The Poet X, Teen Voices, and Censorship

Elizabeth Acevedo’s sometimes banned novel The Poet X, the value of teen voices, plus the weekly book ban news.

A sign at the Mexican restaurant Lucha Libre Taco Shop in San Diego.

Hello Friends!

The other day I saw a quick interview Ali Velshi had with National Young Person’s Poet Laureate Elizabeth Acevedo for his Banned Book Club. It’s linked in this article from the Philadelphia Citizen: ALI VELSHI BANNED BOOK CLUB BANNING THE POET X 

In The Poet X, the protagonist contends with her family’s disapproval of her self-expression. This reminded me of an experience I’d had as the editor of Inlandia: A Literary Journey Journal when we were putting together our yearly teen issue during the pandemic. Sadly, families censoring their young people happens regularly. And now The Poet X is also being widely censored. 

I’d originally purchased and listened to The Poet X on audiobook–a powerful narration by the author herself, which I highly recommend. As I finished putting together the third teen issue of Inlandia: A Literary Journey, the journal sponsored by the Inlandia Institute, one of the teen authors emailed to ask that I remove her work from the issue.

With the two previous teen issues of Inlandia, wrapping up the experience meant having an in-person celebration on the library lawn in downtown Riverside, California. I’d spend the weeks before the gathering making all sorts of cookies. On the evening of the live reading, I’d meet with the institute director, the programs coordinator, the teen editors and several of the teen authors, who read from their work to a live audience. It was a joy to meet the authors and connect their voices to their published work. It was a joy to meet their proud parents and siblings, and even some of their teachers who had encouraged their writing journey.

In 2020, because of the pandemic, we had an online gathering. While I missed meeting the writers, parents, and teachers (the online audience had the opportunity to chat by text only and were not visible), it was fun to have some of the distant authors read. We even had writers from Shanghai, China and Bristol, England.

Still, the pandemic had a depressing effect on me as I was working on the teen issue. Having been both a teacher and high school librarian, I know what the daily routine of school means to teens whose family life is broken. Some of these teens were submitting work to us. About seventy-five percent of them were being rejected by the teen editors. The letters declining their work would come from me. What would I say in the midst of these losses? My draft of the decline letter grew ever longer.

Thank you for sending us your work. We are very sorry, but it does not quite fit with this issue. We realize that this season is difficult for so many of us and in so many ways. And while your work was not chosen for this issue, the editors enjoyed its admirable qualities. You are doing the hard work that creative endeavors require. Thank you for your willingness to offer your work to others, to contribute to the artistic conversation that means so much to us right now. 

And then I added notes on what we liked about each piece and suggested edits. Because here’s the thing: most teen work truly is work in progress and, if continued, will find its way to an audience.

“If continued” is the key. Think of The Poet X. It’s a work by an adult about the experience of a teen. 

The girl who withdrew her short story from the teen issue of the journal had been delighted to have it accepted. She was one of the few authors who wrote to me to talk about her joy when she received the acceptance letter. Her byline included her first, middle, and last name. Her fiction was a sweet story about two young lesbians who meet accidentally and over time, realize that they are in love. It was innocent stuff, but ended tragically, in a way that keeps the lovers apart. When I first read it, I thought of the influence of Romeo and Juliet since its required reading in many US schools.

But I came to see this ending differently as my correspondence with the author continued. After I sent her the unpublished link to her story for a final review, she worried about having her full name in her byline. Would it be too much trouble to remove her middle name and use just her first initial? “I’m sorry,” she said. “I have a relative that I don’t want to see it. I’m thinking about the person searching my name online.” No problem, I told her. 

The story was published, the online celebration was over and recorded. This author did not read her work or even attend. But a few days later, she emailed me again. Would it be too much trouble if I removed her story from the issue? She was having difficulty with the relative and needed the story to disappear. Though young, she understood specificity of language, and I thought her use of the words “a relative” rather than ‘mother,’ ‘father,’ ‘uncle,’ or ‘cousin’ was telling. 

I told her how sorry I was, but ultimately, I removed both her story and her author bio. I was not her teacher, a trusted adult who could advocate for her with her parents. I’d never even met her. I’d only read her story and was glad to see that the teen editors had selected it. We emailed a few more times. I told her I hoped she would continue to write. I hoped, too, that she was keeping a journal of her experiences because the time would come when she would be able to speak and write freely. She would need to reference her teen emotional state. She answered that she was, indeed, keeping a journal. That she would continue her writing journey.

My hope for, and her assurance of, the journal writing is what triggered thoughts of The Poet X. As the novel tells us ‘Xiomara’ (the protagonist’s name) means one who is ready for war. What better readies a writer for the fight for their voice than journal writing? I decided to get a print copy of the novel and look back at the language and passages that had moved me in the audio version.

