by Roy Blount Jr.
Blount, the journalist-turned-multimedia-celebrity who has written such humor books as One Fell Soup and What Men Don't Tell Women, shows a kind of neo-Nashian touch with this edifying little volume. It contains two sets of poems for children, though they might also be appreciated by a few brighter members of the stodgier generations. Soupsongs is about food: "The neighborhood stores are all out of broccoli/Loccoli." Webster's Ark celebrates animals with unusual names: "Years ago a/Given MOA/Might be turkey-sized or twelve feet tall./Now there are no moa/At all." So maybe Keats's and Yeats's positions in the poetry standings are not threatened by this enterprise. It wouldn't be a shock to learn that Shel Silverstein is worried enough to be tearing out his hair, if he had any. (Houghton Mifflin, $12.95)
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