tapes. The print publications from Sirowitz's personal library include magazines, literary journals, and books that he subscribed to or feature his works and works of his peers that he collected between 1974 and 2004.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open witout restsrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection, created by Hal Sirowitz, was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Hal Sirowitz Papers; MSS 196; box number; folder number; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchasaed from Hal Sirowitz in 2007; additional materials were donated by Sirowitz in 2010. The accession numbers related to this collection are 2007.196 and 2010.196.
Custodial History
Materials were purchased from Hal Sirowitz in 2007. In 2010 Sirowtiz moved from New York to Philadelphia and sent one large envelope of materials to Ron Kolm to be delivered to NYU and added to the collection.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
Separated Materials
Two folders of student papers and one folder of financial records were removed for deaccession.
About this Guide
Processing Information
The bulk of the collectoin was previously placed in acid-free folders and boxes. Original folder titles were maintained and dates were added to folders without dates. The remaining materials were refoldered and rehoused. Any oversize print publications and clippings were moved to oversize flat boxes. Most of the print publications were housed together without folders, with the exception of Box 15 and Box 16. One audiocassette and one videocassette were rehoused in appropriate cases.
