Elizabeth Acevedo Annotates 'In Translation' for PBS NewsHour

At PBS NewsHour, Courtney Vinopal tells readers about Elizabeth Acevedo's poem, "In Translation," which Acevedo lifted directly from her high school journal to include in her debut novel, The Poet X (HarperCollins, 2018). "The poem is directed at the mother of the book’s protagonist, Xiomara," Vinopal explains. Acevedo writes: 

This poem was one of the few that was directly lifted from my [high school] journal. It served as a kind of North Star in regards to voice—I wanted to make sure that emotionally, tonally, and in terms of the language of experience of the character that I didn’t stray from the heart of the story in trying to impress readers with my verse.

Learn more at PBS NewsHour.