Call Me Home: Poems

by Harman Kaur

A powerful exploration of the diverse manifestations of “home”, extending beyond its mere physicality, through topics such as womanhood, spirituality, and immigration.

Explore the multifaceted concept of "home" through Kaur's evocative poetry. Journey beyond its physical confines to discover its emotional and psychological depths, touching on themes like immigration, womanhood, and spirituality.

Encounter narratives of loss, rediscovery, and healing that resonate with the human experience. With rich language and imagery, this collection offers fresh perspectives, inviting readers to reconsider their understanding of what it means to feel at home.

Genres: Poetry

128 pages, Paperback

Published February 18, 2025

Reviews

[Courtney Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked the span of these poems - so much about the deep things of life.

[Alexander Petkovski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Call Me Home is an upcoming collection of poems by Harman Kaur that I truly enjoyed. This is my third poetry collection this month, and it has become my favorite so far. It’s fascinating how I connected so deeply with these poems, despite the vast differences between Kaur’s life experiences and my own. Her words felt as though they were speaking directly to me.

Two pieces that stood out to me were "If I Should Have a Son" and "An Effigy for Nothing Important". The collection explores a range of themes, including immigration, womanhood, parenthood, love, and, ultimately, the concept of home. Each poem carries an emotional depth that left a lasting impression.

[Stella Marchione · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a beautiful collection of poetry that goes straight to the heart. I found so much to relate to in the thoughts of the author, with myself being a child of immigrants-- so much to think about. Such beauty in this work!

[Bhavsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

CALL ME HOME | FEB 18TH, 2025

I was gifted Harman Kaur’s first book of poetry, Phulkari, by a dear family member. I return to the collection often especially the pieces that embrace Sikhism.

There are not many major mainstream books by Sikh authors out there so when I find one and find myself in the words the author has written, I hold it close.

Call Me Home is Kaur’s sophomore poetry collection and it explores themes of love, loss and family. It explores motherhood and familial love as well as love for Sikhi and Gurbani, Punjab and Palestine, the lands where we come from, home as a place, home as a person, home as belonging.

To poetry readers, Kaur’s voice is not one you want to miss.

Thank you to @centavebooks @netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This title is available on February 18th!

[Soniya · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful collection of poems, covering themes from love, grief, home, migration, to familial relationships. I love that the author touches on her personal experiences as a Punjabi Sikh woman. Poems I will come back to again and again...

[Navjot Kahlon · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved it. tabbed a few poems but this is something i will always come back to. the themes it touches on are so important and done so well. an amazing poet!

[Minion_0.0.7 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Call Me Home by Harman Kaur is a deeply personal and evocative collection that explores themes of Sikhi, womanhood, loss, generational trauma, and cultural memory. Rooted in the voices of Punjabi women, especially grandmothers and mothers whose pain has long been silenced, the poetry captures the emotional labor and sacrifices women make to keep families and traditions intact, often at the cost of their own well being.

Among the most memorable pieces are Secret Rage, Anticipatory Grief, Dear Brown Girl, and Conversation with My Guru. These poems resonated with me, particularly Secret Rage, which explores grief and longing for maternal figures. Having never met my own nani ji (maternal grandmother), I found this poem especially moving. Kaur’s writing speaks with quiet strength, capturing the spiritual and emotional tension experienced by diasporic and homeland-based Punjabi women. Her verses reflect a reverence for Sikh teachings, combined with an honest reckoning of how faith intersects with feminine identity and resilience.

There is undeniable merit in Kaur’s ability to give voice to silenced women. She highlights the unseen, unspoken pain passed down across generations, the quiet endurance, the caretaking, the deferred dreams. Her exploration of grief, identity, and devotion through the lens of Punjabi womanhood is valuable and worthy of attention.

However, while I respect the intentions and themes behind the collection, Call Me Home is not without contradictions that left me uneasy. A particular moment that stood out and not in a positive way, was her tribute poem to Deep Sidhu. As a Sikh and a reader who holds womanhood and integrity in high regard, I found this choice troubling. While I understand his significance in a political context, I cannot overlook the moral complexity of celebrating a man who was reportedly married with a daughter, yet was also in a public relationship with another woman at the time of his death. Some claim he was separated from his wife, but others close to the family dispute that. The facts may remain ambiguous, but the emotional reality for his wife and daughter is not.

