Hal Sirowitz

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

• 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.