“Petra’s Promise” is a collection of poems, or a poem-in-parts, inspired by the mythic capacity of Anne Carson’s verse novel, Autobiography of Red. It follows the story of a young girl, Petra, and her trusty hound dog, Kosmos, as they navigate Campi Flegrei—the flaming “Phlegraean” fields in the south of Italy.

This poem was conceived of and completed during the equally mythic, especially experimental Gallatin science course, “Pompeii, Vesuvius, and the Flaming Fields” taught by professor Karen Holmberg (to whom special thanks is owed for believing in the power of storytelling, apace with data.)

Part I. Primeval Petra

Part II. Petra Protector, 1538

Part III. Petra, Present