As a female poet, I am constantly inspired by other incredible female poets in today's poetry scene. Whether they've been performing for twenty years or two years, these 10 poets have shaken up the poetic world and make me fall in love over and over again with the beauty of language and the magic of live poetry performances.

Several of these poets I've had the opportunity to see live and get to meet and hang out with, which has been a wonderful experience. This is for those who wish to share in those experiences by listening to new poets, new poems and new generations of phenomenal spoken art.

10. Melissa Lozada-Oliva (video by Button Poetry)

"So welcome to the bandwagon of my own uncertainty.
Watch as I stick flowers into your "punctuation mark" guns, 'cause you can't just challenge authority. You have to take it to the mall, too.
Teach it to do the "bend and snap." Paint its nails, braid its hair, tell it it looks like, really good today."

Not only did Melissa revolutionize an entire new generation of young women and encourage them to speak out, she also spoke to a former poet's "accidental" misogyny. Getting to see Melissa perform this live on the finals stage at the National Poetry Slam in Oakland, California this year was perhaps one of the top highlights of the week. By the end of this poem, "Like Totally Whatever," the entire audience-- all 350 poets who competed-- were on their feet screaming and cheering for this brave young woman who had the courage to speak out against one of the most well-known spoken word poets of our time, Taylor Mali, whose poem, "Like Lily, Like Wilson," discusses how using filler words weakens a girl's voice. Melissa pushed back with all of her strength and showed everyone, not just Taylor Mali, how much strength her voice held, even with filler words.

9. Sally Jenkinson (Video by Huffington Post)

"Not all the times I said
I can't.
I'm damaged.
I'm damaged.
I'm damaged, like a celluloid cliche.
But the time you said,
You're not damaged, pet.
You're just a bit battered-in-transit."

Sally is special to me because I met her when I was over in the UK this past fall performing poetry. Sally is devastatingly beautiful, genuine in every word she says, and put up with having a 30-minute conversation with me following her set at a slam because I could not stop gushing about this poem, "More Words Than We Deserve." She was the first British poet I got to see live while performing there and she instantly became a favorite.

8. Desiree Dallagiacomo (Video by Button Poetry)

"My thighs say cellulite
Say bad tattoos
Say stretch marks
Say pockmarks
Say ingrown hair
My thighs feel upset that you only offered one bite of your Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia"

If anyone is looking for a feminist and hasn't found one quite feminist enough for you yet, meet Desiree. Desiree writes poetry on shaving, on depression, on rape, on oppression, on body image, and this poem, "Thighs," covers nearly all of the above. Desiree is also selling T-shirts to encourage body positivity that reads, WTF is a Thigh Gap?!

7. Brenna Twohy (Video by Button Poetry)

"it is the kind of love
that gives me goosebumps,
when you say to the ghosts,
“If you’re staying,
then you better make room,”
and we kiss against the walls
that tonight are not shaking"

Brenna is another poet I was fortunate enough to see perform live. Not only is she absolutely phenomenal at sharing her stories and her pain in a relatable way, but she creates metaphors like Goosebumps and Harry Potter to bring her stories and her passions to a new generation and to people who may not understand the difference between sexism and magic, or the difference between anxiety and a haunted house. In her poem, "Anxiety: A Ghost Story," she bears herself in such a raw fashion that it enraptures her audience until they are all supporting her entirely.

6. Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz (video by Speak Easy NYC)

"He is not a bad person for not being
in love with me anymore. To say it out loud. To mean it.
To know it, true as a toothache. To remember how badly
I wanted to have it back, your love. How hard I fought.
But in the end, how even I knew. Like how trees know
to let go of their leaves, that nothing can stop the winter."

Cristin is perhaps the most versatile poet I've ever read or seen perform. From my first encounter with Cristin's work, which was a book of poetry about her year working in the porn industry, to this poem, "The End of It," she transitions gracefully, beautifully, from a poet who can laugh at her own awkwardness to a poet struggling to understand whether to hold on or let go to her beloved. Her artistry is evident everywhere, but especially in how she gives her audience a sense of sheer honesty that many poets struggle to find in their work.

5. Andrea Gibson (Video by Joshua Mallory)

"This poem is attention
Title it with your name
It will scour the city bridge every night
You stand kicking at your shadow
Staring at the river
It does not want to find your body
Doing anything but loving what it loves
So love what you love."

Andrea Gibson is probably one of the most famous slam poets/spoken word artists currently in the scene today. After seeing her three times live and standing for hours in Northampton to be in the front row of her performance last spring, her personality is just as phenomenal as her poetry. She is more than a poet, more than a writer. Andrea is easily identifiable in the LGBTQ community, but she is also an ally in the #BlackLivesMatter movement and promotes self-care in her work. In this poem, "I Sing My Body Electric; Especially When My Power's Out," she speaks explicitly of self-care and the necessity of doing what you love.

4. Sierra DeMulder (video by Button Poetry)

"Dear you,
And I have always meant, you.
Nothing would be the same if you did not exist.

You, who were once as small as bouquet,
Who could sleep in the laughs of strangers,
Nothing would be the same if you did not exist."

Sierra is one of those poets who uses her poetry for the purpose of healing and saving those who may not have that outlet. She is an incredible activist for self-care and a member of the To Write Love On Her Arms team. In addition to this poem, "Today Means Amen," she is releasing a new book with the same title in February of this year. Getting to see her perform at Amherst College last spring was a life-changing experience. She took selfies with me and was one of the kindest women I'd ever met.

3. Rachel Wiley (video by Button Poetry)

"On the birthday of the ex-boyfriend who told me I was too intense I wish him a lifetime swaddled
in beige.
Skinless chicken, boiled.
Kraft singles.
Polo shirts, tucked in."

The best thing about Rachel's poetry is her intensity. She wears confidence so naturally and speaks with such an inner power and control. I was fortunate enough to get to see her perform this poem, "Dry Cake Wishes and Tap Water Dreams," live at the National Poetry Slam in Oakland, California this past August. By the end of the poem, she had the entire crowd chanting the words for her. That level of intensity can only be seen as a blessing.

2. Marty McConnell (video by Spoken Poetry TV)

"Praise the lifeline sectioning a palm
praise the photographic pads of fingertips
praise the vulnerable dip at the base of a throat
praise the muscles surfacing on an abdomen
praise these arms that carry babies
and anthologies."

Marty McConnell was on Def Poetry Jam and truly one of those poets that understands in performance how to use her body. In her poem, "Instructions for a Body," she uses humor and her natural joy to engage the audience and inspire women everywhere to love their bodies for all of their flaws and all of their strengths.

1. Sarah Kay (video by SpeakEasyNYC)

"Know you are the type of woman who is searching for a place to call yours.
Let the statues crumble.
You have always been the place.
You are a woman who can build it yourself.
You are born to build."

Sarah Kay is probably my absolute favorite female poet. Her poem, "The Type," changed my life when I first heard it. As a fellow female poet, she speaks not only to me, but to all females who have ever experienced love and loss. She is an inspiration, and one who doesn't settle at just being "good." She is the woman that gave me hope when I had forgotten what hope felt like. This poem was inspired by another poet, Richard Siken, who wrote, "Everybody needs a place... It shouldn't be inside of someone else."