Elizabeth Shvarts

Elizabeth Shvarts

Mentee

Elizabeth Shvarts is a 16-year-old writer hailing from Staten Island. An avid spoken word poet, Elizabeth is an NYC Youth Poet Laureate Ambassador and finalist in Climate Speaks, a climate-themed youth spoken word program, highlighted by PBS, the Apollo, the New York Times and more. An advocate/entrepreneur as well as an artist, Elizabeth is the co-founder of the nonprofit Bridge to Literacy, which fosters a love for language through literacy in underserved kids from around the world. On the writing side, she’s the co-founder of the international literary journal and youth community Aster Lit and its companion podcast Ad Aster.

Favorite Authors & Artists

Ada Límon, Dana Terrace, V.E Schwab

Featured Story Collections

Featured Story Collections

I Smile Lemon Peel

"I Smile Lemon Peel" is a heart-wrenching, at times sour (no pun intended) journey of a woman finding her place in the world as she navigates her relationship with her body and her struggle to reclaim her agency over it. An homage to the image of the 1950s housewife baking a lemon meringue pie, this poem depicts the untold story of women as survivors, not victims, as they witness sweets curdle before their eyes, refusing to crumble when people pillage their bodies/souls.

I smile lemon peel