The Swallows Come Out: Selected Poems, 1995-2025

The Swallows Come Out: Selected Poems, 1995-2025, with a foreword by Stephanie Burt, brings together three decades of Angie Estes's extraordinary linguistic alchemy. Opening with selections from her newest collection, Last Day on Earth in the Eternal City, and including selections from her acclaimed previous books, these poems illuminate connections between art, memory, and desire.

Estes weaves together classical mythology and contemporary longing, European art and American landscapes, creating a tapestry where Dante converses with Miles Davis, swallows become stars, and the past ignites our lives. Her signature style -- playful yet profound, erudite yet accessible -- transforms everyday moments into revelations through stunning juxtapositions.

Whether exploring the mosaics of Hagia Sophia, the vineyards of Burgundy, or a mother's handwriting, Estes finds the sacred in the quotidian. This essential volume confirms her position as one of our most distinctive voices, a poet who makes language itself a form of devotion, a way of entering the world.