The Poet X

Xiomara is a high school sophomore living in Harlem with her ultra-religious (Catholic) mother, her reformed but previously philandering father, and her twin brother. Her mother cleans an office building in Queens. Xiomara says “I look at her scarred knuckles./I know exactly how she was taught faith.” (17) Xiomara and Twin (Xavier) were conceived years into their parents’ marriage and considered to be answered prayers. Nonetheless, Xiomara’s delivery was very difficult and she has been considered difficult ever since. “‘Pero, tú no eres fácil.’/You sure ain’t an easy one.” (10)

A major reason her mother finds her difficult is that Xiomara does not have the religious fervor of her mother, but would rather write poems. Religion, the Catholic Church is “A friend I just don’t think I need anymore.” (13) The Confirmation instructor, Father Sean is sympathetic, but clearly has no intention of confirming Xiomara if she doesn’t feel it’s right. (Quick note: The sacrament of Confirmation is one in which the recipient accepts God–particularly the Holy Spirit–of their own free will. The Catholic Church has infant baptism and other sacraments for the young such as Reconciliation and First Holy Communion, but Confirmation is the first time the person will choose the church of their own accord.) Xiomara asks, “What’s the point of God giving me life/if I can’t live it as my own?//Why does listening to his commandments mean I need to shut down my own voice?” (57)

In the fight to use her own voice, Xiomara has an ally in Ms. Galiano, her English teacher, who is also the advisor for the poetry club. She sees Xiomara’s talent and creativity and encourages it. Xiomara’s other allies include Twin and Caridad. Twin is a slight, church-loving altar boy and excellent student who has skipped a grade and goes to a high school for gifted kids. He’s also gay, and Xiomara suspects it but is afraid of openly discussing it–and really afraid of what will happen if her parents find out. Caridad, Xiomara’s best friend, is deeply religious and still follows the rules of her parents and the Church. The girls are the opposites that attract and have known one another since they were babies. 

It is her desire to attend the poetry club meetings, which happen to be at the same time as Confirmation class, that brings Xiomara to break her mom’s rules regarding piety. “Tuesday has become my equivalent/to Mami’s Sunday. A prayer circle.” (283) It is Aman, Xiomara’s lab partner in biology class, for whom she breaks her mother’s rules on not dating.

At first, Xiomara finds her voice in her journals, gifts from Twin. Later, she will fight to have that voice heard at poetry slams. The things she writes about would drive her mother crazy if she saw them. Her lack of conviction in the face of Confirmation. Her first period and how her mother told her that only cueros (whores) use tampons. Her feelings about having a mature body, curvy and busty, one that makes her stand out in the sophomore class and drives male response about her.

I am unhide-able. 

Taller than even my father, with what Mami has always said

was “a little too much body for such a young girl.”

…

The other girls call me conceited. Ho. Thot. Fast.

When your body takes up more room than your voice

you are always the target of well-aimed rumors,

which is why I let my knuckles talk for me.

Which is why I learned to shrug when my name was replaced 

by insults. (p. 5)

Sometimes it feels

All I’m worth is under my skirt (14) 

I should be used to it.

I shouldn’t get so angry

when boys–and sometimes

grown-ass men–

talk to me however they want,

think they can grab themselves 

or rub against me

or make all kinds of offers.

But I’m never used to it.

And it always makes my hands shake.

Always makes my throat tight.

The only thing that calms me down

after Twin and I get home

is to put my headphones on.

To listen to Drake.

To grab my notebook,

and write, and write, and write

all the things I wish I could have said.

Make poems from the sharp feelings inside,

that feel like they could

carve me wide 

open. (52)

(I love the way this part of the poem looks on the page–it’s centered, which Substack doesn’t allow, so it is much like a curvy girl.)

See, a cuero is my skin. A cuero/is just a covering. A cuero is a loose thing./Tied down by no one. Fluttering/and waving in the wind. Flying. Flying. Gone. (206)

Readers of The Poet X will also fall in love with the figurative language 

That incense makes bow tie pasta of my belly./That all the lit candles beckon like fingers/that want to clutch around my throat. (62)

And their words are like the catch of a gas stove,/the click, click while you’re waiting/for it to light up and then flame big and blue. (110)

On the train ride home/Twin steps into his feelings/like they’re a gated-off room/I don’t have visitation rights to. (176)

My mother’s face scrunches tight/like someone has vacuumed all her joy. (229)

Ultimately, writing (in a larger sense, one might substitute “creating”) matters. It is the creative life which often presses against the spiritual life, that engenders faith and hope.

Hiding in my journal

is the only way I know not to cry.

My house is a tomb.

Even Twin has stopped speaking to me

As if he’s afraid a single word

Will cause my facade to crack. (237)

Because so many of the poems tonight

Felt a little like our own stories.

Like we saw and were seen.

And how crazy would it be

If I did that for someone else? (282)

Note: The page numbers given above are from The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (New York: HarperCollins, 2018).`````

My experience is that there are not many outlets for teen voices. As adults, our goal for teen voices is that they be heard. I’m saddened that teachers and school librarians may be forbidden from introducing books such as The Poet X to their students. I hope teens will find their way to such books, as well as to journals. Because, again, most teen work truly is work in progress and, if continued, will find its way to an audience.

My news

I contribute to a literary arts column for the Southern California News Group 2-4 times a year. My column from last Sunday was a short version of something I’ve discussed here in Be a Cactus.

