📖 Overview
Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals is Patricia Lockwood's second poetry collection, published in 2014. The book contains poems that examine American culture, gender, and sexuality through a combination of humor and stark observations.
The collection moves through themes of warfare, nationalism, and violence while maintaining connections to nature and the body. Lockwood's voice shifts between irreverence and gravity, constructing narratives that link personal experience with broader cultural commentary.
The poems take varied forms on the page, from dense blocks of text to spare lines that utilize white space. Several pieces have gained individual recognition, including "Rape Joke," which first appeared online and went viral before being included in this collection.
This collection explores how identity forms at the intersection of patriotism, gender roles, and sexual politics in contemporary America. The work challenges conventional boundaries between public and private spheres while questioning established poetic traditions.
👀 Reviews
Readers describe the poetry collection as irreverent, bizarre, and sexually explicit. Many appreciate Lockwood's dark humor and willingness to tackle taboo subjects through surreal imagery. Multiple reviews note her unique voice and creative wordplay.
Likes:
- Bold experimentation with form and language
- Sharp social commentary beneath absurdist surface
- Memorable, vivid metaphors
- Poems that blend comedy with serious themes
Dislikes:
- Excessive vulgarity and sexual content
- Sometimes feels deliberately shocking for shock's sake
- Poems can be difficult to understand
- Style becomes repetitive
Ratings:
Goodreads: 3.9/5 (3,800+ ratings)
Amazon: 4.3/5 (90+ ratings)
"Like being hit in the face with a water balloon full of truth" - Goodreads reviewer
"Brilliant but exhausting" - Amazon reviewer
"Either you're on her wavelength or you're not" - LibraryThing review
The collection particularly resonates with readers who enjoy experimental poetry and dark humor.
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Crush by Richard Siken These poems investigate desire and obsession through cinematic imagery and recurring motifs of the body.
Don't Let Me Be Lonely by Claudia Rankine A mixed-media lyric exploration of American culture that confronts isolation and political realities through television screens and medication labels.
Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson This verse novel reimagines Greek mythology through a coming-of-age story about monsters, desire, and photography.
What the Living Do by Marie Howe Poetry collection examining grief and the body through domestic scenes and family relationships.
🤔 Interesting facts
🔖 Patricia Lockwood composed many of the poems in this collection via Twitter, embracing social media as a creative platform
📚 The book's provocative title plays on the German word "Heimatsexual," exploring themes of nationalism and identity
✍️ Lockwood wrote several poems in this collection while living in Yellowstone National Park as a writer-in-residence
🏆 The book was named one of the "Best Poetry Books of 2014" by The New York Times
🌟 The collection's most famous poem, "Rape Joke," went viral online before the book's publication, garnering over 100,000 views within a single day on The Awl website