An Interview With Elizabeth Acevedo

Elizabeth Acevedo, author of The Poet X, "a bestselling novel in verse about a young Dominican girl discovering her own true voice with slam poetry," is up for a National Book Award in Young People’s Literature. Literary Hub has a short interview with the writer in advance of the ceremony on November 14. "[Lucille] Clifton has been so important in my life; she’s a fantastic writer and so generous even though her writing is quite spare. She really made me realize poetry can be simple, and short, and still contain worlds," says Acevedo about the work she returns to. More:

Young People’s Literature is now often seen as being more conscientious about representing a broad spectrum of sexuality and identity, functioning as both a window and a mirror to our culture. What do you see as the future of YPL, and what lessons would you like the wider industry to take away from the evolution of YPL?

I think Young People’s Literature will continue to become a landing place for young people to see themselves, perhaps when they’ve never seen themselves before. A beacon that calls them home—whatever class, race, gender, etc. they might be. But I also hope that YPL will continue being a springboard where young people arrive with their own notions of this country and world and when they arrive to the page they are flung into a different understanding of who we are and can be as a society. At its best, YPL honors the voices and experiences of young people and also challenges them to confront the most difficult issues of our times, the ones that they have the imagination and wherewithal to conquer where we adults have failed.

Read the full interview at Lit Hub.