We Computers: A Ghazal Novel

Books

A multilayered exploration of poetry, authorship, and digital intelligence by "a writer of immense poetic power" (The Guardian) "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 ...