This Is Our Summons Now

A summons, as a call, appears in everyday life and with urgency or as an order. It can be a demand to appear in person, a request for assistance, or an event or image to recall. A duty can take the form of a summons.




These poems are a summons for the reader, but in various circumstances, forms, and occasions that include authority, power, or even a calling or command for a just world. The forces and voices in the poems sing and call for our attention to notice and to commune.




Inspired by various poets and drawing on oral narratives and lyrical traditions, R. Joseph Rodríguez gathers the voices of individuals and families woven into our histories and stories of becoming human. Within a poetic space, we are summoned to consider the worlds we inhabit and the ones we can imagine and create.