For a poet whose work centres women’s pain and loyalty, to offer tribute without acknowledgment of this contradiction feels like a dismissal of another woman’s suffering. It is difficult to reconcile this with the overall feminist and Sikh principles the book otherwise upholds. This inconsistency dulled my emotional engagement with the collection and left me questioning whether selective empathy undermines the very message the poet aims to amplify.

Overall, Harman Kaur’s Call Me Home is a thoughtful debut that gives language to generational sorrow and devotion. It shows promise and sincerity in many places, but its blind spots particularly when it comes to the lived experiences of all women cannot be ignored. For readers interested in Punjabi feminism and faith centred storytelling, it may still be worth reading.

[Yasin Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good!!
This book encapsulated deep subjects such as immigration , womanhood, and spirituality. This book gave me a deeper understanding of these subjects and allowed me to be able to understand these deep topics about life with these fast and encapsulating poems. For some of the poems the structure was symbolic and I found myself more interested in these topics prior to reading it. I would definitely recommend it for anyone no matter their age, gender, or background. This is a very inspiring book about many things people go through in life and is a great book to read with a buddy which can turn into meaningful discussions . I hope you enjoy reading this amazing captivating collection of poems as much as I did!!

[Jas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second collection from poet Harman Kaur, and with many years between the two collections. You can really see the growth in the writing. While some poems still remind me of the original insta poets vibe, there are many if not most poems that shift away from it into something, not necessarily deeper, but more flushed out. Harman Kaur continues to be a promising writer and I look forward to whatever she chooses to share with us next.

[Devin McIntyre · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really cohesive collection about womanhood, the sometimes painful journey to becoming a mother, the restrictions that culture places on us, and finding hope when the past finally feels like it's in the past. This is a relatable and approachable book of poetry. I really enjoyed it and look forward to seeing more from this poet!

Thank you Netgalley and Central Avenue for the ARC!

[Mike Phelan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kaur's book is a rumination on emigration, family, and impending motherhood. There wasn't a ton that really hit for me. There was an interesting aside that pointed toward migrant-as-orpheus/Lot's Wife, looking back because there is no choice but to look back, no matter the cost.

[Iara Moure · Rating 2 out of 5]

Call Me Home es una colección de poemas de Harman Kaur que me encantó. Me resulta increíble cómo pude conectar tanto con estos poemas, a pesar de las marcadas diferencias entre las vivencias de Kaur y las mías. Sus palabras parecían dirigirse directamente a mí.

[Gary Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly beautiful collection of poems. Very raw in some cases and you can feel the pain the author is in when writing them. But also so true for so many people to be able to identify with the poems in this collection. A wonderfully talented young lady, I shall be looking out for her other work!

[Maya Asia ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Jenn Hu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful set of poems that was relatable in so many ways! From love, healing, a child to immigrant parents to being a mother

[Abeeha · Rating 5 out of 5]

🥺♥️

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

thank you harman kaur for giving me a poetry book i could finally relate to and cry over. i hold this so dear to my heart.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of my favorites: The Biological Clock, Anticipatory Grief, Child of Immigrants' Guilt, My Father's Accent & Healing Feels Like This

[Janelle P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many pieces resonated and nostalgia hit me hard. Brb playing Slipping Through My Fingers on repeat because I miss home, my siblings, and our youth on this gloomy New York afternoon.

[Night · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful collection of poetry. Even if you’re not the type of people to read poetry, I believe you’d like it. There’s a little bit of something for everyone in here.

[Reagan Kapasi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Especially loved poems about impact of immigration and the hopes of motherhood.

[Rajvi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

A stunning and deeply resonant collection of poems! As a South Asian woman, I felt seen and heard through Kaur’s sparse yet evocative prose, which illuminates certain universal experiences and sentiments.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am BEGGING you guys to study AI and recognize it in poetry. This whole book is mostly AI writing and it is a shame she is lying to you all.

“First, water.
Always water.
The way it holds everything before it breaks”

Girl lmao.