Novel in Verse is a captivating, hybrid genre, using poetry to tell a novel-length story. It uses poetic language and imagery, follows the narrative arc of a novel, and has the brevity and impact of a poem. 'The Epic of Gilgamesh', from Mesopotamia and 'The Rāmāyaṇa' by Indian poet Valmiki are early examples of poetic storytelling predating the novel. In the early 19th century, Lord Byron's 'Tale of Don Juan' and Pushkin's 'Eugene Onegin' expanded the tradition. Elizabeth Barrett Browning reinterpreted the novel in verse form with 'Aurora Leigh', and Robert Browning fictionalized a murder trial in 'The Ring and the Book'. More recent examples are 'The Crossover', by Kiwami Alexander, 'The Poet X' by Elizabeth Acevedo, and Jason Reynolds' the 'Long Way Down'.