Elizabeth Acevedo

Elizabeth Acevedo was born in New York to Dominican parents. She’s the youngest child and only girl. At age 14, Acevedo participated in one of her first slam poetry events at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and went on to perform at open mic events around the city. She later earned a BA in performing arts from George Washington University and an MFA from the University of Maryland. Since graduating, she’s taught poetry to teens in a variety of settings, as well as eighth-grade English through the Teach for America program. The Poet X (2018) was her first novel, and part of her inspiration for writing it—and then continuing to write novels about Dominican characters—was spending time with students who didn’t see themselves reflected in classic literature or in novels commonly taught in schools. All of her published works have won numerous awards, and she’s also been recognized for her spoken word poetry. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband.