Research Catalog
Piri Thomas photograph collection
- Title
- Piri Thomas photograph collection [graphic].
- Author
- Thomas, Piri, 1928-2011.
- Publication
- [196-?-197-?]
Items in the Library & Off-site
Filter by
1 Item
| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person. | Still image | Use in library | Sc Photo Piri Thomas Collection | Schomburg Center - Photographs & Prints |
Details
- Additional Authors
- Lencina, J.
- Found In
- p1bc Piri, Thomas Piri Thomas papers, 1967-1980 (CstRLIN)NYPW89-A212
- Description
- 11 items (1 folder); 21 x 26 cm. and smaller.
- 10 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ;
- 1 photographic print : color ;
- Summary
- The Piri Thomas Photograph Collection consists of undated individual portraits and candid views of Thomas, with one portrait bearing inscription date 1977; a candid shot of Thomas with two unidentified friends (1967); an undated view of Thomas during a radio broadcast reading of his work; and views of Thomas speaking to and meeting with members of the audience at an unidentified art gallery reading.
- Subjects
- Genre/Form
- Portrait photographs – 1960-1979.
- Group portraits – 1960-1979.
- Silver gelatin prints – 1960-1979.
- Dye coupler prints – 1960-1969.
- Inscriptions – 1970-1979.
- Note
- Title devised by cataloger.
- Some items have photographer's handstamp on verso; one item has handwritten inscription by Thomas on verso.
- Collection contains work by J. Lencina.
- Biography (note)
- Piri Thomas, born Juan Pedro Tomas in 1928, at Harlem Hospital, in New York City, is an author, poet, filmmaker, playwright and public speaker.
- Linking Entry (note)
- Forms part of the Piri Thomas Papers, 1967-1980.
- Call Number
- Sc Photo Piri Thomas Collection
- OCLC
- NYPG97-F92
- Author
- Thomas, Piri, 1928-2011.
- Title
- Piri Thomas photograph collection [graphic].
- Imprint
- [196-?-197-?]
- Linking Entry
- Forms part of the Piri Thomas Papers, 1967-1980.
- Biography
- Piri Thomas, born Juan Pedro Tomas in 1928, at Harlem Hospital, in New York City, is an author, poet, filmmaker, playwright and public speaker. Raised in New York City's Spanish Harlem, a life of poverty led him to drugs, youth gangs, and criminal activity. After serving six years in prison for a 1950 attempted armed robbery conviction, Thomas, a former drug addict, worked in drug rehabilitation centers, both in New York and Puerto Rico. He also began to write and has since had several books published, most notably his 1967 autobiography "Down These Mean Streets," about his youth in El Barrio, as well as "Savior, Savior, Hold My Hand" (1972), "Seven Long Times" (1974) and "Stories From El Barrio" (1978). Thomas has also written a two-act play, "The Golden Streets" (1969), which was performed in New York in the early 1970s by the Puerto Rico Traveling Theater. He has been a film consultant, narrator, and writer for various documentaries and television films, including "The World of Piri Thomas" (1968), directed by Gordon Parks, and "Petey and Johnny," which documented his work with gangs in El Barrio and won first place at the 1964 Festivale dei Populi in Florence, Italy. He has written articles and essays for various publications, made several public speaking appearances, and has recorded some of his poetry with musical accompaniment. Piri Thomas died in El Cerrito, California, in 2011.
- Local Note
- Sc MG 180
- Connect to:
- Added Author
- Lencina, J. Photographer
- Found In:
- p1bc Piri, Thomas Piri Thomas papers, 1967-1980 (CstRLIN)NYPW89-A212
- Research Call Number
- Sc Photo Piri Thomas Collection