Olivia Gatwood edit

1. Lead: edit

Olivia Gatwood is a writer and contemporary poet based in New York. Gatwood is also the cofounder of the feminist poetry group, SPEAK LIKE A GIRL. [1]

2. Personal Life edit

Olivia Gatwood was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on February 23, 1992. She has been identified frequently in her young life for her poetry supporting feminism and for her passion in preventing sexual harassment. Gatwood currently lives in Brooklyn, New York where she is continuing her education, creating more works of poetry, and speaking at events where her voice can create positive changes for women in society.[2]

3. Writer: edit

Currently living in Brooklyn, Gatwood continues expanding her knowledge at Pratt Institute studying fiction.[3] However, she states in an interview that from the age of fourteen or fifteen she began to study poetry intensively. Having been a young girl who was both into poetry and sports, she grew tired of the sexism that she witnessed in sports. This ultimately led to her often times written about the topic of sexism. After having quit soccer, a sport that she had played for 15 years, she became more involved in poetry. Here is when she joined a poetry club, which led to her participating in youth poetry slams, national poetry slams, and to her eventual career that she has now established as a poet. [4]

Along with her poetry, she has also established a career with other elements of writing. Gatwood as well makes many articles that explore topics about relationships, sex, and feminismhttp://www.mimpmag.com/single-post/Interview-with-Poets-Olivia-Gatwood-and-Meghan-Falley.[3]

Gatwood states that much of the inspiration for her writing comes from what she knows and has experienced as a woman, also from showing her rage from sexism and patriarchy. She therefore later states within an interview that her advice to female poets is to write what they would have needed to read, giving female poets the chance to inspire others through poetry. [4]

4. Columnist: edit

Olivia Gatwood is a sex and relationships columnist on the website “Bustle.” Some of her works as a columnist include titles such as, “8 Ways To Fight Better With Your Partner”, “What You Only Learn About Sex After You Have It”, and, “5 Signs You And Your Partner Trust Each Other.” A lot of this information is also transferred into her poetry and the personal experiences she has gone through to create herself as a poet and a writer. Most of her poetry based from sex and relationship type categories making her excel in these topics and be passionate about them.

5. Poetry (SPEAK LIKE A GIRL) edit

As Gatwood is a Feminist spoken word poet, her most well known poems are “Ode to My Bitchface” and “Manic Pixie Dream Girl”. She also released a chatbook titled Drunk Sugar. Gatwood’s performances have been featured on HBO’s Brave New Voices (2010) where she was a finalist, MTV, VH1, BBC, and Button Poetry among others. She has was a finalist at the National Poetry Slam and nominated for the Goodreads Choice Awards Best Poetry.  

Gatwood’s poems include:

  • Ode to My Bitchface
  • Manic Pixie Dream
  • Ode to My Lover’s Left Hand
  • Backpedal
  • The Scholar
  • Alternate Universe in Which I Am Unfazed by the Men Who Do Not Love Me

She, along with Megan Falley, founded the feminist interactive poetry show SPEAK LIKE A GIRL.

5.5 Awards/ Accomplishments edit

  • Finalist at Brave New Voices, Women of the World, and the National Poetry Slam.
  • Finalist for the Missouri Review‘s 2017 Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize.
  • Poetry featured in HBO, VH1, MTV, BBC, and Huffington post.
  • Poetry featured in several poetry magazines.
  • Published book (New American Best Friend)
  • Ted Talk - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A66iZQXNh4| We find each other in the details]

6. References edit

1. "Back-pedal." MUZZLE MAGAZINE. Web. 12 November 2018.

2. McKelley, Alex. "Olivia Gatwood: The 26-Year-Old Poet You Should Be Watching." Bookstr. 27 April 2018. Web. 12 November 2018.

3. "Olivia Gatwood." Bustle. Bustle. Web. 11 Nov. 2018.

4. Oomen, Emily. "Girls Who Make Art: Interview with Poets Olivia Gatwood and Meghan Fal." Mimpmag. Mimpmag, 16 March  2017. Web. 12 November 2018.

Adames, Brittany. "Slam Poet Olivia Gatwood Talks Poetry and Her Creative Process." Arts + Culture. Arts + Culture, 02 June 2017. Web. 12 November 2018.

Crescenzo, Juliana, Ashley Haden, and Mikaela Langdon. "Olivia Gatwood." Glassworks. Web. 12 November 2018.

Eastman, Ari. "Olivia Gatwood's Debut Poetry Collection Is The Book I Wish I Had As A Teenage Girl." Thought Catalog. Thought Catalog, 03 April 2017. Web. 12 November 2018.

"Home | Olivia Gatwood." Home | Olivia Gatwood. 2017. Web. 12 November 2018.

"Inseam: Olivia Gatwood." Thread. 19 September 2017. Web. 12 November 2018.

Lang, Riley. "Olivia Gatwood Archives." Button Poetry. 09 April 2018. Web. 12 November 2018.

"Poem of the Week | April 23, 2018." The Missouri Review. 23 April 2018. Web. 12 November 2018.

Romines, Angie. "Review of Olivia Gatwood's New American Best Friend (Button Poetry, 2017)." The Bind. 29 June 2017. Web. 12 November 2018.

Tardiff, Sara. "Five Spoken Word Poets Whose Work Will Change You." NYLON. NYLON Media I, LLChttps://nylon.com, 09 November 2018. Web. 12 November 2018.

"Three Poems from Speak Like a Girl - Megan Falley & Olivia Gatwood." HEArt Online. 5 September 2015. Web. 12 November 2018.

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External Links: edit

Sparkman, Jennifer. "Olivia Gatwood : An Interview." Articles of Antiquity. 8 December 2017. Web. 12 November 2018.

  1. ^ "back-pedal". MUZZLE MAGAZINE. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  2. ^ "Olivia Gatwood: The 26-Year-Old Poet You Should Be Watching". Bookstr. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  3. ^ a b "Olivia Gatwood". Bustle. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  4. ^ a b "Girls Who Make Art".