Are you having trouble finding the perfect book?

As a reader, a librarian, and a writer, I am always asking: What’s missing from the collection? The reader in me asks for recommendations for new books and stories that deserve attention. The librarian in me purchases materials that round out the collection, making sure to include the needs of the quirky, offbeat reader. The writer in me does as Toni Morrison directed: “If you find a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”

Library and book challenge news

ALI VELSHI BANNED BOOK CLUB BANNING THE POET X from the Philadelphia Citizen

The MSNBC host and Citizen board member speaks with National Young Person’s Poet Laureate Elizabeth Acevedo about young women learning the art of self-expression against the grain of faith and family

Disobedience Press Debuts with Exploration of Book Bans from Publishers Weekly

Disobedience Press in Ann Arbor, Mich., made its debut this month with the release of a book that has already earned support from the likes of PEN America and the American Booksellers Association. Trouble in Censorville: The Far Right’s Assault on Public Education and the Teachers Who Are Fighting Back, edited by Nadine M. Kalin and Rebekah Modrak, with a foreword by Jonathan Friedman, managing director of PEN America’s U.S. Free Expressions Program, was released on July 1.

Trouble in Censorville is a compilation of narratives by 14 teachers and librarians across the country about their experiences with book bans and the people behind them, and the impact that both have had on their personal and professional lives. The book also provides historical precedents for recent attacks on public education, with a timeline extending back to the Reconstruction Era. It concludes with a call to action for various groups—including teachers, parents, and community members—looking to curb book bans, beginning with the suggestion to “show up at school board meetings.”

Challenges to books by Bill O'Reilly, Ayn Rand, Dean Koontz: What did the school board do? from the Palm Beach Post

Palm Beach County school board leaders decided Wednesday to deny three challenges to books by Bill O'Reilly, Ayn Rand and Dean Koontz on the library shelves at Park Vista High School.

The person who challenged the books called them lessons in "hypocrisy" as they were written by two authors with ties to candidates who have supported Florida's book restrictions but whose own works include graphic sexual content.

The books in question were "The O'Reilly Factor for Kids: A Survival Guide for America's Families" by O'Reilly, "The Fountainhead" by Rand and "The Taking" by Koontz.

Jang: Who Defines Literary Value? from the Daily Utah Chronicle

H.B. 29 makes it easier to ban books in Utah. Here’s how this new law will limit students’ opportunities to understand different sides and perspectives of our reality

“I was a high school teacher for multiple years, and students are hungry for those books,” Johnston said. “They’re hungry for experiences that make them feel less alone in the world. If we take books away from them, they will feel more alone, and that is a very scary thing for a young person.”

Two Utah school districts banned “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings“ by Maya Angelou, an autobiography of the African American author exploring her experiences with racial prejudice. The book was banned because of its sexually explicit descriptions, including the sexual assault and rape of a young girl. However, these descriptions are not indecent but reflect reality. Sexual assault and rape are major problems in Utah, with rates above the national average.

“Scenes of sexual assault are not pornography,” Bromberg said. “They do not appeal to one’s prurient interest and are not designed for masturbatory purposes. These scenes describe parts of our human experience that help us empathize with those who have gone through it.”

Want to ban books? Durango Public Library just made it tougher from the Durango Herald

Durango Public Library already prevents people from making batch requests to remove book titles, meaning a separate request must be made for each objectionable title. That effectively prevents people from trying to ban books en masse.

But until SB24-216, the identities of people who attempted to have books removed from libraries were kept confidential as a matter of privacy.

The bill renders attempts to remove books from public libraries subject to the Colorado Open Records Act.

The act introduces several other new standards: an individual seeking a book’s removal from a library must live within that library service area; a book cannot be removed while it is still under consideration for removal; two years must pass before a book that’s been challenged can be challenged again.

Project Censored dispatch: Free people read freely from Sacramento News & Review

This is a nice overview of the book challenges and bans and push back throughout the US since 2021. 

East Tennessee students rally against state book bans from WBIR news

Chaos follows as county bans library books about “butts & farts” From LBGTQ Nation

What I’m reading

I know I said last week that the next post would dive into what I’m reading, but I’m a bit off schedule. I had such a good time with my old friends through Tuesday, and I’m off to my old stomping grounds (my happy place) this weekend. So, again, I’m writing this a bit early. Let me just say that I finished Dracula and Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books. I’m now reading The Creative Act by Rick Rubin. Soon, I hope to write about Lula Dean and the difference between that book and what I’m writing in my novel about book bans at a high school. But next week, I want to talk about a letter of mine that the Washington Post will publish on Tuesday (and compare it to the original essay).

So, for now: I enjoyed Dracula. It’s dated, yes. It’s patronizing toward women. Dr. Van Helsing is too long winded and mixes religion with science. But I found Mina Harker ahead of her time and also a hero with multiple skills that prove vital to hunting down the vampire. And the scary bits still cause shivers. The descriptions of the vampire killings are so creepy. What works and what is dated (arbitrary blood transfusions with no regard for blood type, anyone?) with make interesting chat with my family book club.