Marvelous Piece of Luck recalls those planetarium shows that, in their vertiginous final minutes, whirl the audience through the cosmos.To say that Williamson is one of the three or four contemporary American masters of light verse may be a less grand pronouncement than it sounds, given how few serious poets these days would aspire to the title.Williamson's rhymes are likewise dexterous, with a number of unexpected combinations.and here and there he comes up with something so neatly preposterous that Byron might have been proud to claim it. The book holds up so well, richly repaying rereading, because there's a somber, eerie iciness at its core.Readers of A Most Marvelous Piece of Luck - this yes, marvelous book - are now and then disturbingly aware that behind its jokes is an apparition whose skeletal smile is no joke at all. -Brad Leithauser, NYRB ""His verse is gripping and full of black comedy, sure to give fans of his work more of what they have come to love."" The Midwest Book Review ""Williamson's buoyant voice is constant - we're given a blast of amiable poetry on each page. . . playful and quick-witted."" Poetry

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