DESCRIPTION:
Octopoet at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe with Frank Messina 2001. Video produced by
Larry Blumenstein Video Productions. Contact : LarryBlumenstein@aol.com, 917-817-2112. (Copyright 2001) (c).
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Frank Messina (born c. 1968) is an American poet, author and performance artist.

Among his four published works, Messina is the author of Disorderly Conduct, a 2002 work that focused on reactions to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, based on his experience as a volunteer for three days at Liberty State Park assisting rescue workers at Ground Zero.[1] He has performed on stage with musicians such as Phish, the Spin Doctors and Sun Ra Arkestra.[2]

Messina, a die-hard fan and season ticket holder of the New York Mets, attends games wearing a replica team jersey emblazoned with The Poet on the back.[3] He has performed his poetry at Shea Stadium, though he has no official role with the team. A recital of his poem Leaping Gazelle, a tribute to the athletic abilities of outfielder Endy Chávez, was recorded on Shea's outfield grass in June 2007. Messina's poetry has been featured on several occasions on Mets Weekly, shown on SportsNet New York and read on the air on WFAN, a New York-area sports radio station.[4] In August 2006, SportsNet New York filmed Messina at Shea and at several of his performances around New York City, which were broadcast in segments later that year.[5]

Messina grew up in Norwood, New Jersey, with a father who had been a fan of the New York Giants. Several members of the New York Yankees resided in Norwood during Messina's youth — including Ron Guidry, Catfish Hunter and Graig Nettles — and he played Little League Baseball with some of their sons.[2] He attended Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan and is an alumnus of St. Thomas Aquinas College.[6] He is currently a resident of Jersey City.[2]

Messina was awarded the Woolrich Poetry Award and Fellowship of Columbia University in 1993, and was nominated for the Allen Ginsberg Poetry Award in 1995.[7][8]