At the height of the pandemic lockdowns in early 2020, Titus Naso was reading Fasti, a collection of poems about the Roman calendar and holidays written by the poet Ovid, who was exiled to Tomis on the Black Sea by the Emperor Augustus Caesar at the dawn of the Common Era, two thousand years ago. Inspired by Ovid's work, Naso challenged himself to write a poem a day for the next year.

And what a year it was!

Through this selection of personal and political poems, Titus Naso relates detailed impressions of one rural parent's life during an unforgettable, historic, momentous year. The poems reveal a personal story of that year's social isolation, personal transformation, distance learning, racial awareness, civil unrest, political turmoil, and natural disasters, all while the Covid-19 pandemic ravaged the whole world. Throughout the year, Ovid and other literary figures from the past are seen as mentors and guides.

Join us for a journey through A Year Outside of Time.