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Hal Sirowitz

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Hal Sirowitz (born 1949) is an American poet.

Sirowitz has a degree from Hofstra in education.[1] He first began to attract attention at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe where he was a frequent competitor in their Friday Night Poetry Slam. He eventually made the 1993 Nuyorican Poetry Slam team, and competed in the 1993 National Poetry Slam (held that year in San Francisco) along with his Nuyorican teammates Maggie Estep, Tracie Morris, and Regie Cabico.[2]: 122 

Sirowitz would later perform his poetry on stages across the country, and on television programs such as MTV's Spoken Word: Unplugged[3] and PBS's The United States of Poetry.[4] He has written eleven books of poetry, including the volumes Mother Said, My Therapist Said and Father Said. He is the best-selling translated poet in Norway, where Mother Said has been adapted for the stage and turned into a series of animated cartoons.[5]

Sirowitz is a 1994 recipient of an NEA Fellowship in Poetry[2]: 123  and is the former Poet Laureate of Queens, New York.[6] He worked as a special education teacher in the New York public school system for 23 years. He is married to writer Mary Minter Krotzer.[7]

Bibliography

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  • Girlie Pictures, Long Island City, NY: Low-Tech Press, 1982.
  • Bedroom Wall, New Brunswick, NJ: Iniquity Press/Vendetta Books, 1992.
  • Fishnet Stockings, New York: Appearances, no. 20, 1993.
  • No More Birthdays, Bristolville, OH: The Bacchae Press, 1993.
  • Happy Baby, 1997. Bristolville, OH: The Bacchae Press, 1995.
  • Two Second Kiss, Harvey, LA: Mulberry Press, 1995.
  • Mother Said, New York: Crown, 1996.[8]
  • My Therapist Said, New York: Crown, 1998.[9]
  • Before, During, & After, Brooklyn: Soft Skull Press, 2003.
  • Father Said, Brooklyn: Soft Skull Press, 2004.[10]
  • Stray Cat Blues, Omaha: The Backwaters Press, 2012.

References

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  1. ^ Duggan, Dennis (November 18, 2001). "A Live (and Lively) Poet's Society". Newsday. New York. p. G2 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b Aptowicz, Cristin O'Keefe (2008). "Chapter 14: First and Always; Graduates from the NYC Poetry Slam's First Wave". Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam. New York City: Soft Skull Press. ISBN 1-933368-82-9.
  3. ^ "MTV's Unplugged series Episode Guide | 52. Spoken Word II". www.tv.com. June 21, 1994. Archived from the original on 2008-06-26.
  4. ^ Halperin, Karin (June 28, 1998). "The Poet Of All Mothers / There's no rhyme but plenty of reason behind Hal Sirowitz' manic musings about mom". Newsday. ProQuest 279114974.
  5. ^ Shapiro, Gary (March 30, 2001). "The King of Queens? No, But Poet Laureate Will Do: It's Official; The Borough's New Voice Is Droll, Deadpan and Slightly Obsessed with Mom". The Forward. ProQuest 367725346.
  6. ^ Worth, Robert F. (March 17, 2004). "Ah, Poetic Injustice! Seeking a Laureate, Queens Goes Blank". The New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  7. ^ Duggan, Dennis (April 4, 2004). "Queens has no poet and doesn't know it". Newsday. Long Island. ProQuest 279769181.
  8. ^ Weber, Bruce (May 3, 1996). "Mother's Don'ts and Don'ts: But She Never Told Poet Son, 'Don't Quote Me' Mother Had Many Don'ts. But Not, 'Don't Quote Me.'". New York Times. p. B1. ProQuest 109612773.
  9. ^ Brainard, Dulcy (January 26, 1998). "My Therapist Said". Publishers Weekly. 245 (4): 87. ProQuest 197053274.
  10. ^ Scharf, Michael (Jun 21, 2004). "Father Said: Poems". Publishers Weekly. 251 (25): 58. ProQuest 197044342.
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