Radiance
“Emanuel Xavier’s newest book radiates in diverse directions, back into a past of New York club kid glamour and violence, into a family history of lost connections, and into loves forfeited and found-all of which the poet illumines with steady-eyed honesty. Finally, as he confronts a health challenge to the very brain that is the root-place of these sharp and poignant poems, radiation becomes radiance, a hard-won inner light that lets us all see how ‘splendid is our survival.'” —David Groff, author of Clay
“As in his title poem, Radiance, the tenderness of Emanuel Xavier’s words are in stark contrast to the hard and often painful realities they convey. Yet, the two are masterfully melded to create beautiful stories in poems that are at once sad and encompass a sense of yearning. Radiance is the type of read that calms the nerves until the reality of what it conveys pierces one’s heart and not with cupid’s arrow.” —Nancy Mercado, editor of the Nuyorican Women Writers Anthology
“Urgency and despair wrestle in the restless poems of Emanuel Xavier’s Radiance. As Sinatra’s singing voice grew richer, more resonant, more heartbreaking after his celebrated breakup with Eva Gardner, Xavier’s poetic voice strikes new notes, new registers, both diving and soaring.” —Michael Broder, author of This Life Now and Drug and Disease Free
“In Radiance, Xavier scours the words of his poetry and the reader is given a keen clear look at reality. I love Emanuel!” —Miguel Algarin, founder of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe[
Emanuel Xavier, an LGBT History Month Icon, is author of the poetry collections Nefarious, Americano: Growing up Gay and Latino in the USA, Pier Queen, If Jesus Were Gay & other poems, and the novel Christ Like. He also edited Mariposas: A Modern Anthology of Queer Latino Poetry, Bullets & Butterflies: Queer Spoken Word Poetry, and Me No Habla with Acento: Contemporary Latino Poetry. His work also appears in the books For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Still Not Enough, Born This Way: Real Stories of Growing Up Gay and Untangling the Knot: Queer Voices on Marriage, Relationships & Identity. He is recipient of a NYC Council Citation and has been a finalist for Lambda Literary Awards and International Latino Books Awards. A victim of sexual abuse, a former homeless gay teen, street hustler and drug dealer, and eventual hate crime survivor, his often narrative poetry features political, sexual, and religious themes which continue to inspire new generations of confessional poetry. One of the first openly gay Nuyorican poets, he has been a longtime gay rights activist, AIDS activist and homeless youth advocate. He has spoken at The United Nations as part of The International Symposium on Cultural Diplomacy in the USA, was a featured TEDx speaker and was filmed for a documentary on poets from around the world. He continues to perform at colleges and universities throughout the country and his books are often included in LGBT and Latino Studies courses.
