Jennifer Michael Hecht’s purpose in The Next Ancient World is clear and to offer a guidebook for those that come after. She does all that and more, delivering verse after verse with astonishing wit and precision to craft a narrative that truly goes above and beyond. Hecht turns the everyday into the immaculate, creating a simple yet jaw-dropping voice. In lines like “the deadline/for the grant is long past, long past/but some part of you/writes for guidelines… This is not what the survival/expert had in mind”, Hecht demonstrates her tongue-in-cheek wit. This wit that has taken her far, especially after the acclaim that The Next Ancient World received upon its publishing Now, twenty years later, Hecht’s lines are clear indicators of the long career that awaited her, demonstrating an unmatched understanding and mastery of both language and verse.