Orfeito

Inspired by the enduring Orpheus tradition-from classical mythology to its Black Atlantic reinterpretations-Orfeito follows a Puerto Rican protagonist whose journey carries him from the island to New York and beyond. Through interconnected poems in English and Spanish, Nazario y Colón weaves family history, migration, Afro-Caribbean spirituality, first love, grief, memory, and cultural inheritance into an intimate coming-of-age story.

Rather than retelling a familiar myth, Orfeito explores how identity is shaped across borders, languages, and generations. Rich with music, myth, and lyrical storytelling, the collection offers a deeply personal meditation on love, loss, belonging, and the enduring ties between homeland and memory.

Ricardo Nazario y Colón is a poet, scholar, and co-founder of the Affrilachian Poets. His work explores migration, memory, race, culture, and place, drawing from Puerto Rican, African diasporic, and American experiences. His writing has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy.

Early readers have praised Orfeito for its emotional depth and lyrical power. Roberta Hurtado describes it as "an epic hero of the Nuyorican style," while Jeremy Paden writes that it belongs "in the pantheon of Puerto Rican migration stories and Nuyorican tales."