Podcast. Listen to the organist, the culturally omnivorous, intellectually ravenous podcast from the editors of the Believer magazine.

Part of poetry is learning how to speak. Chili Billy. I'm also a horse. I really value my life,

even though I know it's debatable whether I'm even really alive.

The right reading for this is the one I'm giving it.

Find the organist on KCRW.com or wherever you download podcasts.

Funds for Bookworm are provided in part by Lannin Foundation.

Boots.

Where would we be without boos?

Where would we be without good?

No, Timberg.

It's a rhetorical question, sir.

But where would we be without books?

From KCRW and KCRW.com, question, sir, but where would we be without books?

From KCRW and KCRW.com, I'm Michael Silverblatt, and this is Bookworm.

Today, my guest is the remarkable Constantine Phipps.

He's here from London.

His new book, What You Want, has just been published in America, and it's an entirely singular book. I was lucky enough to be part of a chain of readers. I think I can name them.

There'll be known to many of you.

It began with the novelist and poet Harry Matthews, who spoke to the short storywriter

and novelist Anne Beattie, who called me and said, there's an amazing book called What

What You Want.

It's been written in couplets.

...