Elizabeth Acevedo
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    • Write Yourself a Lantern
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“Elizabeth Acevedo Wants Young Women of Color to Be Represented Tenderly and with Love”

by Kasie Griffitts | Apr 21, 2022 | Media, News, Updates

by Wadzanai Mhute for Oprah Daily

“They call them wild curls

I call them breathing

Ancestors spiraling”

Watch Elizabeth read from her visual poem “Inheritance” here.

Follow Elizabeth on Instagram

acevedowrites
Trying to be more intentional with the moments whe Trying to be more intentional with the moments where I sit back and appreciate what a wild, wild life this has been. Here is my little one, who is getting too big too fast (how is he standing?!) and my first novel. 💗💗💗 Special thanks to the curators of the National Museum of the American Latino who included THE POET X in the inaugural exhibition, ¡Presente!
I can’t believe FAMILY LORE has been in the worl I can’t believe FAMILY LORE has been in the world for an entire month! Thank you to every single person who made this launch possible. I am so grateful to @eccobooks and @coloringbooks for making the release so special, to all the bookstores, library and conversation partners for making the events top-notch, and to the readers who pulled up! Every time I think of each tour stop my heart gets soooo full. Deeply humbled. 💗💗💗
FAMILY LORE wishing you a Good Morning, a Good Day FAMILY LORE wishing you a Good Morning, a Good Day, and a Good Death (when that day comes). May we get our flowers while we’re here to press fingers to petals. 💐
LONG CAPTION: Spent this weekend before tour kick LONG CAPTION: Spent this weekend before tour kicking it with the homies, cooking together, watching storms, talking shit and deep breathing in nature. I won’t lie, FAMILY LORE stretched me. It required a deep commitment to my instincts and extending trust to my inner voice. Post-partum adjusting and pre-pub anxieties have made me question both. I wanted to snatch the book back and hide all the exposed soft parts. But taking the time to reflect on how I made the biggest, most ambitious, bravest book I was capable of writing was the recentering I needed. “Narrative is radical, creating us at the very moment it is being created. We will not blame you if your reach exceeds your grasp; if love so ignites your words they go down in flames and nothing is left but their scald.” Toni Morrison All of which is to stay, I hope folks who pick up the book fuck with it, and I can’t wait to talk about all the things that are these characters and story. I’m ready. As a reminder, I'll be in conversation with some phenomenal writers and looking forward to seeing your faces! A few venues have a waitlist or are at capacity, so use the link in my bio to learn more.  And for those you cannot attend, there's still time to sign up for my virtual fan event AND SIGNED COPIES ARE AVAILABLE TO PREORDER! Link also available in my bio. See you soon beloveds.
Recording an audiobook is often the toughest and m Recording an audiobook is often the toughest and most exciting stage of the novel for me. It’s the last time I really hear the book, get to submit a few tweaks, and hype myself up for all the work that went into making a story alive. FAMILY LORE was no different! FAMILY LORE is told from the voices of six women, so when recording the audiobook I got the pleasure of working with @afrodominicanxthings and @sixtalee to perform some of the character interviews. Not to toot my own horn (JK, I’m toot tooting!), but FAMILY LORE is one of @librofm's most pre-ordered books of the summer, so make sure to check it out! And if you do preorder, submit receipt to the link in my bio to enter the virtual book club event happening August 23rd.
One of the things I’m juggling in this working m One of the things I’m juggling in this working momma life is how to balance a new book and a new baby—I’m just not willing to tour as extensively as I used to, and also I miss that there are so many places where I won’t be able to go kick it with readers. I’m holding both those desires. One way that to connect with y’all is by offering an exclusive virtual launch event! I won’t be doing too much virtual, but I’ll hop on zoom for early supporters. I'll be in conversation with three extraordinary women, some of my favorite lit babes and book club baddies: @lupita.reads, @wellreadblackgirl, and @spinesvines! Just thinking about all of us in conversation is giving me chills. Be hype! It’s going to be so good! So if you're unable to attend one of my in-person tour events, or if you want to chat with me once we can talk spoilers, preorder a copy for FAMILY LORE, submit your receipt, and you'll automatically be entered to attend this virtual event, happening August 23 at 7pmET. Offer ends 7/31, visit the link in my bio to enter!
Happiest of birthday’s to this queen! So much sw Happiest of birthday’s to this queen! So much swag, so much sweetness. I don’t know what I did in another lifetime to be granted your friendship for the duration of this one, but I give thanks, lung. I would throw punches for you clutching a wallet full of pennies on any day! I would lie that you’re at the library with me so you can go kick it with cuties in any life! I hope we FaceTime every single morning in every single dimension where we know each other. What would I do without your sisterhood? I hope to never find out. May this year manifest everything you desire. 💗
