The Poet X

The Poet X

• Genre: Fiction; young adult verse
• Originally Published: 2018
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile HL800L; grades 9-11
• Structure/Length: 3 parts with 2 chapters in each part; approx. 370 pages; approx. 3 hours, 30 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Xiomara Batista, 15, fills poetry journals in her Harlem apartment to express the things she doesn’t feel comfortable saying aloud. She shares her writing only with a trusted few until her English teacher invites her to participate in a spoken-word poetry club and later a citywide poetry slam.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Parental abuse; profanity; street harassment/verbal harassment; sexual assault (groping); sexual exploration and discussion

Elizabeth Acevedo, Author

• Bio: Born in 1988; Afro-Dominican American poet, author and performer; National Poetry Slam champion; named Young People’s Poet Laureate in 2022; recipient of multiple awards for her novels, including a best book of the year by the New York Public Library and the School Library Journal
• Other Works: With the Fire on High (2019); Clap When You Land (2020)
• Awards: National Book Award for Young Adult Literature; Carnegie Medal

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Guilt, Shame, and Religion
• Growing Up and Separating from Parents
• Adolescent Sexuality

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Gain an understanding of the cultural and historical contexts behind the literary movement (slam poetry) and the religious concerns (Catholicism) that inform Xiomara’s coming of age in The Poet X.
• Discuss and analyze or reflect on and respond to prompts to make connections via the text’s themes of Guilt, Shame, and Religion and Growing Up and Separating from Parents.
• Write and perform slam poetry about students’ own everyday experiences, emulating Xiomara’s style of writing.
• Examine and evaluate plot and character details to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding the symbolism of Xiomara’s birth, Mami’s character, and other topics.