At the center of my forthcoming book The Leniad is a sprawling epic about a fictive character’s exploits in sex, travel, and the daily world of capital. On either side of this epic are short, intense poems that shape-shift. “Ovid” and “Teotihuacan and Us” are two of these short, shape-shifter poems. “Ovid” talks back to the figure who gave us tales of transformation while “Teotihuacan and Us” is an ekphrastic persona poem responding to a painting of the same name by Paige Jiyoung Moon.”

Clicking on each poem below will pull up a PDF of the full text of the poem.

Nathaniel Rosenthalis is the author of two forthcoming full-length books of poetry. His debut, I Won’t Begin Again, won the 2021 Burnside Review Press Book Award, selected by Sommar Browning. His second collection, The Leniad, will be out from Broken Sleep Books in the UK in 2023. He is also the author of three chapbooks, including the 24 Hour Air (PANK Books, 2022). He lives in New York City, where he teaches writing at NYU and Columbia University. He is also an actor and singer who recently made his Off-Broadway debut. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter.

Instagram: @nrosenthalis
Twitter: @rosenthalis
Website: nathanielrosenthalis.com