Nova: Poems

The 2024 Winner of the 42 Miles Press Poetry Award, Nova is a highly personal collection that nevertheless opens itself to readers, invites us to join in her quest. The poet finds herself among memories and dreams, but it is also the case that the past misplaces her, loses her, as it inevitably loses us all. We go back to pick up the pieces, almost helplessly, hoping to move forward again (she writes, "I'm obsessed with what to save"). This book is a private map of paths leading in and out of the realms of recollection, and we also read here a yearning for a sustaining future—perhaps somewhere else. Cadman recognizes and explores the fundamental entanglement of time and place. In Nova, she demonstrates how poetry serves as a refuge. She makes her work a home for herself and, miraculously, a gathering place for us: "i have become lonely everywhere / but inside my own poems." A strong writer is able to welcome readers into an inner sanctum. As poet, Dana Jaye Cadman is one such intimate friend.

• Publication date: 20 October 2026
• Page count: 100
• Publisher: 42 Miles Press
• Format: Paperback
• ISBN-13: 9781732851191