In November 2001, flight AA587 crashed to the ground on its way to Santo Domingo, killing 265 people on a flight where 90% of the passengers were Dominican or of Dominican descent. The rest of the world goes on as normal, not seeing the pain inflicted on the community in question. Some are noticed, when they are newsworthy and drenched in politics- terrorism, school shootings, for example -but some are left to be grieved only by those directly affected.

Perhaps what I love most about Clap When You Land, besides the author's obvious talent for writing moving free verse, is that it brings attention to something that so many of us forgot about or never heard about.

She is a National Poetry Slam Champion, and resides in Washington, DC with her love. Acevedo has been a fellow of Cave Canem, Cantomundo, and a participant in the Callaloo Writer’s Workshops. She holds a BA in Performing Arts from The George Washington University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Maryland. Her books include, Beastgirl & Other Origin Myths (YesYes 2016), The Poet X (HarperCollins, 2018), & With The Fire On High (HarperCollins, 2019), and Clap When You Land (HarperCollins, 2020). Additionally, she was honored with the 2019 Pure Belpré Author Award for celebrating, affirming, and portraying Latinx culture and experience. She is also the recipient of the Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Fiction, the CILIP Carnegie Medal, and the Boston Globe-Hornbook Award. Her critically-acclaimed debut novel, The Poet X, won the 2018 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. ELIZABETH ACEVEDO is a New York Times bestselling author of The Poet X, With the Fire on High, and Clap When You Land.

Clap when you land elizabeth acevedo