Ann Lauterbach's experimental and compelling choice for the 2003 Verse Prize merges dramatic forms and poetry with dazzling results.

Nakayasu's book-length poem uses its tumbling dramatic form to create a new inquiry into "character," "time," "place," "direction," and other elements. Lyrical language and personal, engaging voices take the reader on a dizzying and affecting journey through a "geography of risk." This wholly original work brings poetry into regions hitherto explored only by the most experimental forms of music and plastic arts.