The Poetics of Home

Tracing Migration Memory and Voice through Art

Francis Mateo is an artist whose voice ricochets across poetry, theater, and cultural storytelling, a passionate force shaping conversations about Dominican identity, migration, and the Afro-Caribbean experience.

Born in the Dominican Republic and raised amid the chaotically ambitious life of New York City’s Washington Heights, Mateo’s work composites memory and language into a mosaic that resists oversimplification.

At the core of Mateo’s creative creation is his poetry, a bilingual conduit that tempers Spanish and English to capture the lived realities of diasporic communities. His collections El Alto and Ubre Urbe offer intimate glimpses into Dominican life shaped by migration, nostalgia, and resilience.

In El Alto, Mateo writes with a powerful lyrical intimacy, exploring the spiritual and physical landscapes of his community. This yearning for borderless belonging is a recurring theme, resonating deeply with those who navigate the spaces between cultures.

Mateo’s poetry refuses to be confined to the page alone. His partnership with the Brooklyn-based band La Sovietika has transformed live poetry into a multisensory experience.

Beyond poetry and music, Mateo has built a formidable presence in theater. He has taken on challenging roles in off-Broadway productions with major New York institutions like the Public Theater, the Classical Theatre of Harlem, and Repertorio Español. His performances delve into Afro-Caribbean narratives with authenticity and nuance, bringing to life characters often marginalized in mainstream theater.

Mateo’s screen work carries the same lyrical weight as his poetry allowing him to translate his storytelling dexterity to the screen. Mateo’s storytelling isn’t confined to the stage or the page it extends fluidly into film, where he’s worked with visionary directors on projects that explore identity, power, and place.

In addition to poetry and theater, Mateo’s creative reach extends to spoken-word workshops and community engagement. He regularly leads workshops focused on bilingual poetry and storytelling for young Latinx artists in New York, emphasizing art as a tool for empowerment and cultural preservation.

He’s also a visual artist, using photography to document quiet moments and overlooked corners, capturing the poetry of everyday life through his lens. Whether through movement, image, or verse, Mateo’s work reveals a mind attuned to the details that shape how we remember, resist, and belong.

Currently, Mateo is preparing to release Embers of Exile, a deeply personal and culturally rich poetry collection inspired by the mythical island of exile in Homer’s Odyssey. The manuscript intricately explores themes of identity, nostalgia, and immigrant life in Washington Heights, incorporating humor, irony, and a touch of cynicism to reveal the pertness and complexities of Dominican community life.

The discernible portrayal of everyday interactions, whether at the bodega, on stoops, or in vibrant neighborhood gatherings, is annexed with the warmth and sharp insight that characterize Mateo’s work. Mateo’s bilingualism shines in Embers of Exile, where English and Spanish fold into each other with fluidity, reflecting the linguistic hybridity of his community. The collection’s universal themes of loss, hope, and resilience transcend cultural boundaries, making it accessible to a wide audience while preserving its cultural specificity.

Mateo’s literary odyssey continues to unfold, promising to challenge and inspire as Embers of Exile prepares to make its mark, inviting readers and audiences alike into a world where identity is complex, language is alive, and poetry is a powerful act of survival.

More than a poet or actor, he is a cultural bridge, an unflinching storyteller, and a champion of Dominican Blackness and diaspora narratives. For those interested in delving into Mateo’s work, El Alto is available through Word Up Books. Live performances and collaborations with La Sovietika can be followed on his Instagram @mateoinsta. His extensive portfolio, including film credits, theater performances, and upcoming projects, is accessible through his Linktree.