Arts & Sciences Events
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[PAST EVENT] Emanuel Xavier to perform for the Latin American Student Union
November 18, 2012
7pm
Emanuel Xavier is an American poet, spoken word artist, author, editor, literary events curator, and actor born and raised in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn. He is one of the most significant voices to emerge from the neo-Nuyorican poetry movement using political, sexual and religious themes throughout his work. His background is Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian.
He self-published his debut poetry collection, Pier Queen, in the fall of 1997 through his own independent publishing house, Pier Queen Productions. Signature poems such as "Bushwick Bohemia", "Deliverance", "Every Latino", "Nueva York" and "Tradiciones" helped him gain notoriety in New York City's underground arts scene.
In 1998, with the support of people like Willi Ninja and spoken word poetry icon Bob Holman, Emanuel founded the House of Xavier and created the annual Glam Slam competition. Held once a year, first at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and then at Bowery Poetry Club, the poetry slam competition featured four open categories such as Best Erotic Poem in Sexy Underwear or Lingerie. Winners of each category received a trophy and went on to compete for the Grand Prize title of Glam Slam Champion. The event aspired to bring together poetry slams and ball culture in a unique and vibrant contribution to the downtown arts scene. In 2008, after a decade of staging the annual House of Xavier's Glam Slam spoken word poetry competition in NYC, he passed the torch over to Basque/Spanish performance poet, Ernesto Sarezale, who introduced the event to a London audience at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in the UK.
The poetry collection Americano, his first official publication, was released by Suspect Thoughts Press in 2002 and helped establish Emanuel Xavier as a central figure in the people of color literary arts movement with signature poems such as "Children of Magdalene", "Nearly God" and the title poem.
In 2005, Suspect Thoughts Press published Bullets & Butterflies: queer spoken word poetry, a collection Emanuel Xavier edited. The anthology featured the work of thirteen openly queer spoken word artists and new work by the editor himself including: "Legendary", "Outside" and "A Simple Poem."
He has been featured on television on Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry on HBO, In The Life on PBS and hosted several editions of Out At The Center on Manhattan Neighborhood Network. He also appears in the Wolfgang Busch documentary How Do I Look. In 2005, he co-starred in his first acting role in the independent feature film, The Ski Trip. In 2008, he appeared in The Cult of Sincerity, which later aired on PBS.
In 2008, an invitation-only online literary journal sponsored by UNESCO included him as a contributor to an international project. He was also invited to select finalists for Best Gay Erotica 2008.
In the fall of 2008, Floricanto Press published Mariposas: A Modern Anthology of Queer Latino Poetry, a collection which he edited featuring the work of 17 fellow queer Latino poets. This would be the first book ever to gather the work of openly queer poets from the Latino community.
In 2009, his poem, "Urban Affection", was commissioned by a private collector of Walt Whitman memorabilia for the 190th birthday anniversary of Walt Whitman.
In the Spring of 2009, Rebel Satori Press published a revised tenth anniversary edition of his semi-autobiographical novel, Christ Like. The novel description is as follows: Mikey is a spirited but self-destructive survivor of sexual abuse, a gay Latino native New Yorker caught somewhere between Catholic guilt and club kid decadence looking to fit in as part of a family. Instead, Mikey delves into a demimonde of petty thieves, prostitutes, and pushers. Haunted by a father that Mikey has never met, a difficult childhood, recurring nightmares, the reality of death, and Christ, the story unfolds through the his journey through a fascinating world filled with Santeros, transsexuals and voguing queens.
Emanuel Xavier has received the Marsha A. Gomez Cultural Heritage Award, a New York City Council Citation and is a 2008 World Pride Award recipient. In 2009, he was named one of the "25 Most Influential GLBT Latinos" by Mi Apogeo. He performs regularly throughout the United States as a spoken word artist and has also featured internationally in cities such as Buenos Aires (Argentina), Guayaquil (Ecuador), and Ghent (Belgium).
"Legendary- The Spoken Word Poetry of Emanuel Xavier", a spoken word/music collaboration with producer, El David, was released in the Winter of 2009/2010 featuring the bonus track, "Legendary (The E-Mix)." "Legendary (The Re-Mixes)" was released Spring 2010 by Hades Music on Masterbeats featuring remixes by Michael Hades, Tim Letteer, Lorant Duzgun, and El David.
If Jesus Were Gay & other poems was published by Rebel Satori Press in Spring 2010.
In 2011, after successfully hosting several seasons of El Museo del Barrio's SPEAK UP! spoken word program featuring some of the best voices from the Latino/a community, Rebel Satori Press published an anthology based on the series, Me No Habla With Acento: Contemporary Latino Poetry. Emanuel aslo performed in London and Paris that same year.
