Calling the World: A Poetry Lifeline

Calling the World
Saint Flashlight 
and The Poetry Society of America


​We could all use a lifeline right now and what could be better than poetry? Saint Flashlight is partnering with the Poetry Society of America to bring us just that.  We've featured Saint Flashlight here before - they're two poets and good friends who bring poetry into the public sphere. Unfortunately, the public sphere is a little dicey right now due to the pandemic. That's where dialing for poetry comes in. 

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In times of isolation and division, poetry provides human connection like no other medium can.

What is Calling the World and why is it important now? Here's the scoop, straight from Calling the World's webpage:

"Calling the World was created in response to the isolation brought about by the current COVID-19 pandemic. Initiated prior to the worldwide Black Lives Matter protests, Calling the World showcases an international group of voices ─ African, Asian, Caribbean, European, Latin American, and Middle Eastern ─ and encourages us to look outside our national boundaries as we reconnect with the world. This touch-tone anthology drawn from the Poetry Society of America’s rich audio archives reminds us that poetry’s truths have no borders."

Saint Flashlight founders have this to say:

Molly Gross: "Listening is a key to breaking out of the intense isolation brought on by the world’s Covid-19 health pandemic. Moreover opening our minds and hearts to poets fosters understanding and awareness of how White Supremacy murders and denigrates Black people, whose fight for justice in the USA has gained deeper traction from the now world-wide Black Live Matter movement. Saint Flashlight has been privileged to work with the Poetry Society of America’s thoughtful staff and archives as we curated Calling The World. In choosing these nine poems, our guiding premise was that poetry is essential and can lead the way for humans across the globe to have greater empathy for one another. “


Drew Pisarra: "It's no secret that COVID-19 drove many of us indoors where the isolation could feel overwhelming. We were interested in countering that sense of aloneness by pulling people away from neurotic navel gazing and towards the wisdom of poets from all over the globe. As someone who thinks of poetry first and foremost as an aural form, I was especially excited to use the telephone as a way to introduce listeners to works by writers from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America as well as Europe."
 
How to call the world for poetry? Click on these links.

Calling the World website

Calling the World Facebook 

Calling the World Twitter
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