Before coming to NYU, he taught at SUNY Albany and was a 2011-2012 Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College. He is the author of In Visible Movement: Nuyorican Poetry from the Sixties to Slam, and of various books of poetry in English and Spanish, as well as a contributing editor of Mandorla: New Writing from the Americas. His essays, poetry, and translations have appeared in such journals as Contemporary Literature, Fence, Small Axe, Latino Studies, and La Noria (Cuba). Also a performance poet, Noel has been featured in New York City venues such as the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and the Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church, as well as nationally and internationally.