Ovid seen wearing Burberry’s silk cotton trench with lambskin collar entering Prufrock Coffee carrying a newspaper with the headline “Ovid turns down a lucrative gig as Belarus’ Poet Laureate”
They’re not allowed to believe in time travel, or 2,000 year old men so of course the Cultural Embassy that represents Belarus didn’t think Ovid was real. I mean, why would they want a poet laureate? They disappear all their poets. So maybe it was just that they wanted the name, and
then to install the illusion of a political poet in the Embassy, just so they could re-educate him
and have a production line of proper poems, ones that agreed with Lukashenko in every
particular. Seems boring enough to be true. It must have come as a surprise when Ovid said no—that he spoke. Called them up, that lovely accent of his, said няма, нет, nē, no.
Carol Shillibeer's poems have been published in many print and online publications, and received nominations for both Pushcart and Best of Net. One of her most recent manuscripts language be like won the 2025 Alfred G. Bailey Prize for poetry.
Also in this issue: Carol’s Ovid seen with Young Missy and Ovid spotted leaving Shakespeare.