The Poet X

Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | YA | Published in 2018

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Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

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Symbols & Motifs

Xiomara’s Baby Bracelet

In an early poem in the novel, Xiomara writes about her baby bracelet while describing what it’s like to be born to older parents. In the same stanza, she describes the bracelet, engraved on one side with her name and, on the other, the phrase mi hija (“my daughter” in Spanish). It is her “favorite gift” (20) as a child, but it becomes “a despised shackle” (20) as Xiomara grows up and matures into an independent-minded teenager whose hopes are very different from the dreams of her devoutly Catholic mother. Xiomara’s comparison of the bracelet to a shackle suggests that she feels handcuffed to her mother; from this trapped position, Xiomara fights against the restraint until she hurts herself and her mother.

As a surprise, Mami presents Xiomara with the bracelet on Christmas Eve, when “most Latinos celebrate” (289) and exchange gifts. Because they are in the midst of a conflict, Xiomara does not expect any gifts from her parents. When Mami gives Xiomara this unexpected present, she experiences mixed feelings. The baby bracelet has been resized for an adult wrist and it reminds both Xiomara and Mami of simpler times, when Xiomara was young and malleable and Mami was able to maintain her ideals about her daughter. To Mami, the resized bracelet might represent a hope that simply enlarging the bracelet will mean that Xiomara can wear it and stay her little girl; to Xiomara, the resized bracelet represents the dual sides to her person that are struggling to reconcile at this challenging time between childhood and adulthood.

Books, Poetry, and Other Literary Symbols

Throughout the novel, Xiomara uses imagery and symbols related to writing in her poems. By using words that have literary meaning in her own compositions, Xiomara is practicing with language; as a budding poet, language is her medium of self-expression, and only frequent use and experimentation will enable her to improve her writing skills.

Xiomara has a keen eye and ear for double meanings and metaphors, so her use of words related to books and poetry are powerful. For example, when describing her memory of getting her period for the first time, she communicates the depth of the impact of this experience with phrases related to writing: her first period, which marks her entry into womanhood, is “the ending of a childhood sentence” (39). The word “period,” in this context, means both the punctuation mark and Xiomara’s menstruation cycle, and this play on words reveals Xiomara’s thoughtfulness and wit. With the arrival of her period, adulthood starts abruptly, a “phrase in all CAPS” (39), which is another way of saying she has undergone a powerful change, one that warrants emphasis and is echoed visually that the word “CAPS.”

Xiomara’s quickly-developing body inspires her to describe herself “like a myth” (48), or, more specifically, as “a story distorted” (48). The tale of Medusa inspires her; she imagines herself as the daughter of the snake-haired monster whose face can cause a person to turn to stone. This comparison reveals how Xiomara feels about her changing figure. Xiomara’s curves cause a similar reaction as Medusa’s eyes because they cause men and boys to stop in their tracks and stare at her in a sexual manner.

Xiomara also compares herself to a notebook whose binding is wearing out, causing the pages to fall loosely, while Xavier is compared to a book that is “award-winning” (99). Unlike Xiomara, Xavier doesn’t get into fights and attends a special high school for gifted students. Ostensibly, he behaves well and according to the Catholic expectations of their parents, while Xiomara challenges the norms set by the church, creating problems and getting into trouble.

As her feelings for Aman intensify, Xiomara tries to make sense of them by comparing him to different kinds of writing; she does not see him as a sonnet, an old-fashioned poem written according to a rigid style, nor a haiku, a very brief poem that takes up very little space on a page. Also, it makes her happy that Aman’s nickname for her, X, short for Xiomara, is a letter. All of these emotional and creative connections to literary matters emphasizes Xiomara’s love for poetry and her unique writing voice and skill with language.

Hip-Hop Music

Xiomara and Aman both feel a deep connection to hip-hop music, as evidenced by their Friday afternoons in the park listening to albums by Canadian rapper and songwriter Drake and American rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar. These albums are meaningful to them especially because the songs are the soundtrack to their developing romance. Isabelle and Xiomara both feel an affinity for Nicki Minaj, born in Trinidad, (like Aman), so much so that Xiomara writes an essay about her for English class.

Hip-hop music has its origins in New York City, where African Americans and Latino Americans created the art form. That Xiomara, who lives in Harlem, loves this genre of music reinforces her characterization as an urban poet within the context of the novel. With her Dominican roots and her ear for rhythm and language, Xiomara’s talent for performing spoken word links her with rappers and hip-hop musicians who also use their writing talents to communicate their experiences in the world to a larger audience.

Hip-hop artists use language creatively, much like Xiomara uses language in her poetry. They incorporate vivid metaphors, intense descriptions of emotion, and memorable sounds into the wordplay that makes their art so communicative and compelling to their fans. At the citywide poetry slam, Xiomara feels a deep satisfaction for having successfully performed her poetry to an appreciative audience; after all, much like the hip-hop artists she loves (and others who express themselves through language and musical rhythms), Xiomara “love[s] the idea of people listening” (344).