You don't need a classroom to be a teacher, and you don't need to be a teacher to help someone learn a lesson. Taylor Mali's poetry explores this truth in entertaining and plainspoken ways because "the last thing this world needs is another poem" ("The Call to What We Know"). Whether discussing the language of love or the love of language, the poems contained in The Last Time As We Are prove that "He who dares to teach must never cease to learn."

In Taylor Mali's poetry, the notion that teaching doesn't require a classroom, nor being a teacher to impart wisdom, is explored with wit and clarity.

Through entertaining and straightforward verses, Mali delves into the language of love and the love of language, showcasing the timeless truth that "He who dares to teach must never cease to learn."

In the pages of The Last Time as We Are, the reader is invited to discover profound lessons that transcend traditional boundaries of education and touch the essence of human connection.