The Resume

(September 30, 1928-October 17, 2011)
Born in New York City , New York
Birth name is Juan Pedro Tomas
Author of ‘Down These Mean Streets,’ ‘Savior, Savior, Hold My Hand,’ and ‘Stories from El Barrio’

Why he might be annoying:

He claims in his autobiography that he persuaded a white prostitute to sleep with him after convincing her that he was not black, but Puerto Rican.
He then derived pleasure out of telling the prostitute that she had just slept with a black man afterward.
He believed that his father loved him less because his skin was darker than his other siblings.
He sold drugs as a kid in Spanish Harlem.
He was a heroin addict.
He did time in prison after shooting a police officer during a robbery.
'Down These Mean Streets' stirred controversy for its depictions of homosexuality and male prostitution.

Why he might not be annoying:

'Down These Mean Streets' has been compared to 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X' in terms of its brutal honesty and realism.
He came out of prison wanting to use his experiences to educate at-risk youth.
His book was the first to tackle the experiences of an Afro-Latino kid in Spanish Harlem.
He is the subject of the documentary, 'Every Child is Born a Poet.'
'Down These Mean Streets' was banned across the nation after its publication.
He is a leader in the Nuyorican literary movement.
Andrea Dworkin goes after him in her anti-male manifesto, 'Intercourse.'
Poet Martin Espada credits him with inspiring many Latinos, including himself, to become writers.
Espada also said of Thomas, 'Before 'Down These Mean Streets' we could not find a book by a Puerto Rican writer in the English language about the experience of that community, in that voice, with that tone and subject matter.'
He is an excellent role model for inner city children.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• 20th Century Poets
• 21st Century Poets
• BoyWiththeGreenHair’s Profiles [Series 01]
• Celebrities Born on the Same Date [September] (Ranked: 9301928)
• I Abused Heroin
• I Had Pneumonia
• I Married Outside My Race
• I Pissed Off Feminists
• I Took Too Many Shots to the Head
• Poets
• Profiles 35751-36000 (Ranked: 35929)
• Teachers

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying