A danger of having a priest for a dad: he just might write a homily about you. At nineteen, shortly after running away with a man she met on an online poetry forum, Patricia Lockwood found herself sitting in church one Sunday, listening to her dad preach a homily titled The Prodigal Daughter.
Lockwood took it in stride. At the time my reaction alternated between embarrassment and amusement, but now I see it must have been prophetic, she writes in her memoir, Priestdaddy. All these years I have been tending the pigs of liberalism, agnosticism, poetry, fornication, cussing, salad-eating, and wanting to visit Europe, but I am back home now, and the pigs can't come with me.
Twelve years after she first leaves the rectory, a series of misfortunes leaves Lockwood and her husband, Jason, jobless and broke. With nowhere else to go, the couple pack up their belongings and moves into the Kansas City rectory shared by Lockwoods mother, Karen, and her father Greg, a Roman Catholic priest.
Lockwoods situation is improbable in a lot of ways, the least of which is having a married Catholic priest for a father; as she puts it, the mercy of the church exists for me on this earth in an unusually patriarchal form. And although she never attended college, Lockwood has published poetry in The New Yorker and the London Review of Books, amassed over sixty-seven-thousand Twitter followers, and earned a significant cult following for her dark, subversive sense of humor.
Lockwood had previously published two books of poetry, Balloon Pop Outlaw Black and Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals, but living with her parents inspired her to try a new writing project: recording life with her irrepressible and quirky family. The result is Priestdaddy, a wry, observant, and funnyif ultimately unevenaccount of growing up in possibly the most Catholic of Catholic families.
Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Lockwood was raised in all the worst cities of the Midwest, moving each time her father was assigned to a new parish. In an interview with the New York Times Magazine, Lockwood recalls living in five different rectories and attending six different schools. Growing up, her life (unsurprisingly) revolved around the Catholic Church. She sang in a choir and attended a youth group called Gods Gang that was 40 percent shag carpet and 60 percent Bible verses.
After a whirlwind internet courtship, Lockwoods husband Jason proposed to her in the parking lot of a Krogers grocery store (the most matrimonial of all grocery stores) the first time they met in person. They spent the next twelve years roaming the country while Jason worked as a newspaper editor and Lockwood wrote poetry. After she left home, Lockwood also quietly left the Catholic Church. It was like forgetting a language you spoke a long time ago, when you were a child, she says. During the eight months they live in her fathers rectory, Lockwood isthrown out of the bohemian, free-wheeling life she and Jason created for themselves and back into a world where dinner with the bishop is the social event of the month.
Lockwood is in a unique position to rediscover this world, and she generally does so with astuteness and a wicked sense of humor. She hasnt forgotten the language of her former homeland so much as turn[ed] it inside out, repurpose[ed] it, and occasionally use[d] it to tell jokes. Her poetry experiments with explicit sexual humor and religious imagery, but Priestdaddy is more concerned with rediscovering a world Lockwood chose to leave, and finding her new place in it. Back again in that world, Lockwood reexamines her upbringing, her family, and her former church. She treats her eight-month stay in the rectory as an anthropological mission of sorts, reexamining the terrain of her childhood. Everyone gets a window. This is what mine looks out at, she writes.
Priestdaddy jumps seamlessly back and forth between past and present. Memories from the authors Midwestern childhood are interrupted by sketches of daily life at the rectory: Karen reading about demonic rosaries on the internet or Greg playing his electric guitar with a tone-deaf enthusiasm that sounds like a whole band dying in a plane crash in 1972.
According to his daughter, Fr. Greg doesn't have a conversion story; he has an origin story, like Superman or Batman. This tells you everything you need to know about Greg Lockwood and his larger-than-life personality. Greg met Karen in high school, married at eighteen, and joined the Navy. Onboard the nuclear submarine the USS Flying Fish, he experienced what he calls the deepest conversion on record. His daughter attributes his conversion to the seventy-two times the crew watched The Exorcist over the course of the patrol. You're a drop of blood at the center of the ocean. All of a sudden you look up at a screen and see a possessed twelve-year-old with violent bedhead vomiting green chunks and backwards Latin, Lockwood writes. You would convert too, I guarantee it.
