Willie Perdomo’s “Where I’m From” is published in Perdomo’s book, Where a Nickel Costs a Dime. As you read, notice how Perdomo begins by appealing to a specific listener and then allows his poem to grow through images and dialogue and language that reads like music. There is a spoken element to this work even in its written form.
The version below appears in the textbook The Place Where We Dwell, edited by City Tech English professors Juanita But, Mark Noonan, and Sean Scanlan. Be sure to scroll down to read the second page. As you read, notice how Perdomo uses cadence and rhythm and repetition of sound to emphasize and add drama to his lines.
Willie Perdomo-Where I'm From PWWD