Not Tonight but Tomorrow By Miguel Algarin (Grades 10+)

Miguel Algarín was a Puerto Rican-born poet and writer. With degrees in Literature from University of Wisconsin-Madison and Penn State University, he taught Shakespeare, creative writing, and United States ethnic literature at Rutgers University. He was a founding member of New York City’s the Nuyorican Poets Cafe – a multi-arts institution that gives voice to rising poets, actors, filmmakers, and musicians and provides support and empowerment for minority and underprivileged artists. He received four American Book Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. Written in 1978, “Not Tonight but Tomorrow”, is an exploration of the inevitability of life. He meditates on the passage of time, old age, the turning of the seasons, and global climate change.