The Poet X Discussion Questions

What is the effect of verse on storytelling in The Poet X?

The Poet X is written almost entirely in verse, apart from the assignment drafts for Ms. Galiano’s class, which are prose. Yet the novel is not a book of stand-alone poems but a story about the coming-of-age of a young girl as she wrestles with the demands of family, religion, and sexuality. It’s appropriate that Acevedo uses poetry to tell Xiomara’s story because poetry is central to Xiomara’s development as a character. In a sense, poetry is both the subject and the substance of The Poet X.

Throughout the novel, Xiomara feels shut off and shut out, silenced by her religion and her mother’s strict rules, valuable only for her femininity. It is poetry, written in a notebook given to her by her Twin, that begins to allow her to ask questions about the world that lead her to understand her true self. Poetry is the language Xiomara shares with Aman, helping her to work through conflicting feelings. Poetry, as experienced in Ms. Galiano’s classroom, is also a gift in Xiomara’s eyes, one that inspires her to share her own voice and make connections with others in poetry club. Ultimately, poetry brings about both the dramatic climax of the novel, when Mami burns Xiomara’s notebook, and the family’s eventual reconciliation to support Xiomara at the poetry slam.

In The Poet X, what is Xiomara’s relation to myth and religion?

Xiomara uses the myth of Medusa as a metaphor to describe herself as misunderstood. She says she is Medusa’s daughter, if the daughter were Dominican, relating the shame she feels about her figure to Medusa’s fatal beauty. But beyond her physical appearance, Xiomara feels like a myth—unseen for who she truly is and only able to express that part of herself through her poetry.

Religion is an adversary in Xiomara’s life because it shames her for being a tall, physically and mentally precocious female with questions and ideas of her own. While she loved Mass as a child, Father Sean’s sermons on female purity and a woman’s place make her uncomfortable, and her mother’s insistence that she be confirmed leads her to resent her religion. Xiomara begins to reject religion, questioning whether the Bible might actually be one giant metaphor and challenging Father Sean in confirmation class. To her, there is no middle ground; she admits to Father Sean that she isn’t sorry for her so-called sins (like kissing Aman) but only that she was caught. Eventually, Xiomara’s connection to poetry and Father Sean’s willingness to let her explore her faith on her own terms allow her to understand that faith can be less about dogmatic rules and more about discovering her own beliefs.

What is Xiomara’s relation to language in The Poet X?

Xiomara discovers in language the ability to express herself in ways she’s never been able to otherwise. At the outset of the novel, she describes feeling both too large and too small—her body is too big, taking up space she doesn’t want it to. At the same time, the world seems to be interested only in her physical appearance and not her thoughts, making her feel tiny and ignored. Because her appearance causes her to be harassed by boys, Xiomara quickly learns to harness the power of language to put them in their place.

When Twin gives Xiomara a notebook, she writes like she can’t stop. For the first time, she has a way to express her thoughts, feelings, and questions. This is the beginning of language as a vehicle for confidence and independence. Xiomara discovers that poetry gives life to her thoughts and eventually learns that she wants to share it with the world. However, language also causes Xiomara challenges through its effect on her relationships with others. It is language, first that of music and then her own poetry, that connects her to Aman. It is language, too—and Xiomara’s use of it to capture her complicated thoughts and feelings—that causes her mother to burn her notebook. At the end of the novel, however, it is Xiomara’s words that allow her to discover her place in the world and ultimately connect with her family and community.

In what ways does The Poet X show how a relationship can become an addiction, and what are the effects?

Xiomara falls hard for Aman, who never pressures her but does push her out of her comfort zone by inviting her places like the smoke park and the ice-skating rink. While Xiomara tells herself all the reasons she shouldn’t be with Aman and can’t date due to Mami’s rules, she ultimately can’t resist being with him, even dreaming of him. Xiomara becomes addicted, at least temporarily, to the comfort he brings her. Ultimately, it takes a real rift in their relationship—Aman’s failure to intervene when other boys harass Xiomara—to break this feeling of dependency. Xiomara faces a major challenge and undergoes some major personal growth in sorting out her feelings for Aman and learning to appreciate him without over-relying on him. She comes to realize that he can be counted on to show emotional support for her art but not physical courage in standing up to harassers.

All in all, The Poet X presents Xiomara’s relationship with Aman as part of a broader trajectory of growth. It’s understandable that she would fall for Aman in the first place. Apart from finding him physically attractive, Xiomara is surprised by how different Aman is from the rude, aggressive boys that she encounters in the hallways at school. He is the first person to encourage her poetry, to listen to her words, to make her really feel heard. It’s also understandable that, under the sway of these new feelings, Xiomara would make decisions she might not have otherwise, like kissing him in public. In the long run, even the reckless actions that Xiomara takes because of Aman end up furthering her growth. She ends up pushing herself out of the identity bubble created by her family and religion, which in turn helps her to grow as a person, a poet, and a woman.

How do Xiomara and Twin each respond to issues of gender and identity in The Poet X?

Xiomara sees herself as too much, largely because this is what she has been told by Mami. She is too tall, too curvy, and too tough. Instead of being invisible, like she tries to be, her body betrays her by attracting men and boys, leading her to learn to fight. She also struggles with questions and ideas that she is told are not appropriate for a woman. Xiomara’s identity is marred by shame because her gender is supposed to be small in both body and thought. She also struggles with shame for her sexuality, which comes alive when she meets Aman. Xiomara is taught that good girls don’t lust over boys, but she wonders what is wrong with her that something supposedly so bad feels so good. Eventually, Aman helps her discover that she is not too much—he helps her bring her ideas and questions to life through her poetry.

Twin is all that Xiomara’s parents wish she would be. He almost takes on the feminine characteristics they desire her to have—he is quiet and demure and never fights. In fact, it is Xiomara who must defend him. Eventually Xiomara discovers what she seems to have suspected; Twin is gay. While Twin seems content and confident with this knowledge and Xiomara is accepting of her brother, both know that their parents will never accept this fact. Twin’s sexuality remains a secret from Mami and Papi during the novel, and his identity is unresolved at the end of the story.