When poetry was at its apex in the 1990s—after the Second Coming of the Nuyorican Poets Café—Emanuel Xavier leapt up—and out—onto the scene with the boldness of an Allen Ginsberg and Audre Lorde, in the tradition of Essex Hemphill and Assotto Saint long before the tenuous longitude and latitude afforded LGBTQ+ and non-binary artists today. Without so much as passion and perseverance, a former homeless hustler from the Paris is Burning ball/House community became an LGBTQ+ Icon, as proclaimed by The Equality Forum. Emanuel Xavier has given voice to his unique experiences and tackled politics, sexuality, and religion with poetry books like Pier Queen, Americano, If Jesus Were Gay, Nefarious, Radiance, Selected Poems of Emanuel Xavier and his latest collection, Love(ly) Child.