Just One Swallow is a sustained song, or scream, against silence, and complicity. In her debut collection, the reader finds poet Laura McCarty’s testament to the importance of communication. A longtime resident of the Washington, DC, region, Laura P. McCarty’s creative work has appeared in The Rumpus, Lunch Ticket, descant, Jelly Bucket, the St. Petersburg Review, among other publications, including a family anthology of poetry My Mother, My Daughter, My Sister, My Self. She was a finalist for the 2020 D.C. Poet Project and a finalist for the 2016 Diana Woods Memorial Award in non-fiction. She earned a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Texas, Austin, and her MFA from American University. Cover art for the book is (c) Ruth Stenstrom, used by permission.
"A credit to the narrative tradition; and has no superior. Her debut book is astonishing reading."
- Grace Cavalieri, Maryland Poet Laureate
“A splendid read.”
- Elizabeth Hodges, editor/publisher of St. Petersburg Review
“A vessel for the silence one struggles to give voice to.”
- E. Ethelbert Miller, host of On The Margin
“These poems dance with crisp imagery and graceful, well-crafted lines.”
- Naomi Ayala, author of Calling Home: Praise Songs and Incantations
“McCarty’s poems are compelling and intriguing.”
- Beth Joselow, author of Begin at Once