Melissa Lozada-Oliva (born September 7, 1992) 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.

Life and career

Lozada-Oliva was born and raised in

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...

, by immigrant parents; her mother is

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

n and her father is

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

n. She attended college at

Simmons University Simmons University (previously Simmons College) is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established in 1899 by clothing manufacturer John Simmons. In 2018, it reorganized its structure and changed its name to a university. Its ...

, where she began to perform

slam poetry A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. While formats can vary, slams are often loud and lively, with audience participation, cheering and dramatic delivery. ...

, and graduated in 2014. 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. Lozada-Oliva enrolled in

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

's MFA program for Creative Writing in fall 2017. As of spring 2019, she was also teaching a class there. She published ''Peluda'' through

Button Poetry Button Poetry is a Minneapolis-based poetry company and independent publisher of performance poetry. They are known for their viral videos of slam poetry performances, including a performance of "OCD" by Neil Hilborn that the Knight Foundation ca ...

shortly after enrollment. In it, Lozada-Oliva "explores, interrogates and redefines the intersections of

Latina Latina or Latinas most often refers to: * Latinas, a demographic group in the United States * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America. *Latin Americans Latina and Latinas may also refer t ...

identity, feminism, hair removal & what it means to belong." In December 2018, Lozada-Oliva started a podcast called ''Say More'' along with her best friend and fellow poet

Olivia Gatwood Olivia Gatwood (born February 23, 1992) is a poet, writer, and educator on topics that include coming of age, feminism, gendered violence, & true crime. Early life and education Olivia Gatwood was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on February 23 ...

. The pair interview each other on topics and answer questions from listeners. Her

verse novel A verse novel is a type of narrative poetry in which a novel-length narrative is told through the medium of poetry rather than prose. Either simple or complex stanzaic verse-forms may be used, but there will usually be a large cast, multiple voice ...

''Dreaming of You'' was published by Astra House in 2021. In 2023, her first prose novel ''Candelaria'' was published by Astra House.

Works

Novels

* *

Poetry

;Chapbooks * * *

Awards

* 2015 National Poetry Slam Championship * Brenda Moosey Video Slam winner

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lozada-Oliva, Melissa Living people 1992 births 21st-century American poets American women poets 21st-century American women writers American spoken word poets Hispanic and Latino American women in the arts Writers from Newton, Massachusetts Simmons University alumni American people of Colombian descent American people of Guatemalan descent Hispanic and Latino American poets