Emanuel Xavier
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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 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.
In 1999, Xavier released the semi-autobiographical novel Christlike, which garnered a Lambda Literary Award nomination and is soon to be reprinted by Suspect Thoughts Press.
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 a Lambda Literary Award finalist and was selected Best Poetry Anthology by InSight Out Books and one of the year's Top Ten Poetry Books at aboutpoetry.com.
His work has also appeared in Genre Magazine, Urban Latino Magazine, Long Shot, Drumvoices Revue, James White Review, A&U Magazine and many other publications.
He has appeared on television on PBS's In The Life and Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry on HBO (Seasons 3 & 5). He also appears in the Wolfgang Busch ballroom documentary, How Do I Look. The spoken word CD, 5 Past 13- a little bit LOUDER: Volume 1, features a live performance of his poem, "Americano."
Emanuel Xavier has performed throughout the country from the Yerba Buena Arts Center in San Francisco to the University of Chicago to Le Petit Theater in New Orleans to Amherst College to Central Park Summerstage in New York. 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.
In the fall of 2005, a brutal attack left him permanently deaf in his right ear- yet another chapter in the life of a true survivor.
He is recipient of the Marsha A. Gomez Cultural Heritage Award for his contributions to gay and Latino culture and received a City Council Citation for his contributions to the gay and lesbian community of New York City.
He is currently back in Bushwick where he grew up and is working on a new collection of poetry and several other projects. He also co-stars in the forthcoming independent feature film, Beyond The Walls, and is now an official New York City actor after doing background work on Law & Order. He will also be selecting finalists for the collection, Best Gay Erotica 2008.
