Oh sweet, the new book from Narrow House is out and shipping — Hum Who Hiccup by Chris Mason. He’s one of my favorite people poets in the people universe, so smart and nice and a relaxed scholar of what’s happening. And what’s happening is so much because of what he’s doing and what he’s done, like playing music in one of my top favorite bands, Old Songs, which performs their own translations of ancient Greek poetry. An Old Songs show is worth a trip to Baltimore.

The first mention of the book by Michael Lally is up. I think there will be a lot more buzzing soon. I got a sneak peak and can attest that it’s a beautiful book, outside and in. The poems are funnier than they ought to be (there’s a tribute to a fart, I think), but they work because Mason has perfect pitch. And Justin nailed a challenging design — challenging because some of Mason’s poems are circular because who said words have to sit on a line?

Or do anything else ordinary? Evidence of such postulatin’ below the fold, with Chris Mason reading at In Your Ear (introduced by the ambulant Buck Downs):

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlG_nnlUPUY

And because I love it because who doesn’t, here’s a video of songs by The Tinkler’s, his other other band:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1bxnNuJ0OE&feature=related