With rhythmic rendering, between off-white pages, a spotlight is directed on the reader by Elizabeth Acevedo as the reader learns how to accept their cultural identity and find love.
Acevedo is an award-winning, Dominican-American author and poet. Acevedo brings to life an unspoken cultural narrative that desperately needs to be heard by all. She artfully shares the stories of black people and breaks through the standards set in American literature.
Born to immigrant parents and raised in the hustle and bustle of New York City, Elizabeth Acevedo was destined to experience rich cultures and their interactions.
Throughout Acevedo’s young-adult novels, she highlights the growing pains of almost adulthood and the struggle of embracing one’s identity.
Her first young-adult novel, “The Poet X,” shares a complex story that embodies Acevedo’s message.
“[It’s] a story about fierce familial relationships, first love, pushing against cultural and gendered norms,” said Acevedo to Teen Vogue’s former writer Melanie Mignucci. “…[Mostly], it is a story about giving yourself permission to raise your voice and demand to be heard.”
With a bachelor’s degree in performing arts and a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing, Acevedo is able to write brilliant prose and craft award-winning novels.
Acevedo is a pioneer in her own way. She demonstrated to the country and the world that poetry could be narrative in a longer form. More importantly, she taught women and girls that no matter their background, their voice mattered.
“I am no ant,” wrote Acevedo in her award-winning novel, “The Poet X.”
