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Olivia Gatwood

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Olivia Gatwood
Born (1992-02-23) February 23, 1992 (age 32)
Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
OccupationPoet
NationalityAmerican
Website
www.oliviagatwood.com

Olivia Gatwood (born February 23, 1992) is a poet, writer, and educator in sexual assault prevention and recovery.[1] She was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is known for her poems such as "Manic Pixie Dream Girl", "Alternate Universe in Which I am Unfazed by the Men Who do Not Love Me", and "Backpedal". Gatwood has toured internationally and has spoken at more than two hundred universities across the U.S. She currently resides in Santa Cruz, California.[2]

Life and career

Early life

Gatwood was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on February 3, 1992. She is the daughter of Jill and Byron Gatwood. She is a writer, poet, performer, and Title IX educator in sexual assault prevention and recovery. She began writing at the age of eleven years old.[3] She has performed her poems on various platforms, including Brave New Voice, Women of the World Poetry Slam, HBO, The Huffington Post, VH1, and BBC. Her poems have also appeared in print in Muzzle Magazine, The Winter Tangerine Review, Poetry City USA, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, and the Missouri Review. She is an up and coming writer,[editorializing] with her debut book New American Best Friend having been met with positive reviews.[4]

Social activism

Gatwood has been an advocate for sexual education, human rights, and gender equality through various platforms. Gatwood has creating numerous workshops accessible to anyone. Her writing workshop focuses in on students of all ages and experience levels, and gives students the chance to read works of poets around the world. Her performance workshops are geared towards students interested in slam poetry, with an emphasis on incorporating the use of body, vocal range, and enunciation and projection techniques. Her community building workshops cover topics from consent, being an active bystander, gender equality, relationships, and sexual health.[citation needed]

Gatwood, along with Megan Falley created an interactive poetry show called Speak Like a Girl. Speak Like a Girl is a traveling poetry show that focuses on topics such as gender issues, body image, and growing up. [5]

Spoken word poetry

One of Gatwood's most used activism platform is spoken word poetry. Spoken word poetry is "poetic expression as a word-based performance, often (though not exclusively) in free verse and at times confrontational and personal in nature".[6][unreliable source?] Slam poetry is expanding across many cities in America because of the experiential and transformative nature. Gatwood often uses spoken word poetry as a platform for her activism and has participated in shows and festivals like Brave New Voices, Women of the World Poetry Slam (WOWps), and the National Poetry Slam. Gatwood has competed in the WOWps for two years, and earning sixth place in 2012 out of 72 contestants. She has also competed in the National Poetry Slam two years in a row, with her team coming in second place in 2014.[citation needed]

Works

New American Best Friend

After numerous published poems, Gatwood began creating her debut novel, New American Best Friend. Gatwood writes about her childhood, the transition from teenage years to young adulthood, her views on gender and sexuality, and the violence and joys in her life.[7] She made this book in an effort to celebrate ones one body, with short poems such as "Ode to my Bitch Face", "Like Us, and "The First Shave".[citation needed]

New American Best Friend has been met with mixed criticism. It has been both praised for being a raw and unedited view into the glimpse of a teenage girl's life, and criticized for being too critical and biased about common occurrences in society, and for being too feminist based.[citation needed]

In 2017, New American Best Friend was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Awards Best Poetry.[8]

Life of the Party

Life of the Party is a poetry collection by Olivia Gatwood that is 'deeply inspired by true crime and murdered women.'[9] It will be available for purchase in August 2019.[10]

Podcast

Along with her best friend and fellow poet Melissa Lozada-Oliva, Olivia started a podcast called Say More[11] in December 2018, in which they interview each other on topics and answer emailed questions from listeners.

Select poems

  • "Jordan Convinced Me That Pads Were Disgusting" (2016)[12]
  • "Back-pedal" (2016)
  • "The Autocross" (2016)
  • "When The Prettiest Girl in School Asks to Play Cricket at Recess" (2016)
  • "Bubblegum or Bruise" (2016)
  • "Hey Science" (2016)[13]
  • "Ode to my Bitch Face"[14]
  • "Liberty" (2016)[15]
  • "Two Poems" (2017)
  • "Poetry Suite" (2017)
  • "Ode to the Women on Long Island" (2017)[16]

References

  1. ^ Fosler-Jones, Elizabeth (2017-04-07). "Spoken word poet and activist Olivia Gatwood to speak on feminism, sexual assault". The Bowdoin Orient. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  2. ^ "Home | Olivia Gatwood". Home | Olivia Gatwood. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  3. ^ "Five Spoken Word Poets Whose Work Will Change You". NYLON. 2017-04-24. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  4. ^ Albert, Victoria. "Poet Olivia Gatwood Writes Like Teen Spirit: BUST Interview". BUST. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  5. ^ Abelis, Ona (2015-06-29). "Speak Like a Girl: Two of Brooklyn's Best Feminist Poets Take Their Show on the Road". Brooklyn Magazine. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  6. ^ Kim. "Social Protest in Urban Youth Spoken-Word Poetry 'They've Got Us So Conditioned That We Purchase Our Oppression': Human Ri". scholar.googleusercontent.com. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  7. ^ Bastress, Samantha. "BookMark: "New American Best Friend" By Olivia Gatwood". WPSU (FM). Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  8. ^ "Best Poetry 2017". Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  9. ^ "Transcript of EP. 6- TRUE CRIME AND SELENA". Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  10. ^ "Life of the Party: Poems". Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  11. ^ "SAY MORE". Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  12. ^ Gatwood, Olivia. "Jordan Convinced Me That Pads Were Disgusting". Muzzle Magazine. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  13. ^ Vagianos, Alanna (2016-02-03). "The Perfect Response To Science's Sexist Approach To Women's Bodies". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  14. ^ Hatch, Jenavieve (2016-04-07). "One Poet's Ode To Her Resting Bitch Face". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  15. ^ Gatwood, Olivia. "Liberty". Winter Tangerine. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  16. ^ Uda, Rachel (July 24, 2017). "Poet's ode to LI women shared by 'Star Trek' star, goes viral". Newsday. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
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