Super Short Summary

The Book of Joshua by Zachary Schomburg is a 2014 poetry collection that intertwines surreal and reflective poems into a single narrative, exploring the speaker’s intense grief and search for Joshua, a character who has struggled with loneliness, hunger, and self-worth, and died prematurely, driving the speaker to seek his lost friend’s essence through memories and poetic creation. The book begins with the poem “1977” and navigates the emotional landscape of grief, despair, and the limits of language's healing power. The narrative includes themes of death and suicide.