New York, NY -- (ReleaseWire) -- 10/04/2012 --The Intercultural Alliance of Artists & Scholars, Inc. (IAAS), the NY-based nonprofit organization that publishes "phati’tude Literary Magazine," announces the launch of its new imprint, 2Leaf Press.

2Leaf Press’ goal is to create well-designed, award-winning books, that take full advantage of the technology by publishing hard copies using print-on-demand, and on digital venues such as Kindle, iPad and Nook. Books will be available online as well as brick and mortar outlets, and will be promoted to libraries for purchase in the U.S., Europe and Canada. 2Leaf Press is committed to publishing literary works, specifically poetry, memoir, narratives and non-fiction; anthologies and collections of essays and short stories; and novels and historical works as they pertain to literature.

“Many of the writers we publish in phati’tude Literary Magazine are always asking us to publish their books,” says Gabrielle David, Executive Director of the IAAS and an editor of both the magazine and 2Leaf Press. “In fact, we’ve been wanting to do an imprint since the early days, but I’ve always believed the stars needed to be in just the right alignment. Well, they’re still not in perfect alignment and may never will be, but we felt this was a good time to go ahead with it. For one thing, we've gleamed tons of experience from publishing "phati’tude Literary Magazine" using the latest digital technology and have expanded our mission to include translations, so we feel have something tangible to offer our writers and the reading public.”

It is in that spirit that 2Leaf Press is publishing its first book, "¡Hey Yo / Yo Soy! 40 Years of Nuyorican Street Poetry, A Bilingual Edition" by Nuyorican poet Jesús Papoleto Meléndez. This 300-page collection, comprised of three previously published books, "Casting Long Shadows" (1970), "Have You Seen Liberation" (1971), and "Street Poetry & Other Poems" (1972), consist of stories about growing up Puerto Rican in New York City’s El Barrio. Meléndez has long been considered one of the founders of the Nuyorican Movement and the political, intellectual and linguistic topics he approaches in his work remain extremely relevant to this day. The Spanish translations, which appear alongside the English, have been superbly rendered by Adam Wier, Carolina Fung Feng, and Marjorie González.

Set to publish on October 26, 2012, on that same day, Meléndez will present "¡Hey Yo / Yo Soy!" at The Puerto Rican Studies Association for Research Advocacy and Education, Inc. (PRSA) Conference at State University of New York (SUNY), Albany. PRSA is a nonprofit organization brings together scholars, educators, public policy experts, artists, community activists and students from diverse fields of knowledge whose work focuses on Puerto Ricans in the United States and on the Island. Meléndez will participate in a panel discussion, read his poetry and have books available for sale and book signings.

"¡Hey Yo / Yo Soy! 40 Years of Nuyorican Street Poetry, A Bilingual Edition" will be available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and other online outlets on October 26, 2012; with digital editions available on January 1, 2013.

2Leaf Press is an imprint of the Intercultural Alliance of Artists & Scholars, Inc. (IAAS), a New York-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes multicultural literature and literacy.