“Laird’s ear for ‘smallish lexical mercies’ yields superb lines.”—Stephen Burt, New York Times Book ReviewOn Purpose examines the often brutal arena of human relations. Informed by both wit and a melancholic undercurrent, the book thoughtfully provokes concepts of happiness and sadness, of warring and reparation. The volume concludes with an affecting sequence about a marriage, inspired by that most influential of military treatises, The Art of War.