Vamos a Leer Book Group: The Poet X
Monday, March 18, 2019 | 05:00 pm - 07:00 pm
Red Door Brewing
400 Gold Ave SW #105
About:
Join the UNM Latin American & Iberian Institute for our casual Vamos a Leer book group, a space dedicated to teachers discussing authentic and engaging Latinx literature for elementary, middle and high school classrooms. We meet each month in the "vault" space at Red Door Brewing (downtown) on Gold Ave, and welcome your participation whether you've read the whole book or a single page.
Our March title is the young adult novel, The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo.
Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers - especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, whom her family can never know about. With Mami's determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. So when she is invited to join her school's slam poetry club, she doesn't know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out. But she still can't stop thinking about performing her poems. Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.
Notes:
This event is free and open to the public. For more information about our book group and related activities, please see our complementary blog, Vamos a Leer: Teaching Latin America through Literacy.
Sponsors:
Latin American and Iberian Institute
