First published in 1999, Christ Like was a Lambda Literary Award nominated first and only novel by former homeless teen Emanuel Xavier who would go on to become one of the most significant voices to emerge from the spoken word poetry scene. One of the first, if not the first novel written by an openly gay person of color involved in the ball scene about the ball scene as featured on the hit FX series, Pose, “it announced the arrival of a unique and important new voice among both gay and Latino/a writers … in theme and naked urgency, it may be justly compared to Dancer from the Dance and Last Exit to Brooklyn, but its heartbeat is puro latino” – author Michael Nava.
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 80 s and 90 s following him on his journey through a fascinating world filled with Santeros, transsexuals and voguing queens.
Emanuel Xavier is author of the poetry collections Radiance, Nefarious, If Jesus Were Gay, Americano, Pier Queen and editor of the anthologies Me No Habla With Acento: Contemporary Latino Poetry, Mariposas: A Modern Anthology of Queer Latino Poetry and Bullets & Butterflies: queer spoken word poetry. An Equality Forum LGBTQ Icon and recipient of a New York City Council Citation and a World Pride Award, he has been a finalist for Lambda Literary Awards and International Latino Book Awards.
A former homeless teen involved in NYC’s ball scene in the 90s and one of the first openly gay Nuyorican poets, he has been a longtime gay rights activist, AIDS activist and LGBTQ homeless youth advocate.
He was featured on HBO’s Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry, has spoken at The United Nations, was a featured TEDx speaker and was filmed for a documentary on poets from around the world which premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival. He continues to perform at colleges and universities throughout the country and his books are often included in LGBTQ and Latino Studies courses. He lives in New York with his husband, Brian Berger, and works for Penguin Random House, where he established The Penguin Random House LGBTQ Network.
$16.95 • Paperback • 260 pages • ISBN 978-0979083853
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