I have never doubted I could love Shakir more, bec I have never doubted I could love Shakir more, because as we grow I am constantly delighted by new and deepened facets him, but watching him father our baby has shown me a tenderness, sweetness, kindness that I couldn’t have anticipated would spark such a glowing adoration. He is just the best father and co parent and lover I could have ever imagined. My man my man my man, my baby daddy, my life partner, my confidant and co-conspirator: we are so lucky to be your family. Happy Father’s Day! We love you! 💗
Beloveds & book baddies, I'm beyond amped to be go Beloveds & book baddies, I'm beyond amped to be going on a US tour for FAMILY LORE! I haven’t been on tour talking about books since 2020, and after three years of going very inward, I’ve been itching to get back outside and connect with readers. And listen, FAMILY LORE is all about connections. Thrillingly, I’ll be in conversation with some illustrious homies & writers (!): @clintsmithiii, @m_scribe, @xochitltheg, @imaniperry, @jdeleonwriter, @eve.ewing and @jasonreynolds83. Check the link in my bio for ticket information and how to register for each event. We back. ✨
Come for the living wake, stay for these intrepid Come for the living wake, stay for these intrepid women and their mosaic of salt & aches. #FamilyLore
Long before this novel was completed I had a dream Long before this novel was completed I had a dream list of readers I hoped would read it and offer a blurb. I feel so grateful these literary beloveds and homies agreed to spend time with my work and offer their stamp. I am beyond honored that so many writers I study, and cheer for, and admire deeply have said such kind things about FAMILY LORE and my first foray into adult fiction. Ah! Okay. I could gush forever. But let me stop. ✨✨✨
Mama is outside ✨ I’ve been writing a lot of Mama is outside ✨ I’ve been writing a lot of poems about motherhood, and feeling alien in my life, and what return/forward/nostalgia/loss/abundance looks and feels like. I’ve been writing about hunger for the past and for a version of myself I may have never been but that I somehow keep remembering with rose-colored glasses. I’ve been writing about the body. About weaning myself from body positivity and self-love and trying to simply get to body equilibrium, a calmness around the mirror without the desire to contort. I’ve been writing about weaning and the weepiness of feeding my babe differently much sooner than I’d planned. I’ve been writing about the birth which was not the peaceful bringing of life I had hoped and left scar tissue I’m still massaging into a memory I can look at. By writing I mean I’ve been actually writing, but by writing I also mean I’ve been processing because writing is thinking, is working through the knot of a thing in language, and by doing so naming the feelings and greeting them and inviting them to stay or go, but at least they’re not just strangers. I’ve been “ode-hunting.” Searching for the praise poems as I also sift through so so so many new feelings. And so praise to the water, to the blessing of the boats, to the mirror selfie, to the braided and golden, praise to my true love, to his kindness and patience, to his hold and my own.
I dreamt/prayed/labored so hard to bring both thes I dreamt/prayed/labored so hard to bring both these loves to fruition. Been thinking a lot this week about what it means to be five months postpartum and back outside; a woman chasing the stories and poems and the time-consuming honesty required for both all while wanting to be ever present for my little one. I missed myself so much. The self that wrote lines when they struck and who talked to smart people about art publicly. I missed the self who enjoyed airports and the thrill of a stage. I did not miss the post-event anxiety where I second-guessed my work or compared myself to other writers. But for the most part it felt good to be back in the thick of my artistic life. But wow. Not having my kid around is a visceral ache. I kept checking my pockets, my back pack. I walked back to my guest room twice, sure I’d left a necessity behind. “I’m forgetting something” I repeated to the event escorts. But it was someone that was missing. My body remembers this new Liz as an extension of the baby. Even when I was focused on a discussion or my reading the little one hummed in the back of my mind. It’s kind of trippy. I have a lot more to say about how I’m crafting a definition of “working mama,” how I’m acclimating to this new way I need to lengthen and stretch but for now just this pic of two loves meeting…although to be fair, baby heard me read from this in utero a ton while I was drafting, so baby has had practice playing nice while momma follows dreams 💗
Happy Pub Anniversary, Xiomara! You changed my who Happy Pub Anniversary, Xiomara! You changed my whole life. I’m so thankful I followed this story to all the wild and uncomfortable places it led me. To celebrate the five year anniversary of The Poet X, I want to honor some of my most dedicated readers by hosting a fanart contest with the chance to win a signed copy of the book. If you have ever felt inspired to create art or poetry or some other cool thing because of The Poet X I would love to see it. Post it under #xiomaraanniversary from now until March 16th. I’ll be looking at all of the submissions and picking six folks who will receive a signed copy and some other goodies. 💗
