Mark Neely’s third collection, Ticker, follows the life of its main character, Bruce, as he navigates marriage, children, aging parents, politics, race, religion, global catastrophe, and the irrelevance of middle age. Throughout the book the dueling voices in Bruce’s head, which range from comic to bitter to revelatory, compete for control of his inner life. From formal to freewheeling, Neely’s poems showcase a unique and essential voice in American poetry.