"In his thoughtful examinations of plotline, script, the imperatives of fiction, and the architecture of jokes, Hastings Hensel artfully constructs intriguing possibilities in these masterful poems, whose sonic textures are breathtakingly beautiful and whose emotional power is palpable. These skillful and formally accomplished poems invoke the beauties of nature and language alike and celebrate, in the end, the joy, the 'comedy of snags,' and, yes, the humanity that is everywhere present and available to us if we take the time to look."