Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this e-arc. I honestly didn't care for It much but i can see how some people would.

I am a huge admirer of sam sax’s poetry, so I went into reading his new collection “pig” with high expectations. They smashed them. This collection uses pigs of all kinds — from Mrs. Piggy to 30-50 feral hogs to fetishwear/ BDSM — to explore the body, desire& consumption, Judaism and anti-capitalism and reveal truths about what it is to be human. Sax’s writing is masterful; they know how to play with form and bend language in witty, surprising ways. I am sure will be returning to this collection again and will definitely be purchasing when it is released. Many thanks NetGalley and Scribner for the advance copy.

This is a marvelous book of poetry and thought and connections. It's a wild ride and a brilliantly-written collection, full of pigs and religion and violence and masculinity and foodways. It's so good I read it twice right away, and I can't wait to talk about it with other readers.

Thank you to Scribner Publishing and NetGalley for the Digital ARC

“Pig: Poems” by Sam Sax is such a wonderful collection of poetic metaphors both humorous and melancholy, reflective and insightful. These poems formulate around the word Pig, in many of its definitions, creating a canvas of an intimate and personal worldview. Sam Sax touches on subjects of Jewish identity, religion, capitalism, queerness, existence, love. All connected through the various definitions of “Pig” and their relationship with each subject matter. Each poem feels wonderfully crafted and the progression through the book allows the reader to connect and grow closer through the knowledge gained from each poem providing insight on the understanding and experience of the author. Sam Sax’s “Pig: Poems” has a little of something for everyone from a variety of life experiences, I truly believe everyone will be able to take something from each of these poems and grow a little more in terms of our connection and relation to the world around us, our experiences, and the experiences of others.

Expected Publishing Date of September 19, 2023

creative and playful and so powerful in its explorations of queerness, jewish identity, and the interconnectedness of pleasure & suffering. i loved every single poem and can honestly say this is potentially the best thing i’ve read all year.

Pig begins with a quotation from Animal Farm - the familiar, somber acknowledgment of the blurred lines between human and animal, which aptly encapsulates the beautiful, messy ways in which humans and pigs bleed into each other. With research that enlightens creative work, Pig succeeds in narrative storytelling, tender reflection, and depicting the multifaceted and unexpectedly complex roles of pigs. Many of the poems explore queer and Jewish identity, depicting both examples of marginalization and empowerment with deft. Pleasure and pain are depicted as not oppositional but intersecting forces, and both appear simultaneously within many of the pieces. Through "Pig", Sax uses an unlikely vehicle to showcase their poetic expertise.

I knew I would love this, and I was not disappointed. Everything Sam Sax writes is so thought provoking and this was no exception. Thank you Scribner for the ARC

**Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner Publishing for the eARC of this unique title**

It isn’t often that I have to IMMEDIATELY reread something that I have just finished, but this one made me do a double take.

The works in this collection are framed around pigs, but once you scrape down through the surface there is commentary on religion, society as a whole, and so much more.

Definitely check this one out if you enjoy poetry that makes you think and feel. But do plan to read it more than once!!

(I will be crossposting on my Instagram review account closer to the publication date!!)

Wow! I was really impressed with the overarching theme and structure of the collection. It really allowed for a lot of play and as a reader it felt like I was really getting to see the poet's mind at work!

Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.


Sam Sax's Pig is an incredibly imaginative and obscure collection of poems and storytelling, most of them rooted in the pig—the pig mask, pig persona, pig hearts, the dead pig, etc. The pig becomes a symbol, a malleable thing, allowing for sax to comment on personal experiences, like queerness, religion, sex, politics. I purposely mention these themes broadly, as sax discusses them each intimately in more ways than one. Even when the pig is not mentioned, the stories in these poems still somehow surround them—with stench, with themes of imitation, with being unwanted, with being wanted in the wrong ways, at the wrong times.

The connection between history and current life, even the future, exists in so many of these poems. Our ancestry is so tightly connected to who we are, and to the shame we carry for being nothing like them. I found these poems of historical events, whether they are personal or universal, to be especially "emotional" (I use air quotes because emotional does not even begin to encapsulate what I mean).

As much as I love the themes, there is no denying sam sax's strength is in form, in playfulness, in experimentation. No two poems ever feel the same. Down to the titles, sam sax brings something unique.

and those FIRST LINES! The bits of dialogue! There are just so many gorgeous, GORGEOUS lines everywhere. Even so, each poem held its own, asked its own questions, forced us to commit to and emotionally care for an entirely new story on each page. I found myself learning about history, about sax's own experiences, about myself. This is one of my favorites from sam sax.

3.75/5 ⭐️

This has such an interesting premise. I was immediately drawn to it after reading the description and I'm glad I picked it up. This collection discusses capitalism, consumption ethics, Judaism/Jewish culture, violence, and so much more in such few pages with poems that can complement each other. I love how it talks about nature's rage and the idea of it taking over the world and turning against humanity. For that purpose, it uses references from Animal Farm and other examples of animal anger and revenge against humans. Some of the poems went right over my head, and it took me a little while to get into them. It definitely picks up after the 40% mark. Overall, amazing writing and premise!

A book of poetry that uses the pig as an extended metaphor for the pains, tragedies, and victories of life, time after time, showing our own similarity as humans to nothing more than the animals we raise for slaughter. A beautiful book of poetry filled with gorgeous language.

What can I say, it’s sam sax. I’m a fan. Witty, sometimes moving poems. This was a quick and clever read.

I've been pining after this one for quite some time, and I'm so thankful to have received advanced digital access from NetGalley and Scribner before Pig publishes on September 19, 2023. Sam Sax breaks down the complex anatomy of a pig, sectioning the animal out into gruesomely honest parts of the book, jumping into the world's battle with antisemitism, people of differing cultural groups, and just hate in general, all while utilizing the consuming of pigs and other farm animals as symbolism.

I really enjoyed this book and can't wait until publication day!

"Pig" by Sam Sax is a unique and thought-provoking poetry collection that uses the pig as a lens to explore a wide range of themes, including masculinity, violence, desire, religion, and power. Through a variety of forms and styles, Sax weaves together autobiography and history to reimagine the chaotic histories of the body, ecology, and hygiene. The collection is infused with humor, grace, sadness, and anger, and offers a varied and insightful picture of what it means to be human. Sax's virtuosic and original approach to poetry makes "Pig" a must-read for anyone interested in contemporary poetry that tackles complex and challenging themes.

What a brilliant concept, to write a whole book of poems on the theme of pigs, surrounded by all of the cultural, biological, and religious symbolism that this animal carries in our society. Sax writes of hog farms – castration, lean hog markets, manure lagoons, COVID ravaging processing facilities – and the non-ruminant biology of a pig; Miss Piggy, cop pigs, Jewish taboos on pork, Piglet, Animal Farm, H1N1, 30-50 feral hogs, and the simple fact that pigs cannot look up. Sax also writes of his own queerness, Jewish identity, and family through this lens.

His poems beg to be read aloud. This may be my first poetry collection where reading the poems only with my eyes made me feel like I was missing something, and I just started reading them out loud, to myself. His alliteration, syntax, and word choice are perfect for this. Highly recommend. Thank you to Scribner for the ARC via Netgalley.

I enjoyed the poems in Pig, as they deal with queerness, police violence, and just generally being a person in the world today. I liked the mix of reference to historical figures, literature, and the ways "pigs" appear in the culture throughout time.