Land of Unwashed Clothes by Samantha Rivas

$17.00

WINNER OF THE CHICANX VISIONS BOOK SERIES No. 2

Land of Unwashed Clothes is Rivas’ debut poetry collection that reflects on the cyclical nature of life, death, and its continuous unspooling of memory as it clings to tradition. Centered around emotional experiences as a Mexican American woman, Rivas tiptoes through gossip to celebrate the intricacies of familial truths. From quinceañeras to Disneyland to funerals, Rivas latches onto ceremonies that bring people together. In rewriting these gatherings, Rivas focuses on themes of masculinity, religion, postpartum, and death of childhood. Land of Unwashed Clothes contains various representations of poetry formations, one being “It’s a Small World,” which is a longer poem that uses space while also telling a story of Disneyland’s backstage. In contrast, there are poems like “Blue Period” which is six lines long about the birth of motherhood yet holds emotional weight. The visual elements of these poem formations act as intricate personalities that we come across in life, those who make an impact on us.

WINNER OF THE CHICANX VISIONS BOOK SERIES No. 2

Land of Unwashed Clothes is Rivas’ debut poetry collection that reflects on the cyclical nature of life, death, and its continuous unspooling of memory as it clings to tradition. Centered around emotional experiences as a Mexican American woman, Rivas tiptoes through gossip to celebrate the intricacies of familial truths. From quinceañeras to Disneyland to funerals, Rivas latches onto ceremonies that bring people together. In rewriting these gatherings, Rivas focuses on themes of masculinity, religion, postpartum, and death of childhood. Land of Unwashed Clothes contains various representations of poetry formations, one being “It’s a Small World,” which is a longer poem that uses space while also telling a story of Disneyland’s backstage. In contrast, there are poems like “Blue Period” which is six lines long about the birth of motherhood yet holds emotional weight. The visual elements of these poem formations act as intricate personalities that we come across in life, those who make an impact on us.

Samantha Rivas is a poet from Lakewood, California, who feeds her toddler with her right hand while scribbling poems onto coloring books with her left. In addition to being a poet and mother, she is a fourth-grade teacher during the week. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in English- Creative Writing from Cal State Long Beach University with a minor in Women’s Gender, Sex, and Sexuality. Samantha also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University. Her work has been published in Flies, Cockroaches & Poets, Sin Cesar Magazine (formally Dryland Literary Journal), and The Penn Review.

“Samantha Rivas’ stunning debut is a topography of life’s contradictions—humor amid heartbreak, closeness in proximity or distance, and explorations of the razor-thin lines between hope and despair. Rhythmic and arresting, this collection sings with Mexican American musicality, choral power, and singular imagery. As she traverses themes of motherhood, inheritance, and autonomy, so too do we witness an exploration of form. Rivas seems to ask of us, and of the poems themselves, how do we contain it all? The answer is, we don’t. All hail LAND OF UNWASHED CLOTHES!” 

—Emilly Prado, author of Funeral for Flaca

“Samantha Rivas’ debut collection, Land of Unwashed Clothes, is a vibrant, splendid meditation on family, grief, masculinity, culture, what we inherit, and what we choose to do with that inheritance. “Cradle yourself,” Rivas writes of the transition to motherhood, “you too / have been born.” Anchored in the body, and gleaming with attention to the inner life (and containing a magnificent epic poem about the experience of working as a custodian as Disneyland), this must-read collection probes the mysterious fulcrum where each of us transforms into an ancestor.”

—Alicia Jo Rabins