Photo courtesy of
Janine Pommy Vega and Brenda Knight

One of the youngest of the Beat writers, Janine Pommy Vega moved to New York as a teen to be part of the scene.  Born in Union City, New Jersey in 1942, Janine had a good childhood – something that was not often heard of among the Beats.  But even the happy times did not quell the wanderlust in Janine.  At the age of fifteen, she moved to Greenwich Village to join the Beat movement.

When she was 20 years old, Janine met an artist named Fernando who she fell in love with.  They traveled around Europe until after his sudden death from a heart attack.  Janine traveled a bit more before returning to New York, and her wild life.  Realizing that this path was leading to an early grave, she left the East Coast and headed to San Francisco, where she wrote her first book, Poems for Fernando (Knight 223).

Once in California, Janine settled down for a bit, writing poetry until she began traveling again.  She began touring with her band, Tiamalu, visiting

college campuses around the world (Teachers & Writers Online).  On a quest for a shamanic inspiration, she has continued to travel, teaching and lecturing in both Spanish and English.  Her most recent book, Tracking the Serpent, chronicles these journeys. 

Currently, Janine lives in the Catskills and works with several literacy outreach programs, teaching poetry to prisoners in New York.  She is also active with Poets in the Schools, working with students of all levels of understanding and in all grades.

For more information on Janine Pommy Vega, check out these source materials.
 

Written by: 
Margaret Helwig

Last updated: 21 April 2005