Living in East Harlem, much of his experiences came from the influence his Southern African-American friends from the same area had on him.

[6] Meléndez has been working in public schools as a teacher, introducing poetry for over 30 years, both in California and in New York.

Meléndez cites poets like Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who felt strongly that art should be accessible to all people, not just a handful of highly educated intellectuals,[8] as a major influence.

When Meléndez moved to the West Coast in his early years, he started a jazz poetry band in California named Exile Genius with Eugene Mingus and M'chaka Uba.

Along with many other poets such as Miguel Algarín, Richard August, Jorge Brandon, Pedro Pietri, and others, Meléndez helped found the Nuyorican Poets Café, which helped serve as a platform for many influential works spanning from literature, music, plays, and much more.