“Smith writes with a scalding aortal brilliance that leaves the reader drunk on dream.”—New York Times Book Review Taking as his starting point such wide-ranging subjects as comic books, politics, romantic love, geology, newspapers, totalitarianism, the natural world, the classics, Paris, Miami Beach, and war, Charlie Smith has written freshly realized poems in which compassion and tough-mindedness gesture toward wisdom.

This treasury of humorous poems brings together a sparkling constellation of witty poets–from Lord Rochester to Lewis Carroll, from Edward Lear to Ogden Nash, from Dorothy Parker to W. H. Auden–and embraces a wide range of forms, including limericks, clerihews, ballads, sonnets, and nonsense verse. Comic Poemsis studded with unforgettable classics, along with lesser-known comic gems from across the ages, from ancient Rome to modern America. Here is the immortal “How Pleasant to Know Mr. Lear” beside Noël Coward’s “Mad Dogs and Englishmen”; the incomparable “Jabberwocky” next to the famous “There was a young lady of Riga.” From Cole Porter and John Updike on love and marriage to Stevie Smith and Dorothy Parker on mortality to the ever-talented Anonymous on almost anything, the lighthearted poetry collected here ranges from the most delightful nonsense to the most sophisticated wit.

The much-anticipated debut collection from a celebrated young poet, Someone Else's Wedding Vows marks the arrival of an exciting new voice in American poetry. Someone Else’s Wedding Vows reflects on the different forms of love, which can be both tremendously joyous and devastatingly destructive. The title poem confronts a human ritual of marriage from the standpoint of a wedding photographer. Within the tedium and alienation of the ceremony, the speaker grapples with a strange human hopefulness. In this vein, Stone explores our everyday patterns and customs, and in doing so, exposes them for their complexities. Drawing on the neurological, scientific, psychological, and even supernatural, this collection confronts the difficulties of love and family. Stone rankles with a desire to understand, but the questions she asks are never answered simply. These poems stroll along the abyss, pointing towards the absurdity of our choices. They recede into the imaginative in order to understand and translate the distressing nature of reality. It is a bittersweet question this book raises: Why we are like this? There is no easy answer. So while we look down at our hands, perplexed, Someone Else’s Wedding Vows raises a glass to the future.

Part journal, part sketchbook, and wholly original, here is a window into the life and art of one of America's most treasured poets and teachers. The Art of the Possible: Comics Mostly without Pictures is infused with the same energetic wordplay, humor, and tenderness as the best of Kenneth Koch's poems, and illustrated and lettered in his own hand, studded with visual puns and jokes, peopled with recognizable characters from the worlds of arts and letters. Recurring themes and serial comics include: the Brer Comics, starring Brer Fox and his love interest Ella; the Virgil Thompson comics, set in the Chelsea Hotel and featuring Aaron Copland, John Cage, Lillian Hellman, Twiggy, Miles Davis, and other fab figures of the milieu; the Autobiography Comics, which tell of the birth of Koch's daughter Angela; the Artist in his Studio Comics; and the Dead White Man Comics. In the final comic in collection, "Global Charming," Koch writes: "A phenomenon is isolated called 'Global Charming.' Here's what it means: Life on earth becomes more and more delightful," and The Art of the Possible is our best evidence of that assertion.

Poetry comics by Kimball Anderson, Derik Badman, Warren Craghead, Julie Delporte, Oliver East, Franklin Einspruch, Jason Overby, and Paul Tunis. Foreword by William Corbett.

An autobiographical account of twin boys growing up in a small town in Missouri.

This astonishing, self-assured debut leads us on an exploration to the stars and back, begging us to reconsider our boundaries of self, time, space, and knowledge. The speaker writes, “...the universe/is an arrow/without end/and it asks only one question;/How dare you?” Zig-zagging through the realms of nature, science, and religion, one finds St. Francis sighing in the corner of a studio apartment, tides that are caused by millions of oysters “gasping in unison,” an ark filled with women in its stables, and prayers that reach God fastest by balloon. There’s pathos: “When my new lover tells me I’m correct to love him, I/realize the sound isn’t metal at all. It’s not the coins rattling/ on concrete, but the fingers scraping to pick them up.” And humor, too: “...even the sun’s been sighing Not you again/when it sees me.” After reading this far-reaching, inventive collection, we too are startled, space struck, our pockets gloriously “filled with space dust.”

“[Snider has] created something unique: a synthesis of comics, philosophy, and poetry: a thoughtful new way of packaging eternal ideas in cartoon boxes.” —The Los Angeles Review of Books What does an idea look like? And where do they come from? Grant Snider’s illustrations will motivate you to explore these questions, inspire you to come up with your own answers and, like all Gordian knots, prompt even more questions. Whether you are a professional artist or designer, a student pursuing a creative career, a person of faith, someone who likes walks on the beach, or a dreamer who sits on the front porch contemplating life, this collection of one- and two-page comics will provide insight into the joys and frustrations of creativity, inspiration, and process—no matter your age or creative background. “A creative kaleidoscope of humor, insight, and truth. An inventive window into the creative experience filled with hope and encouragement for daydreamers and doodlers, sketchers and scribblers, inventors, explorers, and spinners of yarns.” —Clare Vanderpool, New York Times-bestselling, Newbery Medal-winning author “Grant Snider’s work delivers introspection, humor, and inspiration in visually stunning drawings. They are a colorful look into the creative process—from the moments of quiet contemplation to the days of frenzied desperation.” —Susan Cain, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking “A friendly, encouraging depiction of the creative process, with its highs and lows, from a comics creator.” —The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

A humorous, uplifting look at mindfulness, from beloved illustrator Grant Snider “Find a quiet spot away from all distraction / Listen to your breath / Watch your thoughts float past you / Forget the obligations of today / Try not to consider your eventual decay / Let yourself drift away / Arise, connected with the Earth / Awakened to the Universe.” In The Art of Living, cartoonist Grant Snider, author of The Shape of Ideas and I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf, has created an all-new collection of one- and two-page comics that map his inner thoughts, poetic observations, and frequent failures at living mindfully. With both humor and a touch of reality, The Art of Living centers on mindfulness, but also empathy, relaxation, gratitude, and awareness—evergreen subjects that are more important and relevant now than ever. With a striking package, The Art of Living is an extension of the themes of Snider’s first two books—which explored the creative process and the love of reading—and is the perfect gift for those in a need of reflection, commiseration, hope, and a little extra self-care. Above all, Snider's cartoons will inspire and encourage a more thoughtful way of experiencing the world.