In 2012, Rebel Satori Press will officially publish his debut poetry collection, Pier Queen, reprint a ten-year-anniversary edition of Americano and publish an all new poetry collection by Emanuel Xavier.
He self-published his debut poetry collection, Pier Queen, in the fall of 1997 through his own independent publishing house, Pier Queen Productions. Signature poems such as "Bushwick Bohemia", "Deliverance", "Every Latino", "Nueva York" and "Tradiciones" helped him gain notoriety in New York City's underground arts scene.
In 1998, with the support of people like Willi Ninja and spoken word poetry icon Bob Holman, Emanuel founded the House of Xavier and created the annual Glam Slam competition. Held once a year, first at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and then at Bowery Poetry Club, the poetry slam competition featured four open categories such as Best Erotic Poem in Sexy Underwear or Lingerie. Winners of each category received a trophy and went on to compete for the Grand Prize title of Glam Slam Champion. The event aspired to bring together poetry slams and ball culture in a unique and vibrant contribution to the downtown arts scene. In 2008, after a decade of staging the annual House of Xavier's Glam Slam spoken word poetry competition in NYC, he passed the torch over to Basque/Spanish performance poet, Ernesto Sarezale, who introduced the event to a London audience at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in the UK.
The poetry collection Americano, his first official publication, was released by Suspect Thoughts Press in 2002 and helped establish Emanuel Xavier as a central figure in the people of color literary arts movement with signature poems such as "Children of Magdalene", "Nearly God" and the title poem.
In 2005, Suspect Thoughts Press published Bullets & Butterflies: queer spoken word poetry, a collection Emanuel Xavier edited. The anthology featured the work of thirteen openly queer spoken word artists and new work by the editor himself including: "Legendary", "Outside" and "A Simple Poem."
He has been featured on television on Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry on HBO, In The Life on PBS and hosted several editions of Out At The Center on Manhattan Neighborhood Network. He also appears in the Wolfgang Busch documentary How Do I Look. In 2005, he co-starred in his first acting role in the independent feature film, The Ski Trip. In 2008, he appeared in The Cult of Sincerity, which later aired on PBS.
In 2008, an invitation-only online literary journal sponsored by UNESCO included him as a contributor to an international project. He was also invited to select finalists for Best Gay Erotica 2008.
In the fall of 2008, Floricanto Press published Mariposas: A Modern Anthology of Queer Latino Poetry, a collection which he edited featuring the work of 17 fellow queer Latino poets. This would be the first book ever to gather the work of openly queer poets from the Latino community.
In 2009, his poem, "Urban Affection", was commissioned by a private collector of Walt Whitman memorabilia for the 190th birthday anniversary of Walt Whitman.
In the Spring of 2009, Rebel Satori Press published a revised tenth anniversary edition of his semi-autobiographical novel, Christ Like. The novel description is as follows: Mikey is a spirited but self-destructive survivor of sexual abuse, a gay Latino native New Yorker caught somewhere between Catholic guilt and club kid decadence looking to fit in as part of a family. Instead, Mikey delves into a demimonde of petty thieves, prostitutes, and pushers. Haunted by a father that Mikey has never met, a difficult childhood, recurring nightmares, the reality of death, and Christ, the story unfolds through the his journey through a fascinating world filled with Santeros, transsexuals and voguing queens.
Emanuel Xavier has received the Marsha A. Gomez Cultural Heritage Award, a New York City Council Citation and is a 2008 World Pride Award recipient. In 2009, he was named one of the "25 Most Influential GLBT Latinos" by Mi Apogeo. He performs regularly throughout the United States as a spoken word artist and has also featured internationally in cities such as Buenos Aires (Argentina), Guayaquil (Ecuador), and Ghent (Belgium).
"Legendary- The Spoken Word Poetry of Emanuel Xavier", a spoken word/music collaboration with producer, El David, was released in the Winter of 2009/2010 featuring the bonus track, "Legendary (The E-Mix)." "Legendary (The Re-Mixes)" was released Spring 2010 by Hades Music on Masterbeats featuring remixes by Michael Hades, Tim Letteer, Lorant Duzgun, and El David.
If Jesus Were Gay & other poems was published by Rebel Satori Press in Spring 2010.
In 2011, after successfully hosting several seasons of El Museo del Barrio's SPEAK UP! spoken word program featuring some of the best voices from the Latino/a community, Rebel Satori Press published an anthology based on the series, Me No Habla With Acento: Contemporary Latino Poetry. Emanuel aslo performed in London and Paris that same year.
In 2012, Rebel Satori Press will officially publish his debut poetry collection, Pier Queen, reprint a ten-year-anniversary edition of Americano and publish an all new poetry collection by Emanuel Xavier.