The Puerto Rican Literature Project

A poet, artist, and educator, Samuel “Sami” Miranda was born in 1970 in the South Bronx, New York, where he grew up until he moved to Washington, DC in 1988. He graduated from Georgetown University with a BA in English in 1992. Later, as a teacher, Miranda found that his poetry became heavily influenced by his experiences in the classroom. After bringing his high school class to a local open mic, he was moved by how the adult poets spoke earnestly to his teenage students about their poems. In 2004, he graduated with an MFA in poetry from Bennington College. That same year, his poems were anthologized in DC Poets Against the War (Argonne House Press). Miranda is the author of Protection from Erasure (Jaded Ibis Press, 2023), We Is (Zozobra Publishing, 2019), and Departure (Central Square Press, 2017). Most recently, Miranda’s work was featured in the exhibit ¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino. Miranda, who often writes about family, colonialism, and teaching, is influenced by the poets Martin Espada, Lucille Clifton, Julia de Burgos, Pedro Pietri, Jack Agüeros, and Patricia Smith. 

Works Cited

“About Sami.” Samimiranda.com, 28 Nov. 2023.

“Inspired by his students, Sami Miranda became a poet who honors his raíces.” Hola Cultura, 23 May 2023, https://holacultura.com/sami-miranda-a-poet-who-honors-his-raices/.

Miranda, Samuel. Author Questionnaire. The Puerto Rican Literature Project, 2024.