Overview

Into the Heart of the Storm We meet Félix again after he has been settled in Washington Heights for years with his husband, Denis. He and the neighborhood and Fort Tryon Park are pleased with each other. With Denis, he and his wheelchair Purple Raven swing around the park, the streets, the building, and the apartment in all seasons. However, events foment and dispel ease and hope, and Félix bears witness to some of the most frightening occurrences of the last fifty years: the disinformation, lies and bigotry of a feral, out-of-control administration, the explosion of racism of many kinds, the pandemic, and last but not least, the storming of the Capitol. Through the eyes of a master poet we watch exhausted healthcare workers exit hospitals, still wearing their equipment, to a universal round of applause, played out differently in every New York neighborhood. We see Black people murdered by triumphant, smirking police. We shiver with anger at the blend of authoritarianism and misinformed rage that almost guts the heart of our democracy. And yet through it all, through Félix, we also somehow find the grace and courage to laugh and find our own oases of hope. Because of his Inclusion Body Myositis, Félix has become adept at typing with one finger. He has also become incredibly, enchantingly adept at capturing the mood of a year, a day, a season, a place. As in his first poetry collection, Flying On Invisible Wings, Felix sculpts with words the very heart of his wishes, hopes, failings and cares. But here they are often the wishes, hopes, failings and cares of a nation, as well. With Félix, we emerge from the deluge that the last few years have brought into our lives. We find the calm place again. We survive.

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9781597190992

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I once was told that poetry is painting pictures with words. Felix paints entire stories with his poetry. His artistry shines through his poetry and shares a life story that is ongoing, creative and often painful. I have since gotten to know him on social media, though I was sorry that I did not know him when I was in NYC because I would have loved scooting up to Washington Heights and hanging out. He often posts his poetry on social media, along with gorgeous pictures of his life, his fashion sense, his artwork and his adventures wheeling around his neighborhood....As a sociologist who appreciates narratives of the human condition, as an amateur poet who loves painting pictures with words, and as a fellow sufferer of living with chronic ailment and disability, I admire Felix's honesty and generosity. In a world where much is not right, it is a better place for having someone like Felix in it, sharing his life with all of us through his art of language. Pattie Thomas, Ph.D. Sociology professor, College of Southern Nevada co-author of Taking Up Space: How Eating Well and Exercising Regularly Changed My Life My copy of Flying on Invisible Wings, the first volume of Felix's collected poems, rests on the nightstand beside my bed. I read from it nightly, and Felix's reflections on his own life-how he has met the challenges facing him, with positivity, determination, and a will to succeed-allay my personal fears and self-doubts, enabling me to sleep peacefully and to awaken each morning with renewed hope for the future. I invite everyone who needs reassurance in these troubled times to join me in reading his second book, Poems of Reckoning and Hope. Dr. Dennis A. Lichty Professor of Education, Dean of Education & Counseling, Retired Wayne State College Wayne, Nebraska

Author Information

Félix Garmendía is a poet, HIV+ survivor, and disabled due to Inclusion Body Myositis. He has been married to his husband and caregiver Denis for 10 years.Garmendía was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Manhattan in 1988. He is also author of the poetry collection Flying On Invisible Wings. His poems narrate his life as a gay man and activist and as a poet and storyteller in the face of illness and intolerance.

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