peluda

Melissa Lozada-Oliva, 2017.

One of the most original performance poets of her generation, Melissa Lozada-Oliva has captivated crowds across the country and online with her vivid narratives. Humorous and biting, personal and communal, self-deprecating and unapologetically self-loving, peluda (meaning “hairy” or “hairy beast”) is the poet at her best.

The book explores the relationship between femininity and body hair as well as the intersections of family, class, the immigrant experience, Latina identity, and much more, all through Lozada-Oliva’s unique lens and striking voice. Peluda is a powerful testimony on body image and the triumph over taboo.

Praise for Melissa Lozada-Oliva

"In Peluda, Melissa Lozada-Oliva examines what it means to be a woman and American when you are not white and smooth-skinned. She writes “our bodies have always made love to shame” and in this stunning debut she writes the shame out of her body, out of her hairiness, out of her womanhood. An anthem and lovesong to all the hairy girls out there, these are poems I crave, and a voice that leaves me cheering for more."

- Fatimah Asghar, author of If They Come for Us