If you were stranded on some far slope of Parnassus and could bring only one book to map the landscape, H.L. Hix's As Easy As Lying would be a good choice. Accessible, erudite, and ebullient, these essays delve into the workings of the poetic mind and offer incisive assessments of contemporary American poets and poetics. Hix not only maps the landscape, he reshapes it.