2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15
A writer with Dominican roots has become the pride of an entire community.
The 2019 Carnegie Medal was awarded to the poet Elizabeth Acevedo for her debut novel, The Poet X, in a ceremony that took place on June 18.
The book uses Acevedo's poetic skills when he tells the story of the shy 15-year-old Xiomara. In the book, the young Dominican girl joins a poetry club at her school. As a result, Xiomara gradually opens up to the world and shares her own voice.
The UK Carnegie Medal is an esteemed award for works of literature for children and young people. It was founded in 1936 and is named after Scottish-American businessman Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie was responsible for founding more than 2,800 libraries in the English-speaking world.
This is the first time in 83 years of the prestigious award that a writer of color has been honored.
As the literary world becomes more inclusive, new voices share experiences that various communities have long endured but never seen before.
The judges for this year's awards called The Poet X, "an ardent and unwavering exploration of culture, family and faith within a truly innovative line of verse." They add that the protagonist of the book "comes alive on every page and shows the reader how girls and women can learn to inhabit and love their own skin."
But this is not the first award given to Acevedo's literary work. The book won the Michael Printz Award for Best Young Adult Literature at the 2019 Youth Media Awards. In addition, The Poet X won the Pura Belpré Award, which honors the Latina writer who best portrayed the Latinx experience for children.
Before becoming a writer, Avecedo was an eighth-grade school teacher in Maryland.
How did you have the desire to write?
It was while one of her students rejected the books that Avecedo suggested that she read since the girl said that she could not read any of them because none of them represented her.
Recommended:
Burning Books By Writer Jennine Capó
Students from a university in Georgia burned the books of the Dominican-born author Jennine Capó Crucet accusing her of "attacking" the whites
Jharrel Jerome Becomes First Afro-Latino To Win Acting Emmy
At the Emmys on Sunday night, Jharrel Jerome, who stars in Netflix's 'When They See Us,' became the first actor of Afro-Latino descent to win an Emmy award for acting
Sebastián Gray Is The First Latino To Win The Reality Project Runway
It was his Colombian roots and his upbringing in Cali, Colombia, that nurtured the inspiration of this immigrant who had spent years in Miami without being able to get a job in the area of fashion design
Emma Thompson, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Queen Elizabeth, Actress, Medal
Actress Emma Thompson tries to kiss Prince William in front of her husband
Jennifer Lopez To Perform For The First Time In The Dominican Republic
The Puerto Rican superstar announced that she is having an unforgettable concert in the Dominican Republic, before returning to her residency in Las Vegas
