The Poet X

62 pages • 2 hours read

The Poet X

Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | YA | Published in 2018

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Introduction

Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Part 1

Reading Check

1. In what neighborhood of New York City do Xiomara and her family reside?

2. What is the profession of Xiomara’s mother?

3. Who is Xiomara’s oldest friend?

4. What is the name of Xiomara’s high school?

5. What is the name of Xiomara’s twin?

6. The spoken-word poetry club meets on Tuesdays. What other class of Xiomara’s conflicts with this schedule?

7. What hip-hop artist does Xiomara’s biology class partner, Aman, mentions that he likes?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why was Xiomara “hailed as a miracle” when she was born?

2. As Xiomara reflects upon the new attention that she receives from men and boys, she begins to feel enraged. What does she do to calm herself down?

3. What is the effect of The Poet X being a novel-in-verse? How does the literary form contribute to the emerging themes of the book?

Paired Resources

“From the Harlem Renaissance to Slam: Black Poetry Movements”

Decades before the period in which Xiomara’s story takes place, Harlem had long been a cultural epicenter for Black writers.
In this photo essay, BET looks back at the Black poetry movements throughout the years, starting with the Harlem Renaissance of the 1930s and tracing it through the slam poetry movement of the 1980s and 1990s. (Advise students to toggle off the Autoplay setting to give them time to read each caption.)
As an Afro-Latina teenager, how does Xiomara fit into the historical tradition of Black poetry?

“Why Manhattan’s ‘Little Dominican Republic’ Is a Home Away from Home for Recent Immigrants”

Allegra Hobbs, a journalist with amNY, details why upper Manhattan—which includes Xiomara’s neighborhood of Harlem—has become a second home for so many people newly immigrated from the Dominican Republic.
What elements of Xiomara’s story do you see reflected in this piece? Does Xiomara’s experience growing up in Harlem, as described in The Poet X, feel true-to-life when compared to this article?

Part 2

Reading Check

1. Whom does Xiomara describe as “the worst Dominican”?

2. When Xavier tells Xiomara that she “look[s] different” after her afternoon with Aman, what reason does he attribute it to?

3. What is the one occasion when Aman’s mother calls him from Trinidad?

4. Where does Xiomara hide her communion wafer instead of eating it?

5. What milestone event happens on the day that Xiomara refers to as “THE DAY”?

6. What injury does Xavier suffer at school that Mami blames on Xiomara?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. At the opening of Part 2, why is Xiomara grateful for the fact that New York City’s crowds make it easier for her to hide?

2. What is the shared interest among the girls with whom Xiomara sits at lunch?

3. What is the “heat” that Xiomara describes as “a heat I have no name for”?

4. In confirmation class, Xiomara decides to tell Father Sean that she thinks the Biblical parable of Eve “all just seems like bullshit.” What is the larger significance of this moment? What does it say about Xiomara’s character development?

Paired Resources

“The Poet X Live Performance”

In this 5-minute video, author Elizabeth Acevedo describes the inspiration behind Xiomara’s story. Acevedo says that what inspired her to write this book was realizing that the story she most needed to tell was about “finding your own voice.”
How does Xiomara “find her voice” in this section of the novel?

“Ask the Over Sixties: Do You Ever Get Over Your First Love?”

In this 3-minute collection of interview clips, a group of individuals, all over 60 years old, shares reflections about their first experiences with romantic love. Knowing how powerful these formative experiences are, the interviewers ask if they ever truly moved on from these first loves.
What do you think Xiomara will say about Aman when she is 60 years old? What are the odds they will still be together?

Part 3

Reading Check

1. After Xiomara is caught kissing a boy, what emotion does Father Sean remind Mami is a sin?

2. What does Xiomara view as the “ultimate consequence” in terms of punishment by Mami?

3. Who is Xiomara’s new lab partner in biology class?

4. On what holiday does Mami finally give Xiomara back her cell phone?

5. What is the name of the poetry café where Caridad covertly signs Xiomara up to read a poem?

6. What piece of jewelry does Mami give Xiomara for Christmas?

7. On what date is Xiomara and Xavier’s birthday?

8. To whom is Xiomara’s essay at the end of the novel addressed?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. As she describes in an English assignment for Ms. Galiano, what are some of the last moments when Xiomara “felt free”? Name at least two memories that Xiomara writes about.

