Descriptions of Deborah Landau’s prize-winning poetry collections vary from “gorgeous lyricism” to “dark comedy” or “killer wit”. Comparisons to Sylvia Plath, Dorothy Parker and Virginia Woolf miss the singular originality and impact of her work. Soft Targets, her latest collection, targets life during a global crisis for an imperiled planet on which all inhabitants are “soft targets.” Her poetry speaks vitally to us in time of need.