Emanuel Xavier

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Emanuel Xavier

Emanuel Xavier (May 3, 1975) is a New York poet, writer and actor who emerged from the neo-Nuyorican poetry movement. He is recipient of the Marsha A. Gomez Cultural Heritage Award for his contributions to gay and Latino culture and received a New York City Council Citation for his contributions to New York City arts culture.

Some of his work has appeared in Genre Magazine, Urban Latino Magazine, Long Shot, Drumvoices Revue, James White Review, A&U Magazine and many other publications. He has published several books, appeared on film and television and performed as a spoken word artist throughout the United States.

Early writings

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In 1996, Emanuel Xavier took the New York City spoken word scene by storm, quickly becoming one of the most significant voices to emerge from the neo-Nuyorican poetry movement. Following in the tradition of writers/performers like Miguel Piñero, Xavier captivated audiences with a fresh and poignant brand of art that celebrated sexuality, Latino heritage, and the often brutal streets of New York. A painful past of sexual abuse at the hands of an older cousin, rejection by a devoutly religious mother, homelessness, and a life of prostitution and drug-dealing, are among some of the experiences that served as inspiration for the vibrant and emotionally raw poems for which Xavier became famous.

Pier Queen, released in 1997, was Emanuel's debut anthology, which included many of the poems that earned him the Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam Championship. In Pier Queen, Xavier reminisces on his experiences growing up as a gay Latino in the suburbs of Brooklyn and then the houses of New York's legendary West Side Highway.

His educational background includes Grover Cleveland High School (New York City) and St. John's University (New York City).

The House of Xavier

In 1998, he founded The House of Xavier, a collective of poets and artists, and created the annual Glam Slam competition which fuses the excitement of the ballroom scene with the energy of the spoken word movement with the support of ballroom legends such as Willi Ninja.

Later writing

In 1999, Xavier released the semi-autobiographical novel Christlike, which received his first Lambda Literary Award nomination.

In 2002, Suspect Thoughts Press released his second collection of work, Americano. With Americano, the self-proclaimed Pier Queen grew up. With thirty-five new poems, Emanuel Xavier considered what it means to be American- but Latino; Latino- but gay; Nuyorican- but Ecuadorian; revolutionary- but not an activist.

In 2005, he edited Bullets & Butterflies: queer spoken word poetry featuring the likes of Regie Cabico, Alix Olson, Daphne Gottlieb, and Staceyann Chin. The collection was his second Lambda Literary Award nomination and was selected Best Poetry Anthology by InSight Out Books and one of the year's Top Ten Poetry Books at aboutpoetry.com.

Television appearances and performance

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He has appeared on television on PBS's In The Life, HBO's Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry (Seasons 3 & 5), and co-starred in the feature film, The Ski Trip, which aired on MTV's LOGO network. He has also done background work for NBC's Law & Order and the television pilot, Fort Pitt. He appears briefly in the Wolfgang Busch DVD documentary about the House scene, How Do I Look, and the spoken word CD, 5 Past 13- a little bit LOUDER: Volume 1, features a live performance of his poem, "Americano."

He has performed at venues such as: Central Park Summerstage, Joe's Pub, Lincoln Center, Columbia University, Aaron Davis Hall, Riker's Island Prison, DePaul University, Le Petit Theater in New Orleans, St. Mark's Poetry Project, Irving Plaza, The Henry Miller Theater, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Brown University, University of Chicago, Wellesley College, Amherst College, Miami Dade College, University of Louisville, Bowery Poetry Club and Nuyorican Poets Cafe, where he became a two-time Grand Slam winner.

Emanuel Xavier has also staged several benefits for the likes of the Latino Commission on AIDS, New York Peer AIDS Education Coalition, Youth Enrichment Services, the World Trade Center Disaster Relief Fund and many other organizations. He has worked actively with queer and homeless youth and lent his unapologetic voice to many political causes and even performed with the LouderARTS project at Riker's Island Prison.

Injury

In the fall of 2005, a brutal attack on the streets of Bushwick (where he grew up and currently resides) left him permanently deaf in his right ear.

Current work

He is currently back in Bushwick working on a new collection of poetry, editing an online journal for Suspect Thoughts Press, editing a collection of queer Latino poetry for Floricanto Press and will be selecting finalists for Best Gay Erotica 2008 for Cleis Press. He will also co-star in the forthcoming independent feature film, Beyond The Walls, and appear in the feature films, The Cult of Sincerity and Latent Lava. The novel Christlike is also set to be reprinted by Suspect Thoughts Press.

External links

• Official Site
• Emanuel Xavier at the Internet Movie Database