Bob Hicok and Heather McHugh

Bob Hicok’s new collection of poetry is Elegy Owed. “The most potent ingredient in virtually every one of Bob Hicok’s compact, well-turned poems is a laughter as old as humanity itself,” wrote David Kirby. “A sweet waggery that suggests there’s almost no problem that can’t be solved by this poet’s gentle humor.” Heather McHugh’s most recent book of poems is Upgraded to Serious. “She’s practically playing with her words as she writes them down. ‘Joycean’ is a word that comes to mind,” wrote Robert Hass. She’s “a poet for whom wit is a form of spiritual survival.”