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