Melissa Lozada-Oliva
American poet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
Melissa Lozada-Oliva | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 7, 1992 |
| Education | Simmons University |
| Occupation | Writer |
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]
Beyond All Reasonable Doubt, Jesus Is Alive!: Stories is a finalist for the 2026 Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Literature.[14]
Works
Novels
- Dreaming of You. Astra House. 2021. ISBN 978-1-662-60059-3.
- Candelaria. Astra House. 2023. ISBN 978-1-662-60180-4.
Poetry
- Chapbooks
- Plastic Pajaros. Pizza Pi Press. 2015.
- Rude Girl is Lonely Girl!. Pizza Pi Press. 2016.
- Peluda. Button Poetry. 2017. ISBN 978-1-943735-24-2.
Compilation Appearances
- From the River to the Sea: The Horrible Truth About Palestine - a Fundraiser for the United Palestinian Appeal – Contributes "I Love You in My Dead Grandfather’s Button Down" (Audio Antihero, 2021)[15]
Awards
- 2015 National Poetry Slam Championship[9]
- Brenda Moosey Video Slam winner[citation needed]