and founded The Penguin Random House LGBTQ Network in 2011, where he originally served as chair of the group. Selected Poems of Emanuel Xavier, a curated career-spanning collection of his poetry was published in 2021. In 2022, it was announced that he joined the Board of The Publishing Triangle. Activism PEN America invited him to read his poem "Americano" at the Writer's Resist rally on the steps of The New York Public Library in protest of the Trump administration in 2017. The same year, a week long exhibit was staged to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his poetry collection Pier Queen. In 2018, he was invited to share his poetry at The United Nations as part of The International Symposium on Cultural Diplomacy. He shared a new poem about gun control, and after criticism, he was uninvited back as a speaker. Assault and aftermath In October 2005, Xavier was attacked by a group of about 20 young men in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn. Despite various rumors about the attack—some suggested it stemmed from his granting the Latin Kings gang permission to publish one of his poems, "Waiting for God", which dealt with police brutality. After the attack, Xavier was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma, a type of brain tumor, and had surgery; the tumor was benign, but resulted in a period of partial facial paralysis. He recovered from the paralysis; however, he became deaf in his right ear In 2015, he announced on his personal website that the acoustic neuroma had returned. By year's end, he underwent successful radiosurgery. Awards and honors In 2010, The Equality Forum named him an LGBTQ History Month Icon. The American Library Association selected Xavier's poetry collections If Jesus Were Gay and Nefarious for its Over The Rainbow Books lists for 2011 and 2015 respectively. He is the recipient of a Gay City Impact Award and the Marsha A. Gomez Cultural Heritage Award. He has served as a judge for the Lambda Literary Awards and as poetry judge for The Saints & Sinners LGBTQ+ Literary Festival. Bibliography Poetry Americano, Rebel Satori Press, 2022 (twentieth anniversary reissue of the original 2002 edition) Selected Poems of Emanuel Xavier, Rebel Satori Press, 2021 (Finalist- International Latino Book Award- Best Poetry Book Award One Author- English) If Jesus Were Gay, Rebel Satori Press, 2020 (tenth anniversary reissue of the original 2010 edition) Radiance, Rebel Satori Press, 2016 Nefarious,