The Poet X: Poet Elizabeth Acevedo Discusses Her Upcoming Novel

Brittany Adames

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The Poet X: Poet Elizabeth Acevedo Discusses Her Upcoming Novel

The Poet X: Poet Elizabeth Acevedo Discusses Her Upcoming Novel

May 1, 20176 min read

Elizabeth Acevedo is notably known for her robust diction–something captured in her slam poetry performances and talks. The daughter of Dominican immigrants, Elizabeth has embodied the cultural constituents that make up her identity. In her distinguished slam poem “Afro-Latina,” she speaks of the components that mold together the Afro-Dominican components in her. From her hair, her skin tone, and her tongue, Elizabeth has seamlessly provided a multitude of young girls with words that drive them to appreciate the brown in them. After compellingly clicking through every one her videos on YouTube, I found myself installed with a sudden drive to appreciate the skin I had despised years before. I sought words that would grasp my cultural identity as well. Elizabeth has been recognized as a US National Slam Champion and has given TED Talks, shaping her writing and performing career in varying manners.

Her upcoming novel, The Poet X, is set to be released by HarperCollins in 2018. The story follows a young Dominican-American girl, Xiomara, who revels in the influence of slam poetry as a form of expression as she struggles to identify with her family, faith, and relationships. I was delighted to have received contact from her and ask her questions about this piece of work and how it has further shaped her writing.

B: With your upcoming novel The Poet X, do you feel as if you have grown closer to your identity as a Dominican writer? How so?

E: I think have more firmly determined within myself that the stories I am most interested in telling are reflections of my community and the diversity within it. But I have considered myself Dominican and a writer for a long time, so I’m not sure I’ve necessarily grown closer to that identity through this novel, simply that ever single project I re-dedicate myself to being my most honest and to exploring the many experiences, I believe, reflects my truth and will be something to which audiences can connect.

B: What was the inspiration behind the creation of the main character, Xiomara? What facets did you focus more on?

E: Xiomara was a tough cookie from the jump. A character who is used to using her fist and her quick wit to defend herself, but someone who is also incredibly sensitive and has a poet’s heart. So I kept juggling her fierce and ferociously independent and take-no-mess attitude, with her need and desire to learn how to make her voice heard.

B: How did you surpass writer’s block while writing The Poet X?\

E: Every story for me is difficult to tell at some point. I’m always learning how to write the novel I’m working on. This story was many years in the making but I just couldn’t figure out how to make a verse novel work. How do you plot, or flesh out characters, or ensure a balance of dialogue and prose when everything is in poetry? So When I was most stuck I read a lot. I turned to Jacqueline Woodson, and Nikki Grimes, and Sandra Cisneros, and Jason Reynolds; writers who use poetry and tried to figure out how they made it work.

B: What aspects of your setting/life did you incorporate into the novel?

E: The book on the surface may seem very autobiographical: I too was born and raised in New York City, to Dominican immigrants, and lived Harlem-adjacent; I went to public schools and competed in City-wide poetry slams throughout my teen years. So all of that music, and scenery, and language and struggle and beauty is included in the novel.

Xiomara’s family has different familial dynamics than mine and my mom wasn’t nearly as conservative and definitely not as harsh as Xio’s, but there’s a scene on the two train uptown that is MOST CERTAINLY autobiographical, and that I too got in a lot of trouble for.

B: When examining most young adult novels that are placed on shelves today, there seems to be a lack of diversity in its literature and that oftentimes makes younger people of color feel underrepresented. What advice do you have for young Latinx writers?

E: This quote I gave to the National Endowment for the Arts seems to sum it up:

“Write the stories you’ve always wanted to read. Allow yourself to be the main character of your narrative. Become both the window and the mirror for those who read your work. Lean into fear. Write the hard poem.”

B: Who are your favorite Dominican authors?

E: Junot Diaz. Julia Alvarez. Nelly Rosario. Yesenia Montilla. Gabriel Ramirez. Claribel Ortega.

To learn more regarding Elizabeth and her work, be sure to visit her website.