The Poet X

About the Author Photo credit Stephanie Ifendu ELIZABETH ACEVEDO is the youngest child and only daughter of Dominican immigrants. She holds a BA in performing arts from George Washington University and an MFA in creative writing from the University of Maryland. With more than fourteen years of performance poetry experience, Acevedo is a National Poetry Slam Champion, Cave Canem Fellow, CantoMundo Fellow, and participant in the Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop. The Poet X is her debut novel. She lives with her partner in Washington, DC. You can find out more about her at www.acevedowrites.com. Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

Advance Praise for The Poet X “A story that will slam the power of poetry and love back into your heart.” —LAURIE HALSE ANDERSON, author of National Book Award finalists Speak and Chains “Elizabeth Acevedo crackles with energy and snaps with authenticity and voice. Every poem in this stunningly addictive and deliciously rhythmic verse novel begs to be read aloud. Xiomara is a protagonist who readers will cheer for at every turn. As X might say, Acevedo’s got bars. Don’t pass this one by.” —JUSTINA IRELAND, author of Dread Nation “I devoured this magnificent work of art. Elizabeth Acevedo gets everything right, bringing the magic of the verse novel to stunning new heights. A glorious achievement. This is a story about what it means to be a writer and how to survive when it feels like the whole world’s turned against you. Required reading for everybody alive today.” —DANIEL JOSÉ OLDER, author of the Shadowshaper Cypher series “Though vivid with detail about family, love, and culture, The Poet X is more of an exploration of when the poet becomes the poem. Xiomara teeters between verbosity and restraint, shape and form, rewriting and sharing. Most important, the poet (and poem) searches for the freedom to stand on her own. Acevedo delivers an incredibly potent debut.” —JASON REYNOLDS, author of National Book Award finalist Ghost

“In The Poet X, Acevedo skillfully sculpts powerful, self-contained poems into a masterpiece of a story, and has amplified the voices of girls en el barrio who are equal parts goddess, saint, warrior, and hero.” —IBI ZOBOI, author of American Street

Books by Elizabeth Acevedo The Poet X With the Fire on High

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Copyright HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. THE POET X. Copyright © 2018 by Elizabeth Acevedo. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books. www.epicreads.com Cover art by Gabriel Moreno Cover design by Erin Fitzsimmons Library of Congress Control Number: 2017943585 Digital Edition MARCH 2018 ISBN: 978-0-06-266282-8 Print ISBN: 978-0-06-266280-4 18 19 20 21 22 PC/LSCH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 FIRST EDITION

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