An aspiring poet who hones his craft through hard practice experiences an unexpected setback when his younger cousin undermines his belief that skilled art-making requires time and effort.

A college professor pays a famous poet to guest lecture at his university. Although this encounter improves his professional standing, his personal life suffers as a result of the poet's behavior.

A man tells the story of his son-in-law who used his poetry skills to make real money.

An American writer travels to Sophia where he meets a famous poetess. He falls in love with her and her attitude.

A young would-be poet develops a complicated relationship with the most famous living Bosnian poet at the time. This relationship ends decades later on another continent when that poet dies, and the young man finds a life of his own that doesn't involve poetry.

Upon returning to Paris after a decade-long hiatus wandering the French countryside and writing an epic, a poet encounters an enigmatic young woman who believes he is a god and wants to be his disciple,

A teacher on the Lower East side meets a friendly man with a presence resembling a dead English poet.

When a librarian finds a moving book of poetry among a donation, she is introduced to fellow lovers of the author's work who strive to preserve the poet's desire for privacy while commemorating her work.

A woman reflects on a day — back when she was a young poet in 1972 New York City — she spent retrieving furniture to borrow from a young man about to visit his home in Chile. The man was eventually taken by the secret police, leaving the woman with his furniture for years to come.

In a small town, a resident watches as the people and place change. He recounts eight seemingly disparate stories, but the town connects them all.