Motherhead is a love song to mothers. In Zwolinski’s first full-length poetry collection, she barely scrapes the surface of all things motherhood, but the writing peels back the skin to reveal the nerves and the often-unseen experiences of motherhood. In a world saturated with the joy and beauty of being a mother, Motherhead pulls the curtain aside for the nitty gritty reality of it. This exposes the utter strength and resilience of mothers – they truly are the unsung heroes of our society. Motherhead is encouragement for mothers in the depth of it all. It’s a balm for those suffering from: mom-guilt, feeling touched-out, exhausted from pressure to bounce back, the constant ticker-tape of to-do lists running like a soundtrack, and so much more. Motherhead isn’t a guidebook, but the poetry packages up mothering and delivers it with a bow. #poetry #motherhood #postpartumpoetry #maternalmentalhealth #momlife
Nicole Zwolinski earned her BA in Creative Writing at St. Cloud State University (SCSU) in Minnesota. Nicole has two chapbooks published through independent Jacksonville literary presses – Happy Tapir and City Bus Print. She has poems published in several literary magazines and anthologies. Currently, she resides in Florida with her family. You may find her on Instagram @nicolezwrites.
Beautiful, melancholy, resolute. Nicole Zwolinski delves in to the grief of womanhood and motherhood in ways I haven’t seen before, and desperately appreciate.
–Allison Larkin, author of The People We Keep and Home of the American Circus
Motherhood is as tiresome and depleting as it is holy and rewarding, and Zwolinski is a poet who sees motherhood for what it is: a study in contradictions. These poems will make every Mother feel more seen, more understood, more sane.
–Nora McInerny, author of Bad Vibes Only (and other things I bring to the Table)
Reading Motherhead feels like cracking open the pristine shell of motherhood and letting what’s inside run raw and messy. These poems are tender, sharp, and devastatingly true. They speak to what so many mothers have felt but never said out loud. You’ll want to devour this collection in one sitting.
–Elise Powers, author of The Size of Your Joy
Nicole Zwolinski’s Motherhead is a tender, smart, incisive, and wholly unabashed collection in praise of all mothers. It is love song, protest, compendium, and salve, poem after poem the speaker hell-bent on dismantling the double bind of motherhood, the internalized self-scrutiny, the impossible expectations, the body as a matter of public discourse. “Not a day goes by / where I don’t think / about my bad mommery,” she laments, and yet, she refuses to surrender, from her mouth a battle cry pulsating with lyrical fire—daring and hopeful: “The truth is, I couldn’t keep the words in if I tried.” And as the lines spill forth, Zwolinski speaks for women, to women, with women, the record fiercely set straight. Nothing is truer: Motherhead is a beautiful and urgent rewiring of the mother’s individual and collective heart.
–Susan L. Leary, author of Dressing the Bear
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