View post:
The Most Catholic of Catholic Families - Commonweal
- The classic definition of a fool - December 27th, 2013 [December 27th, 2013]
- Memories Of A Former British Far-Right Extremist: The Transformation Of Joseph Pearce - December 27th, 2013 [December 27th, 2013]
- Atheism vs. Agnosticism: What's the Difference Between Atheism ... - December 27th, 2013 [December 27th, 2013]
- CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Agnosticism - New Advent - December 27th, 2013 [December 27th, 2013]
- Agnosticism - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - December 27th, 2013 [December 27th, 2013]
- Agnosticism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - December 27th, 2013 [December 27th, 2013]
- My Five Apps: Kevin's (Platform) Agnostic Life - December 29th, 2013 [December 29th, 2013]
- Atheism and Agnosticism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - December 30th, 2013 [December 30th, 2013]
- Agnosticism - RationalWiki - January 3rd, 2014 [January 3rd, 2014]
- Is 'Paranormal' scary good? - January 4th, 2014 [January 4th, 2014]
- Intel’s Vision: Wearables Everywhere In A Post-Windows World - January 7th, 2014 [January 7th, 2014]
- After Arriving On Android, Glooko Lands $7M From Samsung & More To Bring Predictive Diabetes Care Global - January 9th, 2014 [January 9th, 2014]
- Raymark Launching Next Generation Of Retail Mobility And Analytics Solutions At The National Retail Federation's BIG ... - January 13th, 2014 [January 13th, 2014]
- Go see Her, that movie about a guy who falls in love with his operating system - January 14th, 2014 [January 14th, 2014]
- James Brennan: A profession in crisis - January 16th, 2014 [January 16th, 2014]
- Agnosticism - New World Encyclopedia - January 17th, 2014 [January 17th, 2014]
- Agnosticism is the only logical belief - Video - January 19th, 2014 [January 19th, 2014]
- Board of Ed. approves 7 new Chicago charter schools - January 23rd, 2014 [January 23rd, 2014]
- Agnosticism - AllAboutPhilosophy.org - January 25th, 2014 [January 25th, 2014]
- REVIEW: Insaan, aye Insaan! by Hasan Manzar - DAWN.COM - January 26th, 2014 [January 26th, 2014]
- GOD The Irresistible (The End of Atheism and Agnosticism) By I.D.Campbell - Video - January 27th, 2014 [January 27th, 2014]
- Crimes and Misdemeanors Nihilism Agnosticism Existentialism Philosophy Woody Allen God - Video - January 31st, 2014 [January 31st, 2014]
- Filjiug-Zero VS Agnosticism - Video - February 2nd, 2014 [February 2nd, 2014]
- Robert Jastrow's Struggle of God and Agnosticism - Video - February 6th, 2014 [February 6th, 2014]
- Idolatry 101: Skepticism, Atheism, Agnosticism, all -ism's are IDOLATRY! - Video - February 6th, 2014 [February 6th, 2014]
- Caitlyn Brennan: Dust to dust - February 7th, 2014 [February 7th, 2014]
- Reader Comments - February 13th, 2014 [February 13th, 2014]
- Windows apps and desktop are coming to Chrome OS, thanks to Google and VMware - February 14th, 2014 [February 14th, 2014]
- How an On-Air Panic Attack Improved My Life - February 14th, 2014 [February 14th, 2014]
- Perks of Open Bridge Rack : Customization + agnosticism | #OCPSummit - February 14th, 2014 [February 14th, 2014]
- Spanish pilgrims of Muslim charity - February 16th, 2014 [February 16th, 2014]
- Agnosticism: PAP Vs. TAP - Video - February 17th, 2014 [February 17th, 2014]
- Agnosticism Explained by Richard Dawkins - Video - February 17th, 2014 [February 17th, 2014]
- How China Fooled the World With Fiat - February 21st, 2014 [February 21st, 2014]
- Hawthorne Heights Interview - piano lessons, agnosticism, oyster wrap - Video - February 24th, 2014 [February 24th, 2014]
- Theism, Atheism, and Agnosticism - Video - February 26th, 2014 [February 26th, 2014]
- A Heart Capable of Every Form -- atheism, agnosticism and belief - Video - March 2nd, 2014 [March 2nd, 2014]
- agnosticism - The Skeptic's Dictionary - Skepdic.com - March 3rd, 2014 [March 3rd, 2014]
- Humanist, Religious Freedom & Scientology Writers Launch Featured Contributor Program on WorldReligionNews.com - March 6th, 2014 [March 6th, 2014]
