"Americo Casiano Jr. ... is able to transcend the one-dimensional, limited focus and explore the complexity and variety of our lives-our past and our future, our desires and our demons. Read Americo's work carefully. It reflects community life, the fight against the drug scourge, the experiences of driving a livery cab in New York, and the struggle for justice. His work celebrates the beauty of who we are-a multi-racial, multi-skilled community of working people."
-From the Introduction by Richard Perez
"On the Stand" presents the deeply moving and rhythmic voice of Americo Casiano Jr., recipient of the 2003 New York Foundation for the Arts Poetry Fellowship.
Composed of more than twenty poems, this intimate collection is Casiano's personal odyssey from the Caribbean beaches of his native Puerto Rico to the tenements of his urban America. His discerning imagery and lyrical tone reflects the conflict, confusion, and eventual serenity of a man's voyage between the cultures of two worlds.
Capturing the profound and polemic essence of the American urban Latino, "On the Stand" is destined to become a modern classic. "