MISS UNIVERSE, poetry by Jina Ortiz
Publication Date: March 15, 2025
Paperback, 74 pages
ISBN: 978-1-956782-92-9
Miss Universe: Poems by Jina Ortiz is an evocative collection of geopolitical dialogues told through the lens of international beauty pageant contestants. Ortiz weaves a rich historical patchwork of female resilience and vulnerability through provocative imagery: “Like gamblers, men bet on beauty / and women stand against one another…I am a ripened avocado on a man’s tongue.” This collection reminds readers that colonial legacies are etched not just in nations but in the bodies and identities of women forced to represent them, turning beauty into a battleground for power and liberation: “meat, daughter, widow, rib. / Is this all I am: a broken vessel?” What is the price and power of womanhood in the world of global pageantry? Miss Universe offers a captivating retelling of endurance, tackling the deep scars of postcolonial displacement, forced migration, erasure, and historical exploitation while simultaneously recounting narratives of cultural pride, individuality, and resistance.
Praise for Jina Ortiz & Miss Universe
Sexy, angry, the carefully crafted and researched poems in Miss Universe provide a powerful critique of racism, sexism, political exploitation and the ways they intertwine in the Miss Universe pageant. Ortiz’ skill at imagery, metaphor, and music, along with her command of poetic forms, creates an unforgettable series of spirited personae whose voices range from the provocative Miss Peru as she does the Alcatraz Dance: “This Negra sways her hips / to avoid getting lit / but when it’s time, papi / you better get the hint” to the resignation of Miss Botswana: “Once I was orphaned, / carrying milk gallons filled with water. / Now, even my shoulders are heavy weights.” These poems crackle with energy. After reading this astounding debut collection, you will never view beauty pageants in the same way.
—Kathleen Aguero, author of World Happiness Index
Miss Universe reveals the inner thoughts of women recognized as some of most beautiful in the world. These poems break an often hard-won glittery veneer to form a love letter to la belleza negra in a world that still embraces a narrow standard of beauty.
—Tara Betts, author of Refuse to Disappear
Brave and entertaining, Jina Ortiz’s poems invite us to dance with beauty all around the globe, while truth-telling and unmasking sexist cultural practices. There’s nothing didactic about these verbal fêtes. We are captivated and enlightened, and we want to hear the lyrics again, to “Listen to the chains / being taken off,” as “Miss Ecuador” invites us into the ceremony of freeing ourselves from narrow assumptions.
—Marilyn Kallet, author of Even When We Sleep & others
About the Author
Jina Ortiz and is a writer and poet. She received her B.A. at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and holds a Master’s in Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Pine Manor College She co-edited All About Skin: Short Fiction by Women of Color (University of Wisconsin Press, 2014) with writer and editor, Rochelle Spencer. Her writings have been published in the Afro-Hispanic Review, Calabash, Green Mountains Review, Worcester Review, The Caribbean Writer and Solstice Literary Magazine, amongst others. Her short story, “Maribel y El Viejo,” was published in the anthology, Daring to Write: Contemporary Writings by Dominican Women (University of Georgia Press, 2016). She has received residency fellowships from the Art Omi/Ledig House International Writers’ Residency, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), Vermont Studio Center, Can Serrat Residency in Barcelona, Spain, CAMAC Centre D’Art in France, The Writer’s Colony at Dairy Hollow, and 2025 fellow at the Esperimento sul respiro Residency in Italy. She also received grants from the Worcester Cultural Council and The Highlights Foundation.
Publication Date: March 15, 2025
Paperback, 74 pages
ISBN: 978-1-956782-92-9
Miss Universe: Poems by Jina Ortiz is an evocative collection of geopolitical dialogues told through the lens of international beauty pageant contestants. Ortiz weaves a rich historical patchwork of female resilience and vulnerability through provocative imagery: “Like gamblers, men bet on beauty / and women stand against one another…I am a ripened avocado on a man’s tongue.” This collection reminds readers that colonial legacies are etched not just in nations but in the bodies and identities of women forced to represent them, turning beauty into a battleground for power and liberation: “meat, daughter, widow, rib. / Is this all I am: a broken vessel?” What is the price and power of womanhood in the world of global pageantry? Miss Universe offers a captivating retelling of endurance, tackling the deep scars of postcolonial displacement, forced migration, erasure, and historical exploitation while simultaneously recounting narratives of cultural pride, individuality, and resistance.
Praise for Jina Ortiz & Miss Universe
Sexy, angry, the carefully crafted and researched poems in Miss Universe provide a powerful critique of racism, sexism, political exploitation and the ways they intertwine in the Miss Universe pageant. Ortiz’ skill at imagery, metaphor, and music, along with her command of poetic forms, creates an unforgettable series of spirited personae whose voices range from the provocative Miss Peru as she does the Alcatraz Dance: “This Negra sways her hips / to avoid getting lit / but when it’s time, papi / you better get the hint” to the resignation of Miss Botswana: “Once I was orphaned, / carrying milk gallons filled with water. / Now, even my shoulders are heavy weights.” These poems crackle with energy. After reading this astounding debut collection, you will never view beauty pageants in the same way.
