Love Is Hard Work: Memorias de Loisaida/PoemsAuthor Contributor(s): Algarin, Miguel Publisher: Scribner Date: 8 5 1997 Binding: Paperback Condition: NEW At once a moving personal memoir and a colorful portrait of life in New York's Lower East Side (Loisaida), this masterly collection of poems captures the whirlwind of sights, sounds, celebrations and sorrows of urban life. In the centerpiece of the book, the poet offers a searing, unsentimental look at himself and his life.