A review by bekkabergamot
Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas

5.0

This book was so striking in the lyrical and poetic way Piri Thomas uses language clashing with the harsh and vulgar depiction of growing up in the ghetto. Piri Thomas reflected within the afterword to the 30th anniversary addition that he had hoped the portrayal of poverty in the U.S. would have helped bring attention and aid to the neighborhoods he described. But he laments that was not the case... the streets are meaner these days. Nevertheless, this is a book that touches on racial/ transnational identity, sexuality, language oppression, and culture within El Barrio. A great read.