Saturday, May 14, 2022
3 pm – 5 pm
Join us for a presentation, spoken word performance, and Q&A with Elisabet Velasquez, author of When We Make It. There will be coffee and refreshments followed by a book signing.
About the book
For ages 13+.
An unforgettable, torrential, and hopeful debut young adult novel-in-verse that redefines what it means to âmake it,â for readers of Nicholasa Mohr and Elizabeth Acevedo.
Sarai is a first-generation Puerto Rican question asker who can see with clarity the truth, pain, and beauty of the world both inside and outside her Bushwick apartment. Together with her older sister, Estrella, she navigates the strain of family traumas and the systemic pressures of toxic masculinity and housing insecurity in a rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn. Sarai questions the society around her, her Boricua identity, and the life she lives with determination and an open heart, learning to celebrate herself in a way that she has long been denied.
When We Make It is a love letter to anyone who was taught to believe that they would not make it. To those who feel their emotions before they can name them. To those who still may not have all the language but they have their story. Velasquezâ debut novel is sure to leave an indelible mark on all who read it.
About the author
ELISABET VELASQUEZ is a Brooklyn Born Boricua.
She is a mother of two.
Her poems are an exploration of her life.
Velasquez has performed at Lincoln Center Out Of Doors, Pregones Theatre, Bushwick Starr Theatre, The Bowery Poetry Club, Brooklyn Museum, Museum Of Natural History, The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Rutgers University, Williams College, Adelphi University, Pace University, Princeton University, James Madison University, and Harvard University.
Her work has been featured on TIDAL, NBC, Now This, Huffington Post, Latina Magazine, Vibe Magazine, Muzzle Magazine, Centro Voces. She is a VONA Alum, 2017 Poets House Fellow. She is the winner of Button Poetry’s 2017 Poetry Video Contest. She is a 2019 Frost Place Fellow.
This event is co-hosted by Taller Puertorriqueño and Latin American Book Fair’s Café con Autores.
Learn more about Latin American Book Fair.
