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In his third book of poetry, Fe¿lix Garmendi¿a celebrates the popular LGBTQ+ vacation destinations of Fire Island and commemorates Titania, a trans woman of Manhattan.
In his first book, Flying On Invisible Wings, Fe¿lix lives parts of his lonely childhood, journeys to the USA, becomes triumphantly accepted. Contracts HIV, hangs on, HIV becomes undetectable. Finds everlasting love, gets married. Then, as if daring him to stay happy, Inclusion Body Myositis lands him in a wheelchair. He continues to live and love with his husband in Washington/Hudson Heights in Manhattan, and finds his poetic voice.
Fe¿lix's second book, Poems of Reckoning and Hope, explores his neighborhood, the pandemic, and January 6 and its ramifications. He continues to hold out the possibility of hope through the USA's dire recokoning.
Now, in his third book, Félix sails to Fire Island. Then we meet Titania, trans woman of Manhattan. As we read Fe¿lix's detailed poems about both, we enter the next stage of his life. And we cheer his deep and unquestionable support for and celebration of the people he knows and loves best.
About the author
Fe¿lix Garmendi¿a is a poet, HIV+ survivor, and disabled due to Inclusion Body Myositis. He writes about LGBT issues, which are very close to his heart. His life was carved around the experiences of surviving his early years in conservative Catholic Puerto Rico of the '60s, '70s and '80s. He arrived in Manhattan, New York City, in 1988. His poems narrate life as a gay activist, a poet and a storyteller in the face of illness and intolerance. He has been married to his husband and caregiver Denis since 2012.