- CON: Prayer in school doesnt account for all religions - March 7th, 2014 [March 7th, 2014]
- agnosticism: Definition from Answers.com - March 9th, 2014 [March 9th, 2014]
- Finding the courage to be blatantly believer-ish - March 10th, 2014 [March 10th, 2014]
- Agnosticism is Stupid - Video - March 10th, 2014 [March 10th, 2014]
- Agnosticism: What It Is & Shouldn't Be - Video - March 11th, 2014 [March 11th, 2014]
- [Lecture] Why I Am An Agnostic; Philosophical Argument for Agnosticism, Atheism, Audiobook - Video - March 11th, 2014 [March 11th, 2014]
- Explosive, Daring Cosmos Just Launched a New Crusade for Science - March 12th, 2014 [March 12th, 2014]
- *MIRROR* Defining Atheism Agnosticism a discussion - Video - March 15th, 2014 [March 15th, 2014]
- Richard Dawkins Highlights US Atheist's Video on Agnostic Atheists, Agnostic Theists - March 18th, 2014 [March 18th, 2014]
- Eakins sale plan due by month's end - March 19th, 2014 [March 19th, 2014]
- Khushwant: RIP - March 20th, 2014 [March 20th, 2014]
- WorldReligionNews.com Featured Contributor Series Continues with 'Religious Freedom As A Human Rights Issue' by Donald ... - March 21st, 2014 [March 21st, 2014]
- He believed in life - March 23rd, 2014 [March 23rd, 2014]
- Shakira review: Another appealing album from a charming pop star - March 25th, 2014 [March 25th, 2014]
- Kanika Datta: Great leaps back - March 27th, 2014 [March 27th, 2014]
- Caller: Agnosticism is not the same as Atheism - Video - March 29th, 2014 [March 29th, 2014]
- ATHEISM and AGNOSTICISM - Video - March 29th, 2014 [March 29th, 2014]
- Religious Freedom as a Human Right Featured in World Religion News Featured Contributor Series - April 4th, 2014 [April 4th, 2014]
- Does This Video Show A Skydiver Nearly Being Hit By A Meteorite? - April 4th, 2014 [April 4th, 2014]
- Agnostic | What is the Definition of Agnostic ... - April 4th, 2014 [April 4th, 2014]
- Atheism and Agnosticism Laurence Brown - Video - April 5th, 2014 [April 5th, 2014]
- Why John Hubley Was One of the Best Animators You've Never Heard Of - April 8th, 2014 [April 8th, 2014]
- Atheism, Agnosticism, and Perfect Belief: The Parameters of the Jewish Conceptions of God - Video - April 9th, 2014 [April 9th, 2014]
- The artist known as W - April 11th, 2014 [April 11th, 2014]
- Agnosticism - Religion-wiki - April 14th, 2014 [April 14th, 2014]
- Borges' widow recalls highschool meeting with pope - April 16th, 2014 [April 16th, 2014]
- Rebel Music Author Hisham Aidi on the Relationship Between Hip-Hop and Islam - April 17th, 2014 [April 17th, 2014]
- Atheism, Agnosticism and the Pointlessness of "Absolute Certainty" - Video - April 19th, 2014 [April 19th, 2014]
- The New Safety Umbrella for school children - April 21st, 2014 [April 21st, 2014]
- Ambiquity a New Life Perspective - April 21st, 2014 [April 21st, 2014]
- Agnosticism vs Gnosticism | VEDA Day Eleven - Video - April 21st, 2014 [April 21st, 2014]
- NJ school sued after atheists object to 'Under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance - April 22nd, 2014 [April 22nd, 2014]
- Clemson coach Dabo Swinney responds to anti-religion group's complaint - April 25th, 2014 [April 25th, 2014]
- WorldReligionNews.com Featured Contributor Series Continues with 'Finding Noah,' Scientology, Hinduism and Religious ... - April 25th, 2014 [April 25th, 2014]
- Meet Miriam - the woman who keeps Nick Clegg on his toes - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Book World: Michael Cunninghams heavenly style rules in The Snow Queen - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- Author Pochin Moulds adventure in life comes to an end - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Agnosticism, Aliens & Crazies - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Atheist on Agnosticism - Video - May 11th, 2014 [May 11th, 2014]
- History of confession is a tale of sexual obsession, exploitation - May 14th, 2014 [May 14th, 2014]
- Outreach, Inc. Releases Church Resources for 'God's Not Dead' Movie - May 15th, 2014 [May 15th, 2014]