Novey exhibits the gift of radical uncertainty while retaining an impersonal but compassionately subjective lyric voice. If there are personal disclosures in this work, however, they are subtle and oblique
—Carolyn Forche
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The Next Country by Idra Novey
Winner of the 2005 PSA Chapbook Fellowship
The Next Country by Idra Novey, selected and introduced by Carolyn Forche.
Edition: 500 copies of the winning books were printed by the Prolific Group and designed by Gabriele Wilson.
$8.00
The Candidate
After falsely accused
of dishonesty, a man
may slip into a hallway
and stroke the husk of curtain,
over the closest window,
the sloping musty fringe of it.
If there's no curtain,
he may stroke the glass.
If it lacks a window,
he may lean into the wall
and imagine one, crawl out of it
onto a small boat
in a covert pond. Rowing across,
he may rub the injunction
like a stone in his palm, consider
tossing it waterward,
or surrender, let it settle
in his pocket, caustic
and awkward. As he accepts
its weight, he may grow
dishonest, begin
a life of clambering
onto boats, pants sagging
with every manner of stone.
All rights reserved. Reprinted with the permission of the author.