2. Why is Part 3 entitled “The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness”? Whose voice is referred to here? What is the “wilderness”?

Recommended Next Reads

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Clap When You Land is set in New York City in 2001. The protagonists (two young Dominican girls, Camino and Yahaira) grapple with the aftermath of flight AA587’s crash into Queens, a real-life event that occurred only two months after September 11.
Like The Poet X, Clap When You Land is a novel-in-verse that deals with theme of Growing Up and the experiences of Latinas and Afro-Latinas in New York City.
Clap When You Land on SuperSummary.com

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

In this prose novel, Acevedo tells the story of Emoni Santiago, a young Latina who gets pregnant her freshman year of high school. Emoni aspires to be a chef, but this feels like an impossible dream. Over the course of With the Fire on High, Emoni finds the strength to break free from her social restrictions and pursue her true talent.
Emoni is like Xiomara in that she is restricted by conventions imposed on her by her Religion and culture. This novel also deals with Latina/Afro-Latina culture, experiences, and perspectives.
With the Fire on High on SuperSummary.com

Reading Questions Answer Key

Part 1

Reading Check

1. Harlem (Part 1, Chapter 1)

2. A cleaner (Part 1, Chapter 1)

3. Caridad (Part 1, Chapter 1)

4. Chisholm High School (Part 1, Chapter 1)

5. Xavier (Part 1, Chapter 1)

6. Her confirmation class (Part 1, Chapter 2)

7. Kendrick Lamar (Part 1, Chapter 2)

Short Answer

1. Her parents are older and had given up on the idea of having children. (Part 1, Chapter 1)

2. She listens to music and writes down all the things she wishes she could have said to those men and boys. (Part 1, Chapter 1)

3. It reinforces Xiomara’s love and appreciation of poetry. It also underscores that Xiomara feels different from her peers; this novel isn’t written like every other novel—it too is different. (Part 1, Chapters 1-2)

Part 2

Reading Check

1. Xavier (Part 2, Chapter 1)

2. Her menstrual cycle (Part 2, Chapter 1)

3. His birthday (Part 2, Chapter 1)

4. Beneath the pew (Part 2, Chapter 1)

5. Xiomara has her first kiss with Aman. (Part 2, Chapter 2)

6. A black eye (Part 2, Chapter 2)

Short Answer

1. She and Aman are spending time together; they sit close to one another on a bench, and they hold hands while walking to the train. Xiomara is happy for the city’s crowds because it keeps people from noticing her—especially anyone who might know her and report what she’s doing back to Mami. (Part 2, Chapter 1)

2. They are girls who have their own interests—they want to be left alone. They want to sit and just be quiet together. In Xiomara’s words, they want to “shar[e] space, but not words.” (Part 2, Chapter 1)

3. It is the growing love between her and Aman and her adolescent sexuality and longing. (Part 2, Chapter 1)

4. When Xiomara challenges Father Sean, it emphasizes that she is deep in the process of questioning her faith in God, the Bible, and her relationship to religion. Xiomara shows bravery in this moment; the scene also shows that she is coming into her own as a person. She is separating herself from the ways of her parents, especially the strictly religious Mami. (Part 2, Chapter 1)

Part 3

Reading Check

1. Anger (Part 3, Chapter 1)

2. Being sent to the Dominican Republic (Part 3, Chapter 1)

3. Marcy (Part 3, Chapter 1)

4. Thanksgiving (Part 3, Chapter 1)

5. The Nuyorican Poets Café (Part 3, Chapter 2)

6. She has Xiomara’s baby bracelet resized so that she can wear it as a necklace. (Part 3, Chapter 2)

7. January 8 (Part 3, Chapter 2)

8. Ms. Galiano (Part 3, Chapter 2)

Short Answer

1. She recalls moments from her childhood, including when she and Xavier were little kids and played “ninjas in volcanoes.” She also recalls a more recent moment with Aman, when she felt like she could tell him anything. She remembers just sitting on her apartment stoop, doing (or not doing) exactly what she pleased. (Part 3, Chapter 1)

2. Xiomara finds her voice, on multiple levels, in Part 3. She confronts Mami; she opens up to Ms. Galiano; she participates in a poetry slam with Papi in the audience. The “wilderness” could refer to the many unknowns that Xiomara faces as she explores this new territory—a new relationship with her mother and father, a new relationship with her friends and peers, a new relationship with herself. (Part 3, Chapters 1-2)