Tue, Mar 10
|Zoom
The Poet X
What happens when a young woman decides her voice matters more than her silence? Through poetry, faith, and self-discovery, this story explores what it means to speak from the body and claim space in a world that asks girls to shrink.
Time & Location
Mar 10, 2026, 5:15 PM – 5:55 PM PDT
Zoom
About the event
This month, we’ll be discussing The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, a novel-in-verse about a Dominican-American teenage girl finding her voice through poetry.
The book explores faith, body autonomy, silence, and self-expressio, especially what happens when young women begin to speak for themselves.
About the Author & Story
Elizabeth Acevedo is an Afro-Dominican poet and novelist whose work centers voice, embodiment, and the power of language. A National Book Award winner, Acevedo is known for writing stories that honor young women’s interior lives without softening their truths.
The Poet X is a novel written entirely in verse, following Xiomara, a Dominican-American teenage girl who discovers poetry as a way to process faith, desire, shame, and self-expression. While fictional, the story reflects emotional realities Acevedo has spoken about openly, particularly the tension between silence and self-trust in religious and cultural spaces.
Acevedo’s approach invites readers to listen closely to a young woman learning to name herself, reminding us that finding one’s voice is often an act of courage.
Why This Book Has Been Challenged
The Poet X has been banned and removed in multiple U.S. school districts for:
Discussions of sexuality and bodily autonomy
Questioning religious authority
Language that refuses to soften girls’ lived experiences
What to Expect
We’ll focus on a handful of poems that explore voice, shame, and self-trust. Because the book is written in verse, excerpts stand powerfully on their own.
Come whether you’ve listened to the audiobook, read a few poems, or are encountering the text for the first time.
We hope to see you there!
-Jonelle + Karen
This event is open to all genders and races, our book club is rooted in curiosity over certainty, connection over debate, and the belief that thoughtful stories can gently shift how we see ourselves and the world.