Have you ever read a book and gone ‘I didn’t even realize how much I needed to read a book like this?’ The Poet X did that to me. How I wish I could walk up to people and shove the book in their hands so they could read it and understand me.
I read The Poet X as an audiobook in “two sittings” in December 2018.
This. Book.
I will give my commentary on The Poex X, but for HarperCollins’ official description, click here.
The story follows U.S. Dominican teenager Xiomara Benitez as she navigates a world where she is silenced, but a world wherein her body is ‘unhidable,’ as Xiomara expresses, because of characteristics we have come to internalized as stereotypical of Caribbean and Latin American women. Having grown up with a strict Roman Catholic mother, Xiomara writes poems in a private journal to speak her mind, sneaks around to be the person she really wants to be rather than the one her mother wants her to be, and turns to poetry slam to find her voice and share her mind with the world.
The first part follows Xiomara as she navigates what it means to fall in love for the first time, especially when she embodies everything that is “neither pretty or docile.” She has a Caribbean and Latin American body we have come to internalize as “typical:” curvy, full breasts and big butt, and everything that screams ‘you are not worthy or capable of love.’ Xiomara’s self-perception of her body image and the implications that come with it are greatly explored in The Poet X.
(Image: Elizabeth Acevedo’s Instagram)
Consequently, Xiomara hides herself in poetry, because writing is the way she gets to be herself. She writes her poems in a journal she hides, and the way the book is written makes it seem like The Poet X is itself Xiomara’s journal, blurring the line between when she is writing and when she is not. But even then, you always understand the story and you just can’t help but continue reading and seeing how she grows.
Now, the second part… Woah.
The relationship between Xiomara and her mother is not only a war zone—it is the war itself. If the first big fight is intense, the second time is searing pain. I cried in that second scene. The emotion in those moments are so raw that tears were streaming down my face. I couldn’t contain them. I wasn’t expecting to cry at all, but this one scene wrecked me. It is the climax, and it certainly feels like it.
The third part is quite a surprise because Xiomara’s relationship to one of the secondary characters is refreshing and fantastic. The character Acevedo chose to develop more in this third part also represents Roman Catholicism, and it is great to see how this person helps Xiomara in her journey, how he helps her grow and find the space for healing. Acevedo’s choice is refreshing not only because it is creative, but also because the character she uses is seldom someone chosen for positive resolution. I appreciated that.
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I recommend reading this story via audiobook because the one who narrates is Acevedo, the author herself, and as a poet who has done poetry slam, the way she brings Xiomara to life is absolutely stunning.
This!!!! Story!!!!!
I am sure many people who come from a Caribbean and Latin American family with Roman Catholic traditions who are struggling to find their voice and share their opinion will identify with Xiomara. Due to Spanish colonialism and the pervasive Spanish culture in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean and Latin American countries, the Roman Catholic religion/denomination is still very much part of how our national identities are forged. Many women know this struggle: the one between mothers and daughters when the latter decide to break what is thought to be convention. Many Caribbean and Latin American women know this journey is raw and intense, and Acevedo portrays it spectacularly. Reading Xiomara is like reading the struggle of every girl with a “mainstream” Spanish-speaking Caribbean and Latin American background—the story of a girl coming to terms with, and facing the fact that what her mother (or any authority figure) believes is no longer what she believes.
The National Book Award selected an amazing book as the recipient; The Poet X does not disappoint. Acevedo’s debut is amazing, and I cannot wait to read more of her novels as she continues to write. Oh, and I do not mind if they are all verse novels, either.
For HarperCollins’ description of With the Fire on High, Acevedo’s next novel, click here.
(Image: HarperCollins)
Dedicated to my fellow collegiates.