![By David Shankbone - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4645915](https://www.pw.org/files/styles/literary_places/public/literary_site_images/ltpl_the_nuyorican_poets_cafe.jpeg?itok=bdnCgqZ3)
Founded in the early 1970s, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe began as a living room salon in the East Village apartment of writer and poet Miguel Algarin. Today, the cafe is a nonprofit organization that provides a forum for innovative poetry, music, hip hop, video, visual arts, comedy, and theatre from underrepresented artists. Programming includes poetry and prose readings, theatrical and musical performances, and visual art exhibits. The cafe is well-known for a popular weekly Poetry Slam judged by randomly selected audience members.