HEY YO! YO SOY! 40 YEARS OF NUYORICAN STREET POETRY, A BILINGUAL EDITION is a 386-page collection, comprised of three previously published books, CASTING LONG SHADOWS (1970), HAVE YOU SEEN LIBERATION (1971), and STREET POETRY & OTHER POEMS (1972), that consist of stories about growing up Puerto Rican in New York City's El Barrio. Melendez has long been considered one of the founders of the Nuyorican Movement and the political, intellectual and linguistic topics he approaches in his work remain extremely relevant to this day.