The Poet X
Author: Elizabeth Acevedo. Date: 2022.
ISBN: 9780062662804.
Publisher: HarperTeen.
Genre: In-verse.
Reading Level: Grades 9-12
Awards: Printz Award 2019 , National Book Award 2018
Trailer: Xiomara inhales....
Her family's expectations;
The unwanted attention of men;
The pressure of school;
The guilt of not feeling guilty about not wanting to go to church;
The sweet dank smoke of a fat joint;
The caress of the boy she can't stop staring at.
Xiomara exhales....
Poetry.
Growing up has been an easily, pleasant experience for maybe one person, like, ever. That person is certainly not Xiomara. For Xiomara, growing up is a time marked by the unpleasant development of her child's body into a woman's body; discomfort caused by the unwanted attention she is now receiving from grown-ass-men; the changing dynamics with her parents and siblings that seems to include many mores secrets than before; and her uncertainty of her relationship with just about everyone including with God/Jesus/The Holy Spirit/Whatever other male religious figure she's been told she has to respect. This time in her life has been a lot of things, but it certainly hasn't been easy. Back in the good ol' days she might have talked to her Twin about all of the changes occurring in her life, but it seems that nowadays even her Twin is off on his own thing.
There are really only three things that are getting her through these tough times. In no particular order those three elements are: 1) her BFF, Caridad, who is the only one getting her through confirmation classes, 2) Aman, the cutie in her class who she knows has been looking her way and 3) her poetry. Though her overprotective mom wouldn't approve of her 1)talking during confirmation, 2) talking to a boy at all, or 3) writing any sort of poetry that doesn't revolve around how much she fears God. Navigating her mother's expectations and her own desires, Xiomara embarks on the journey of self-discovery in this coming-of-age tale.
This is a book in-verse AND the main character is a poet so it only seemed appropriate to include some poems. Without further ado...
Created by: Look over to the left hand side of this screen and TRY to tell me that is not one of the most adorably joyous looking people you've ever seen. Wow. That delightful human right there is Elizabeth Acevedo, the author of The Poet X! According to her website, Acevedo has a BA in Performing Arts from The George Washington University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Maryland (acevedowrites.com). She's written With the Fire on High and Clap When You Land, two other celebrated YA books in-verse. Acevedo currently lives on the East coast in Washington D.C.
Okay, okay. I can't resist dropping another poem. Deal with it!
Analysis: What does it mean to be a woman? A good woman. Is a good woman one who puts her family first? One who follows all the rules, one who is neatly fits into all the proper boxes. Is it a virgin? A pregnant woman? A pregnant virgin like Mother Mary in Christian faiths? In The Poet X the main character, Xiomara, is trying to figure out how to be. How to be a woman, how to be a daughter, a sister, herself. On one hand, she wants to make her family happy. She recognizes that going against her parents wishes might impact her life, her living situation, her future. On the other hand, she is feeling like she's outgrown the tight confines her parents have allotted her. This struggle is familiar to those of us who have navigated that whole "coming-of-age" situation. There is often a split between who the people around us want us to be and who we want to be, who we are. The incredible thing about this book in-verse is how well the author describes what it is like to navigate that split: the fear and excitement of that time in one's life. This book is a great example of the age-old adage that there is no one way to be. There is not a right way and a wrong way, only the way that you chose. In her journey to womanhood Xiomara abandons the idea of good and bad ways to be a woman and chooses to be authentic to her desires regardless of societal and cultural expectations. As Afro-Latinx women, both the author and the main character of the book have unique sociocultural elements to navigate in that regard. I particularly enjoyed the examination of religion and the ways in which women are oppressed and empowered by those institutions. While Xiomara feels uncomfortable with the patriarchal nature of Catholicism, her mother is greatly comforted by the religion and horrified at the thought of her daughter not having the same experience.
Elizabeth Acevedo is an incredible poet, writer, person, etc.
Pause: it's me, with another poem. This time by the star of the hour, Elizabeth Acevedo:
Okay, carrying on. Using an in-verse format for this piece gives the reader a unique insight into the main character's emotional journey. I found that the formatting of the poems served to communicate themes of the story. For example, the last poem featured in this book is a contrapuntal that can be read left to right like we usually read English, or it can be read up to down, or down to up, really whatever goes. I thought that was a great way to emphasize the idea that there is not just one way to be. We don't have to be exactly what our parents want. Heck, we might not even end up being who we ourselves thought we would be! Like poetry, life is unconventional. It follows no set rules. And that is what makes it so scary but also SO AWESOME!
In the library: One of the main points of interest in this novel is the relationship between Xiomara and her mother. Though the reader gets the impression her mom only wants the best for her she doesn't always act in the most logical or respectful ways. This causes major conflict between the two characters. I would love to use this book to start some conversations about conflict we have with our guardians. I'm imagining an exercise with a couple of different prompts. One would be to write a letter to you as your parent, then to write a letter to your parent about things you wish you could tell them. Another could be a worksheet that prompts participants to think critically about the potential reasons their parents disagree with them. With that same worksheet, the participants could ask their guardians to critically think about the reason they want to do something the guardian doesn't want them to do. I think it would be a great way to start some intergenerational conversations in the library.
Potential issues: This book offers some valuable critique of organized religion and discussion of sexual situations between minors. If anyone argued with the discussion of these topics one could argue that the same conversations are brought up in many YA books and other classic pieces of literature.
Reason for Inclusion: I want to include this book because representation is important and there are many afro-latinx people in my life/general area.
Sources:
Button Poetry. (2015, August 8). Melissa Lozada-Oliva - Like Totally Whatever. YouTube. https://youtu.be/me4_QwmaNoQ
Button Poetry. (2013, November 7). Neil Hilborn - the future. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xUEg2WxGqQ
The Poet X. (n.d). Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33294200-the-poet-x
SlamFind. (2015, September 21). Elizabeth Acevedo - "afro-latina". YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPx8cSGW4k8
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