Palin v. Biden: a poetical prelude

Thy tongue, Joe Biden! Learn to curb its call,
Lest universal verbiage bury all.

That heroic couplet comes courtesy of the author Jim Holt -- and, more indirectly, Jennifer Schuessler, former editor of Ideas, now at the Times. She asked some frequent Book Review contributors to versify about the two contenders in tonight's main event.

Consider Holt's effort an amuse bouche: On the blog Paper Cuts, you'll also find brief poems by Henry Alford and Christopher Buckley -- and Jennifer checks in, too, with the Globe's Alex Beam on the subject of Palin and palindromes.