The Calling by Sarah Schwartz
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the-calling
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An exquisite and often humorous catalogue of poems that offer an array of ways we might see the world and by extension, our place in it.
Sarah Schwartz's beautiful debut collection of poems, The Calling, contends that we are each called to a way of seeing the world. Moving from the microscopic view of a chemist to the macroscopic view of a geologist, the mathematical view of an architect to the exuberant view of a painter, these poems both delight in and resist the notion of an “occupation.” Schwartz writes: "We are made of many strange shapes, and we don’t even think about it." These poems ponder our abundant strangeness and don't shy away from "what is most radical about human existence."
“With The Calling, Sarah Schwartz takes on the guises of various professions, ranging from ‘The Astronaut’ to ‘The Matriarch’ to ‘The Poet,’ to ask meditative questions about what it means to be human and the lines between ‘biological essentialism versus cultural socialization.’ The speakers in these poems are seeking answers about life’s abounding mysteries: the nature of desire, how to form meaningful connections, among others. Schwartz’s poems are like little jewels, finely shaped and expertly polished.” -Stevie Edwards, author of The Weather Inside and Quiet Armor
“These poems are dedicated to different professions, their jargon, their trade secrets. In a community of highly specialized workers, Schwartz’s speaker is unique, since the vocation of The Poet is both a job among other jobs and the special title of the one who turns the others into life narratives: ‘not just these fifteen / fish, I am the whole / aquarium.’ As Ion put it in Plato’s dialogue, the greatest poet may turn out to be the greatest general.” -Aaron Kunin, author of Love Three
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-64672-367-6
eBook ISBN: 978-1-64672-371-3
Pub Date: August 1, 2026
5.83 × 8.27 inches (A5)
42 pages
Sarah Schwartz's beautiful debut collection of poems, The Calling, contends that we are each called to a way of seeing the world. Moving from the microscopic view of a chemist to the macroscopic view of a geologist, the mathematical view of an architect to the exuberant view of a painter, these poems both delight in and resist the notion of an “occupation.” Schwartz writes: "We are made of many strange shapes, and we don’t even think about it." These poems ponder our abundant strangeness and don't shy away from "what is most radical about human existence."
“With The Calling, Sarah Schwartz takes on the guises of various professions, ranging from ‘The Astronaut’ to ‘The Matriarch’ to ‘The Poet,’ to ask meditative questions about what it means to be human and the lines between ‘biological essentialism versus cultural socialization.’ The speakers in these poems are seeking answers about life’s abounding mysteries: the nature of desire, how to form meaningful connections, among others. Schwartz’s poems are like little jewels, finely shaped and expertly polished.” -Stevie Edwards, author of The Weather Inside and Quiet Armor
“These poems are dedicated to different professions, their jargon, their trade secrets. In a community of highly specialized workers, Schwartz’s speaker is unique, since the vocation of The Poet is both a job among other jobs and the special title of the one who turns the others into life narratives: ‘not just these fifteen / fish, I am the whole / aquarium.’ As Ion put it in Plato’s dialogue, the greatest poet may turn out to be the greatest general.” -Aaron Kunin, author of Love Three
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-64672-367-6
eBook ISBN: 978-1-64672-371-3
Pub Date: August 1, 2026
5.83 × 8.27 inches (A5)
42 pages
