"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." -Albert Einstein
COLLEGE BOOKINGS: OUTMEDIA- www.outmedia.org
MANAGEMENT: leo@leotoro.com
“Anything an artist writes should be written with the urgency of what they would say if someone were holding a gun in their mouth” -Maya Angelou
Emanuel Xavier is an openly gay American poet, spoken word artist, author, editor, events producer and actor born and raised in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn. He transitioned himself from a street hustler and drug dealer to become one of the most significant voices to emerge from the neo-Nuyorican spoken word poetry movement using political, sexual and religious themes throughout his work. His background heritage is Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian and he is considered a role model for queer youth, particularly queer youth of color. Even so, his audiences include a great diversity of people of all backgrounds.
Emanuel - Nueva york
His work has appeared in many publications including The James White Review, Genre, Long Shot, Virgins, Guerrillas & Locas, and Queer & Catholic. He is the recipient of the Marsha A. Gomez Cultural Heritage Award and a New York City Council citation for his many contributions to gay and Latino culture.
Emanuel Xavier has published two collections of poetry, Pier Queen and Americano. A fiction novel, Christ Like, was published by a small press in the fall of 1999. He also edited two anthologies: Bullets & Butterflies: queer spoken word poetry and Mariposas: A Modern Anthology of Queer Latino Poetry. He also selected finalists for Best Gay Erotica 2008. His next poetry collection is tentatively titled, Just Like Jesus, and is forthcoming from suspect thoughts press.
He has also been featured as a spoken word artist on Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry and appeared as an actor in the independent feature films, The Ski Trip and The Cult of Sincerity.
He has performed at many colleges and universities such as Princeton University, Brown University, Amherst College, Columbia University, University of Chicago and many others — all as a spoken word artist. In 2008, Xavier was awarded a World Pride & Power Award for his work as an artist and political activist.
Emanuel Xavier is currently residing back in his barrio of Bushwick in Brooklyn, NY. You can visit his website at www.emanuelxavier.com for more information.
Hoping you are well and life has been treating you kind...
Two Companions
I don't need a companion who is nasty and sour.
The one who is like a grave, dark, depressing and bitter.
A sweetheart is a mirror, a friend, a delicious cake. It isn't worth spending an hour with anyone else.
A companion who is in love only with the self has five distinct characters:
Stone hearted, Unsure of every step, Lazy and Disinterested, Keeping a poisonous face.
The more this companion waits around the more bitter everything will get, just like a vinegar
getting more sour with time. Enough is said about sour and bitter faces.
A heart filled with desire for sweetness and tender souls must not waste itself with unsavory matters.
Walk with me, instead, in G-d's Garden of Love, my dear & sweet friend,
The garden of Love is green without limit and yields many fruits other than sorrow and joy.
Love is beyond either condition: without spring, without autumn, it is always fresh, like a Summer breeze, your smile brightens my day!
In your light I learn how to love. In your beauty, how to make poems. You dance inside my chest, where no one sees you, but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art.
Where r u these days?! Touring the globe? Where in the world is.... EE?! Ran into Leo the other day. Totally forgot he lives on my block and he went to Brklyn Tech. How funny is that?! Hope ur well love. Sending u big time love. U make us all proud. Sniff. Sniff.
Gene