—Kathleen Aguero, author of World Happiness Index
Miss Universe reveals the inner thoughts of women recognized as some of most beautiful in the world. These poems break an often hard-won glittery veneer to form a love letter to la belleza negra in a world that still embraces a narrow standard of beauty.
—Tara Betts, author of Refuse to Disappear
Brave and entertaining, Jina Ortiz’s poems invite us to dance with beauty all around the globe, while truth-telling and unmasking sexist cultural practices. There’s nothing didactic about these verbal fêtes. We are captivated and enlightened, and we want to hear the lyrics again, to “Listen to the chains / being taken off,” as “Miss Ecuador” invites us into the ceremony of freeing ourselves from narrow assumptions.
—Marilyn Kallet, author of Even When We Sleep & others
About the Author
Jina Ortiz and is a writer and poet. She received her B.A. at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and holds a Master’s in Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Pine Manor College She co-edited All About Skin: Short Fiction by Women of Color (University of Wisconsin Press, 2014) with writer and editor, Rochelle Spencer. Her writings have been published in the Afro-Hispanic Review, Calabash, Green Mountains Review, Worcester Review, The Caribbean Writer and Solstice Literary Magazine, amongst others. Her short story, “Maribel y El Viejo,” was published in the anthology, Daring to Write: Contemporary Writings by Dominican Women (University of Georgia Press, 2016). She has received residency fellowships from the Art Omi/Ledig House International Writers’ Residency, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), Vermont Studio Center, Can Serrat Residency in Barcelona, Spain, CAMAC Centre D’Art in France, The Writer’s Colony at Dairy Hollow, and 2025 fellow at the Esperimento sul respiro Residency in Italy. She also received grants from the Worcester Cultural Council and The Highlights Foundation.
Publication Date: March 15, 2025
Paperback, 74 pages
ISBN: 978-1-956782-92-9
Miss Universe: Poems by Jina Ortiz is an evocative collection of geopolitical dialogues told through the lens of international beauty pageant contestants. Ortiz weaves a rich historical patchwork of female resilience and vulnerability through provocative imagery: “Like gamblers, men bet on beauty / and women stand against one another…I am a ripened avocado on a man’s tongue.” This collection reminds readers that colonial legacies are etched not just in nations but in the bodies and identities of women forced to represent them, turning beauty into a battleground for power and liberation: “meat, daughter, widow, rib. / Is this all I am: a broken vessel?” What is the price and power of womanhood in the world of global pageantry? Miss Universe offers a captivating retelling of endurance, tackling the deep scars of postcolonial displacement, forced migration, erasure, and historical exploitation while simultaneously recounting narratives of cultural pride, individuality, and resistance.
Praise for Jina Ortiz & Miss Universe
Sexy, angry, the carefully crafted and researched poems in Miss Universe provide a powerful critique of racism, sexism, political exploitation and the ways they intertwine in the Miss Universe pageant. Ortiz’ skill at imagery, metaphor, and music, along with her command of poetic forms, creates an unforgettable series of spirited personae whose voices range from the provocative Miss Peru as she does the Alcatraz Dance: “This Negra sways her hips / to avoid getting lit / but when it’s time, papi / you better get the hint” to the resignation of Miss Botswana: “Once I was orphaned, / carrying milk gallons filled with water. / Now, even my shoulders are heavy weights.” These poems crackle with energy. After reading this astounding debut collection, you will never view beauty pageants in the same way.
—Kathleen Aguero, author of World Happiness Index
Miss Universe reveals the inner thoughts of women recognized as some of most beautiful in the world. These poems break an often hard-won glittery veneer to form a love letter to la belleza negra in a world that still embraces a narrow standard of beauty.
—Tara Betts, author of Refuse to Disappear
Brave and entertaining, Jina Ortiz’s poems invite us to dance with beauty all around the globe, while truth-telling and unmasking sexist cultural practices. There’s nothing didactic about these verbal fêtes. We are captivated and enlightened, and we want to hear the lyrics again, to “Listen to the chains / being taken off,” as “Miss Ecuador” invites us into the ceremony of freeing ourselves from narrow assumptions.
—Marilyn Kallet, author of Even When We Sleep & others
About the Author
Jina Ortiz and is a writer and poet. She received her B.A. at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and holds a Master’s in Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Pine Manor College She co-edited All About Skin: Short Fiction by Women of Color (University of Wisconsin Press, 2014) with writer and editor, Rochelle Spencer. Her writings have been published in the Afro-Hispanic Review, Calabash, Green Mountains Review, Worcester Review, The Caribbean Writer and Solstice Literary Magazine, amongst others. Her short story, “Maribel y El Viejo,” was published in the anthology, Daring to Write: Contemporary Writings by Dominican Women (University of Georgia Press, 2016). She has received residency fellowships from the Art Omi/Ledig House International Writers’ Residency, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), Vermont Studio Center, Can Serrat Residency in Barcelona, Spain, CAMAC Centre D’Art in France, The Writer’s Colony at Dairy Hollow, and 2025 fellow at the Esperimento sul respiro Residency in Italy. She also received grants from the Worcester Cultural Council and The Highlights Foundation.