Books by Emanuel Xavier

"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

With heartfelt honesty, Emanuel Xavier's fourth full-length poetry collection "Nefarious" welcomes the reader into the later second act of a former underage prostitute. This book captures insights into his private world; relationships, heartbreaks, life as a spoken word artist, time spent with his cat, aging. With a dose of dark humor, Xavier's pleasure in the written word and his passion makes this an engaging collection.

An expanded edition of the poetry collection originally published in 2002.

Self-published as a chapbook in 1997, Pier Queen launched the career of spoken word artist and poet Emanuel Xavier with classics such as "Tradiciones" and "Nueva York"-both featured on Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry-and other poems which captured the voice of a generation of queer people of color. For the first time ever, this ground-breaking collection becomes available featuring snapshots taken at the West Side Highway piers throughout the years by photographer Richard Renaldi. This collaboration is a gift to the LGBTQ community and for those who may be interested in how pier queens became poets and great artists against all odds to inspire others to rise above adversity. Photography by Richard Renaldi.

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.