“Words Worth” by Carlos Andrés Gómez

Carlos Andrés Gómez performs “Gifted” (poem for his little sister)

Carlos Andrés Gómez & Savion Glover on Broadway

“Never Again” (Rwanda poem) by Carlos Andrés Gómez

“Juan Valdez” by Carlos Andrés Gómez (Live at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe)

Dear friends,

I have spent the past year quietly working on the biggest artistic undertaking of my life. Besides the small handful of people directly involved, no one has known about it – not even my closest friends and family.

The short of it – I wrote a book.

The long – it is a memoir about the defining experiences and relationships that have shaped who I am as a man. More than that though, in revealing many of the most vulnerable and hidden parts of myself, I hope to ignite a long-overdue conversation about masculinity. My ultimate hope is that this conversation can build a global movement to first challenge and then redefine how we conceive of manhood, giving men across the world permission to be who they are.

I’ve performed all over the globe these past few years and felt the urgency from men – whether in Dublin or Fayetteville, Soweto or San Antonio, Barcelona or El Barrio – I have seen it in their faces and heard it from their mouths. We are in desperate need of a new model of masculinity.

In taking this frightening leap and in sharing the shaking stories of this book, I hope to offer up a different model for how to be a man.

And, now, the big news –

the book, “Man Up,” will be released next fall (2012) by Gotham Books, an imprint of Penguin.

For all of my brothers, fathers, sons, friends, and other men reading this right now, there is a huge online component to this project that will be launched in early 2012. And I would like you to be a part of it. It will be a way for you to share your story with the world. Keep an eye out for that…

For now though, as always, big love and thanks to all of my incredible supporters and friends. And here’s to building a global Man Up Movement in 2012!

One love,

Carlos

Excerpt from the book description:

MAN UP is a wild ride begging you to ride shotgun, as Gómez invites you along on his coming-of-age journey through all the vice, virtue, and struggles that shaped his becoming a man. Poignant, inspiring, and, often times, hilarious, this is a memoir for 21st century America.

The single most revolutionary thing you can do is recognize that you are enough.” - Carlos Andrés Gómez

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