A multilayered exploration of poetry authorship and digital intelligence by "a writer of
immense poetic power" ( The Guardian ) Finalist 2025 National Book Award Translated
Literature ¿ A World Literature Today Notable Translation of 2025 "Many paths cross in
Ismailov's beautiful new work-poetry history and the infinite imagination. Every path winding
into another. Every path worth taking."-Patti Smith In the late 1980s French poet and
psychologist Jon¿Perse finds himself in possession of one of the most promising inventions of
the century: a computer. Enchanted by snippets of Persian poetry he learns from his Uzbek
translation partner Abdulhamid Ismail Jon-Perse builds a computer program capable of both
analyzing and generating literature. But beyond the text on his screen there are entire
worlds-of history philosophy and maybe even of love-in the stories and people he and AI
conjure. Hamid Ismailov brings together his work as a poet translator and student of
literature of both East and West to craft a postmodern ode to poetry across centuries and
continents. Crossing the poètes maudits with beloved Sufi classics blending absurdist dreams
with the life of the famed Persian poet Hafez moving from careful mathematical calculations to
lyrical narratives Ismailov invents an ingenious transnational poetics of love and longing for
the digital age. Situated at the crossroads of a multilingual world and mediated by the
unreliable sensibilities of digital intelligence this book is a dazzling celebration of how
poetry resonates across time and space.
