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Elizabeth Acevedo
[edit]Elizabeth Acevedo | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 15, 1988 |
| Nationality | Afro-Dominican |
| Education | BA of Performing Arts from The George Washington University MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Maryland College Park |
| Occupation(s) | Poet, novelist, educator, activist |
| Notable work | Spear, Unforgettable, A Love Letter to my Beloved, An Open Letter to the Protesters Outside of the Planned Parenthood, Hair, Bittersweet Love Poem, Beastgirl & Other Origin Myths, The Poet X |
| Awards | 2014 National Slam Champion, 2016 Berkshire Prize |
| Website | acevedopoetry |
Life
[edit]Elizabeth Acevedo (born February 15, 1988) is an Afro-Dominican writer. She was born and raised in New York City and is the youngest child and only daughter of Dominican immigrants. She got into music at a young age because her father used to play it every Friday. The lyrics of the songs she heard spoke to her, which made her want to sing. When she realized she wasn't a good enough singer [1], she moved on to rap, and from there to performed poetry. In 2014, she became a National Slam Champion. Her chapbook Beastgirl & Other Origin Myths[2] was published by YesYes Books in 2016, is claimed to be "a collection of folkloric poems centered on the historical, mythological, gendered, and geographic experiences of a first generation American woman.[3]" Her debut novel, The Poet X[4], is set to be published by HarperCollins in 2018.
Works
[edit]"Bittersweet Love Poem" [5]
"A Love Letter to my Beloved" [6]
"Hair" [7]
"Spear" [8]
"Unforgettable" [9]
"An Open Letter to the Protesters Outside the Planned Parenthood" [10]
Beastgirl & Other Origin Myths[2]
The Poet X [4]
Summaries of the Works
[edit]"Bittersweet Love Poem"
[edit]The work "A Bittersweet Love Poem" is focused on the idea that one should not be ashamed of who they love and how much of themselves they put into their relationships and even compares the not-so-typical idea of love that some people have by comparing it to “mismatched socks that somehow got rolled together.[5]” By this she means that although two people may be very different from one another, they can still come together as one, and that to her is okay, and giving all that you have for someone you love is also okay because you lose nothing.
"A Love Letter to my Beloved"
[edit]"A Love Letter to my Beloved" is a poem about the life that people of color now face because of their skin complexion and the police brutality that comes with it. She speaks of how now a common conversation to have at dinner is one about who was killed that day, and how it’s sad to have to hear her friends ask about the young boy who was shot. She lets her audience know that this situation is “about how we beat those who stop [their] hearts.[6]” Acevedo speaks for those oppressed by the color of the skin and the fear in their hearts by taking advantage of the platform she has.
"Hair"
[edit]"Hair" starts and ends with Elizabeth Acevedo saying “my mother tells me to fix my hair.[7]” She speaks of how her mother means that she should straighten her hair because its kinky, curliness could get her in problems. She describes how she feels as if she is constantly being encouraged to whiten herself up, but she rejects that and pushes to let people know that she can’t erase her culture from her hair or her skin. Acevedo ends her performance by saying that her mom tells her to fix her hair, but she can’t fix something that was never messed up, standing up for a culture she is proud to be a part of.
"Spear"
[edit]The poem "Spear" is a message and a fight against violence meditated towards women and rape. Acevedo speaks of her fear to have her daughter disrespected and hurt, and she says in a preach-like voice that she “can’t trust this world to teach their sons how to treat [her] daughter.[8]” By this Acevedo is projection her fear of the world we live in, and how we live in a society so twisted one won’t ever know if their child is ever truly safe. And in what I think is the most powerful of this performance is: “You can’t tell me that they don’t know that her no is not a moan.[8]” This was a line that demonstrated the main point of this poem; the fear of her daughter getting taken advantage of, and he fear that she will not be able to teach her daughter what she is worth.
"Unforgettable"
[edit]"Unforgettable" is a collaborative work with two other poets, G. Yamazawa and Pages Matam. The three performers speak of the problems their families have gone through and how their names aren’t up to par with their cultures because their names were not actually given to them but given to society so they could be accepted. They speak of the constant question of what their real names are, and how they only want a name that can demonstrate their pride in the culture they’re a part of, but because of the country they live in their names had to be dumbed down. They want names that will leave a knot in your throat and not one that “can be passed down with milk.[9]”
"An Open Letter to the Protesters Outside the Planned Parenthood"
[edit]Elizabeth Acevedo writes "An Open Letter to the Protesters Outside the Planned Parenthood", as a message of resistance and anger. She speaks of how the protesters claim abortion is the largest genocide performed by blacks but none of those protesters have ever showed up to a Black Lives Matter rally to fight for all the lives lost. But she also throws in the oppression that women in minorities face by letting people know that they have had to fear both hangings and hangers, letting protesters know that there are more things that minorities face in this life, and being with child is only one of the many.
