Hell Cat

Hell Cat: Poems for Cunts is the ferocious new collection from contemporary American poet Maegen McAuliffe O'Leary. With her signature precision and pacing, McAuliffe O'Leary rips apart girlhood, motherhood, miscarriage, misogyny, body politics, ego death, and energetic rebirth in this poetic manifesto of feminine pain and power. Equal parts battle cry and soothing balm, Hell Cat dares readers to confront: "...How fragile / must men be, when searching / for evil to test their might, find women // already at home and cleaning / in the midst of all this slaughter."

Featuring viral poems "Hell Cat", "How to Be Your Own Favorite Person", and "Call Me a Bitch Again"; Hell Cat: Poems for Cunts is a breathtaking love letter to every woman "who'd rather kiss dirt // than keep listening / to this bullshit."

Poetry for real life, in real life.
Maegen McAuliffe O'Leary is a poet, artist, and mother from the Pacific Northwest. She is the author of Bodies to Bury the Hunger (Bottlecap Press, 2022); Full Belly: Poems (The Finished Project, 2024); Richest Bastard in the Poorhouse: Poems for the Proletariat (The Finished Project, 2025); Stuffed: Love Poems for Assholes (The Finished Project, 2025); In Real Life (The Finished Project, 2026); and Hell Cat: Poems for Cunts (The Finished Project, 2026).

McAuliffe O'Leary is the founder of The Finished Project, a creative communications company inspired by the sacred feminine forces of creativity, courage, compassion, and communication. The Finished Project supports living artists and women-owned, small business through an online retail platform that promotes poetry for real life, in real life. Visit TheFinishedProject.org to learn more.