Books and Publications

Taking Refuge in the Fire: Purification Through Creative Presence.

In his candid debut memoir, Taking Refuge in the Fire: Purification Through Creative Presence (Rebel Satori, 2026), author and certified meditation teacher Charlie Vazquez chronicles a multi-decade journey across continents and consciousness. Moving from the scorched streets of the 1970s South Bronx and the underground queer music scenes of the Pacific Northwest to Chinatown’s firelit Buddhist shrines, Vazquez confronts the enduring trauma of his father’s addiction and violence. The narrative reaches its full-circle culmination during the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath, as he returns to the Bronx to teach creative recovery and meditation to men in opioid shelters—facing the very wounds he spent a lifetime escaping.

For readers navigating emotional grief, chronic stress, or creative blockages, this memoir offers an indispensable blueprint for personal liberation. Vazquez introduces “creative presence”—the seamless fusion of contemplative mindfulness and artistic expression—demonstrating that our deepest suffering doesn’t need to be bypassed or suppressed. Instead of fleeing adversity, the narrative shows how the “manure” of our most painful lived experiences can become the rich soil of self-compassion, resilience, and spiritual purpose. Readers will discover how engaging in direct awareness and authentic creative rituals can disarm the inner critic and awaken the inner guide.

Charlie Vazquez is available to bring these transformative practices directly to your community, institution, or organization. A dynamic facilitator trained in the lineage of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche through Tibet House, he is available for author readings, media interviews, keynote talks, and immersive workshops on creativity, meditation, and healing. Whether tailored for universities, literary conferences, dharma/wellness centers, or recovery groups, each program offers practical, experiential tools—including guided breath-work and automatic writing—to help audiences transmute hardship into creative clarity.

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• Literary Credits (Select):

2005, Buzz and Israel, Fireking Press, novel, author

2007, Business as Unusual, Fireking Press, fiction collection, author

2008, Backdraft, Cleis Press, “Anthony”, short story, author

2008, Gallery, Fireking Press, short story collection, author

2010, Contraband, Rebel Satori Press, a novel, author

2011, Meditations/Meditaciones, Fireking Press, poetry collection, author

2012, Love, Christopher Street, Vantage Point Press, “The Voices”, essay, author

2013, Hustler Rave: XXX, Lethe Press, poetry collection, co-author

2019, Crashing Cathedrals, ITNA Press, “The Burning Library”, essay, author

2020, Fantasmas: Puerto Rican Tales of the Dead, CV Publishing, short story collection

2025, Ruptures: Selected Poetry (1995-2025), CV Publishing, poetry

2026, Taking Refuge in the Fire: Purification Through Creative Presence, Rebel Satori Books, memoir

2026, Desert Father, CV Publishing, poetry, pending

2027, The Return to the Dead, suspense/thriller novel, pending