"The poem 'Prelude to a Polka' opens with, 'I spent most of the morning / pounding at a poem, tapping time / with my fists, nodding to a beat, / counting feet with my fingers, / going for Gershwin but mostly / getting garbage.' Well don't believe that for a minute. Allen Jones's Mumblecusser is an impressive debut book of poems. In these pages a boy has turned into a young man who's turned into a father on his way toward dust. These poems make you stop and think at every turn—carefully built and a joy to read."
—Michael Earl Craig, Montana Poet Laureate (2015-2017)

"Allen Jones lets you in. You are welcome to take a look inside him in these poems that reveal his view of life—the recognition and power of connection. From his family to the stars, from the cacophony of humanity to the quietude of water, he looks keenly, feels deeply, and renders his observations in smart, humorous, and heartfelt poems that celebrate this life in this place at this time. In short: this is a sweet collection of 'Montana' poems, a... humdinger! But why 'Montana' poems? The language and the landscape, the creatures that inhabit them, but mainly it's the voice of someone whose people are in the ground: 'And goddamn ain't that just the way it goes.'"
—Mark Gibbons, Montana Poet Laureate (2021-2023)

"Jones's ability to discover the extraordinary within the ordinary—the profound within the profane—yet never be tempted to stray into hyperbole, is reminiscent of past pillars of Western poetry: Jim Harrison and Richard Hugo. Jones shares their deep-seeing eyes and deep-feeling souls..."
—Big Sky Journal