Literary Themes
[edit]Some of the themes seen throughout Acevedo's works are those of rape culture, acceptance, love, police brutality, the Black Lives Matter movement, pride, resistance and Immigration. Elizabeth Acevedo has explained in interviews that to her it is important to embrace ones culture because it's what makes us all different or what can bring us together. The theme of rape culture is prominent in the poem "Spear" where she speaks of being scared to raise her daughter in a world that hasn't taught boys how to treat women. Acceptance and pride are demonstrated in "Hair" where she describes the process of making her mother understand that her hair is an important part of her. Police brutality and the BLM movement and shown in "A Love Letter to my Beloved" where she talks about the heartache but normality behind hearing about another person of color being killed. "A Bittersweet Love Poem" speaks of love and the difficulties even in today's world to love who you please, but she speaks of not being ashamed of a relationship not working out. There is resistance when speaking to the people protesting outside Planned Parenthood, challenging them to look past their beliefs and into the lives of people of color, who lose people every day. The themes of immigration and acceptance are intertwined through the poem "Unforgettable", where the poets talk about the way society unconsciously chose their names for them, because it was easier to accept those with a name similar to theirs than to accept one that fit their cultural and ethnic background.
Awards and Features
[edit]Features
[edit]Elizabeth Acevedo and her work have been featured in Teen Vogue[11], Fierce by mitú [12], Unruly[13], Bustle[14], The Huffington Post[15], National Endowment for the Arts[16], Remezcla[17], Latina (magazine)[18], Cosmopolitan (magazine)[19], Vibe (magazine)[20], The Washington Informer, Rappahannock Review[21], Blavity[22], Upworthy[23], Everyday Feminism, Washington City Paper[24], The Washington Post[25], and The Washington Sun[26] to name a few.
Awards
[edit]Acevedo is the winner of various awards such as the 2016 Berkshire Prize, which she won with her work "Medusa Reads La Negra's Palm", she was the 2014 American National Slam Champion, and she is the Women of the World Poetry Slam Representative for Washington D.C. where she currently resides.
The features in different websites all had multiple things in common and that is that they spoke about Elizabeth Acevedo's self-love in regards to her culture and how her work would impact the Latinx community. They would include quotes about her poem "Hair" and spoke of her chapbook, Beastgirl & Other Origin Myths[2], and her forthcoming novel The Poet X[4].
- ^ "Literary Start". YouTube.
- ^ a b c Acevedo, ELizabeth (2016). Beastgirl & Other Origin Myths. YesYes Books. ISBN 9781936919451.
- ^ Acevedo, Elizabeth (2016). Beastgirl and Other Origin Myths. ISBN 9781936919451.
- ^ a b c Acevedo, Elizabeth (2018). The Poet X. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780062662828.
- ^ a b Acevedo, Elizabeth. "Bittersweet Love Poem". YouTube.
- ^ a b Acevedo, Elizabeth. "A Love Letter to my Beloved". YouTube.
- ^ a b Acevedo, Elizabeth. "Hair". YouTube.
- ^ a b c Acevedo, Elizabeth. "Spear". YouTube.
- ^ a b "Unforgettable". YouTube.
- ^ Acevedo, Elizabeth. "An Open Letter to the Protesters Outside the Planned Parenthood". YouTube.
- ^ Mignucci, Melanie (June 9, 2017). "Slam Poet Elizabeth Acevedo Debuts Novel, "The Poet X"". Teen Vogue.
- ^ Reichard, Raquel (November 15, 2017). "Poetry's Been Called An Outdated Pastime, But These Latinas Are Breathing New Life Into The Art". Mitú.
- ^ Haile, Ellen (September 19, 2016). "How To Be A... Poet: Elizabeth Acevedo". Unruly.
- ^ Jarema, Kerri (August 22, 2017). "13 Upcoming YA Books By Latinx Authors To Start Getting Excited About Right Now". Bustle.
- ^ Ramirez, Tanisha (February 5, 2016). "This Powerful Spoken Word Poem Celebrates Heritage and Self-Love". The Huffington Post.
- ^ Beete, Paulette (April 12, 2016). "Art Talk with Poet and 2016 Poetry Out Loud Host Elizabeth Acevedo". National Endowment for the Arts.
- ^ Reichard, Raquel. "Elizabeth Acevedo's Upcoming YA Book Is For Afro-Latina Teens Who Never Feel Seen". Remezcla.
- ^ Reichard, Raquel (November 11, 2015). "Woman Crush(ing the Patriarchy) Wednesday: Elizabeth Acevedo". Latina.
- ^ Nunez, alana (October 20, 2015). "This Woman Has a Powerful Message for Every Afro-Latina Who's Been Told to "Fix Her Hair"". Cosmopolitan.
- ^ Estevez, Marjua (February 10, 2016). "Tongue Tactics: 9 Afro-Latina Poets Who Get Radical on the Mic". Vibe.
- ^ "Rappahannock Review Contributor Spotlight: Interview with Elizabeth Acevedo". Rappahannock Review.
- ^ Oyekoya, Tosin. "Behind the Mic: Elizabeth Acevedo". Blavity.
- ^ Davis, Chie (October 2, 2014). "Some Girls Are Ashamed of Their Hair. Here's How They'll Learn The Truth". Upworthy.
- ^ Cauterucci, Christina (August 11, 2014). "D.C. Wins the National Poetry Slam for the First Time". Washington City Paper.
- ^ Dingfelder, Sadie (August 15, 2014). "D.C.'s Beltway Poetry Slam triumphs at the National Poetry Slam". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Washington D.C. Team Wins National Poetry Slam". The Washington Sun.