Melissa Lozada-Oliva

Last updated
Melissa Lozada-Oliva
Born (1992-09-07) September 7, 1992 (age 32)
Newton, Massachusetts
OccupationWriter
Alma mater Simmons University

Melissa Lozada-Oliva (born September 7, 1992) [1] is an American poet and educator based in New York. Her poem "Like Totally Whatever" won the 2015 National Poetry Slam Championship and went viral. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Life and career

Lozada-Oliva was born and raised in Newton, Massachusetts, by immigrant parents; her mother is Guatemalan and her father is Colombian. [6] [7] She attended college at Simmons University, where she began to perform slam poetry, and graduated in 2014. [8]

After graduation, she published the chapbooks Plastic Pajaros in 2015 and Rude Girl is Lonely Girl! in 2016. Her performance of a poem called "Like Totally Whatever" won the 2015 National Poetry Slam Championship and received mainstream media coverage. [1] [2]

Lozada-Oliva enrolled in New York University's MFA program for Creative Writing in fall 2017. As of spring 2019, she was also teaching a class there. [9] She published Peluda through Button Poetry shortly after enrollment. In it, Lozada-Oliva "explores, interrogates and redefines the intersections of Latina identity, feminism, hair removal & what it means to belong." [9]

In December 2018, Lozada-Oliva started a podcast called Say More along with her best friend and fellow poet Olivia Gatwood. The pair interview each other on topics and answer questions from listeners. [10]

Her verse novel Dreaming of You was published by Astra House in 2021. [11] [12] In 2023, her first prose novel Candelaria was published by Astra House. [13]

Works

Novels

Poetry

Chapbooks

Compilation Appearances

Awards

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References

  1. 1 2 Moreno, Carolina (2015-07-09). "Latina Poet Has a Powerful Answer to 'Are You Fluent in Spanish?'". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-07-25.
  2. 1 2 Cueto, Emma. "This Powerful Poem Takes On The Speech Police". Bustle. Retrieved 2018-07-25.
  3. "STRENGTH OF DOVES | Melissa Lozada-Oliva". STRENGTH OF DOVES | Spoken Word Poetry. Retrieved 2018-07-25.
  4. Lo, Danica. "The Way Women Speak: Melissa Lozada-Oliva's Poetry Will Inspire You". Glamour. Retrieved 2018-07-25.
  5. Nelson, Jenny. "Melissa Lozada-Olivia (@ellomelissa) on Nihilistic Humor and Being an Alien". Vulture. Retrieved 2018-07-25.
  6. "Interview: Melissa Lozada-Oliva". HerStry. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
  7. "Melissa Lozada-Oliva". Washington Square News. 2018-10-11. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
  8. "10 Questions With Melissa Lozada-Oliva". Mad Girl's Collective. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
  9. 1 2 3 Lozado-Oliva, Melissa. "About Melissa Lozada-Oliva" . Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  10. "SAY MORE". saymore.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  11. "In 'Dreaming of You,' poet Melissa Lozada-Oliva reimagines Selena's legacy". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  12. Oliva, Alejandra. "In 'Dreaming of You,' Author Melissa Lozada-Oliva Uses Selena's Ghost to Deconstruct the Myth of Latinidad". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  13. "CANDELARIA | Kirkus Reviews". Kirkus Reviews. August 12, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  14. "Audio Antihero Brings The World Together on United Palestinian Appeal Compilation – Adobe & Teardrops". July 23, 2021.