Sometimes, the baby will be napping and I’ll hav Sometimes, the baby will be napping and I’ll have a moment of quiet. I’ll lose myself in social or a book or whatever thing I’m using to take a break from being “on.” And then the baby wakes up and it’s like I awake to the reality all over again: I’m somebody’s momma. It feels both like I’ve always been, and like everyday it hits anew. And ain’t that wild? And ain’t that wildly wonderful? 💓
2022 Year-End-Review: Hair Edition 2022 Year-End-Review: Hair Edition
*BOOK GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED* congrats to @cristineci *BOOK GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED* congrats to @cristineciana, @ecapone220, and @mountainmomom! Thank you for everyone who participated ♥️ Happy December, Beautiful People! I’m doing another giveaway this year for three texts that will keep you hooked during the winter commutes and snowed in weekends. NERUDA ON THE PARK is the debut novel by @cleyvisnatera. It follows a Dominican mother and daughter duo navigating the changes coming to their beloved neighborhood…and their personal lives. Momma Eusebia is out here scheming to prevent the “washed out, white out” and to protect her community from gentrification. Her daughter Luz, in pursuit of upward mobility and the good life, has a love jones for a developer on the very same project her mother is fighting. A complex and intimate portrayal of a Dominican family responding to new New York, this book feels both like home and like a new avenue for Dominican-American literature. CRYING IN THE BATHROOM will give make you laugh and break your heart all in the same chapter. Poet, novelist, and now, memoirist, @erikalsanchez is is an unapologetic writer who insists on poignant honesty; all of which is on full display in this Chicago native’s latest offering. National book award winning (as of last month! I’m still hyped for this win!) ALL OF MY RAGE is a young adult novel by the illustrious @sabaatahir . The novel follows Sal and Noor, two teens faced with their family’s crumbling dreams and their own layered desires regarding what heirlooms are worth saving and which ones need to be left to the desert dust. Heartbreaking and hopeful all at once, Tahir is a magician at capturing how hard it can be to love your home and also see it as a place you need to leave in order to be your full self. The chance to be chosen starts today and will end on December 20th at noon. The winners will be contacted personally for further information.  To enter the draw: - Comment and tag 2 friends -     Follow the 3 authors
During my last round of FAMILY LORE revisions, the During my last round of FAMILY LORE revisions, the copy editor wondered at the intense descriptions of the characters entering their homes. It hadn’t been conscious craft at work on my end: I legit hadn’t realized that I put a stopgap in the book each time the characters walked into a house. But once the CE pointed it out, I couldn’t unsee how the book was riddled with my musings on returnings and reenterings. On what it means to unlock a door with bated breath for what’s on the other side; on what you might be letting in. On the liminality that exists between the threshold of where we were and the one where we will be. Five years after our commitment ceremony, I still want to cross through every entryway that leads me to this beloved human of mine. I can’t wait to see what other portals we construct. Also, shoutout to looking for a picture and finding one you like and then following an extended metaphor towards what may be a corny or wonderful (who knows, the line between brilliant language and overwrought can be so thin) caption. In case y’all were wondering if I pre-write and schedule my posts, I don’t. These joints are spur of the moment “oh, it’s our anniversary maybe I should post!” type joints. This new sleep deprived mami is currently just trying to plan her naps. But first and always: Happy anniversary, my guy! 💗
*COVER REVEAL* My first adult novel, FAMILY LORE, *COVER REVEAL* My first adult novel, FAMILY LORE, has been many years in the making. This one right here wins as the most personal writing I have yet to do. FAMILY LORE voices the lives of several generations of women in a Dominican-American family as one character plans her own living wake. Each woman occupies a seat of personal magic, and grapples with how their standing memories have been jostled by the potential of impending death. And I’m glad this novel has such a gorgeous cover to wrap all the threads within. We know this wicker and rattan treasure. The Peacock throne, Huey P’s iconic sitting place, the ubiquitous babyshower chair I grew up seeing at every expectant gathering. A woven resting place of simple and supple beauty, @vivianlrowe captured it all. & I invite you to come sit with me for a while. FAMILY LORE has stories to tell. Special thanks to @deeshaphilyaw who not only wrote the sweetest blurb, but also included this lovely take for her 2022 reading wrap up in The Millions. Will be sharing more blurbs soon! Released on August 1st, 2023 from @eccobooks, the pre-order link is now available in my bio. This one is for the baddies.
Interrupting your regularly scheduled baby bump ph Interrupting your regularly scheduled baby bump photo barrage with my first ever reel courtesy of The @PoetryFoundation sending me something sparkly. Your Young People’s Poet Laureate has entered the chat.
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