Ethan Coen scoffs at 2012, releases poetry collection post-apocalypse

Ethan Coen is taking a big bet against the ancient Mayan calendar, releasing his second collection of poetry, The Day the World Ends, well, um, after the world would have theoretically ended. The Los Angeles Times' Jacketcopy reports that Coen — one half of the legendary team of filmmaking brothers who know a thing or two about setting an appropriate tone for the apocalypse — and his publisher Crown — who might know more about the apocalypse than we give them credit for, considering their website files Ann Coulter's forthcoming book Demonic under "humor" — are prepping the collection for spring 2012. Besides his two books of poetry, Coen also has a collection of short stories and many, many screenplays under his [utility] belt — the kind of belt you'll need to really make a splash during End Times.

Of course, even if global chaos breaks loose as soon as Times Square drops a sparkly ball containing the cast of Jersey Shore, the dust should be mostly clear by spring, leaving you with plenty of eerie silences to concentrate on Coen's poetry in between dodging the undead. It also gives you almost a year to stockpile AAA batteries for your reading lamp, canned goods and compressed-air cattle guns.