Inclusion Criteria:

- Patients must have relapsed or primary refractory lymphoid malignancy (including
B-cell, T-cell, or Hodgkins disease), or untreated T-NHL or MCL

- Patients with other lymphomas that have not received any prior therapy and are not
candidates for anthracycline-based therapies, are eligible with PI review and
approval

- Revised European American classification (REAL), or World Health Organization (WHO)
classification of patient's malignancies must be provided

- Patients must have measurable disease defined as lesions that can be accurately
measured in two dimensions by computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI), medical photograph (skin or oral lesion), plain x-ray, or other conventional
technique and a greatest transverse diameter of 1 cm or greater; or palpable lesions
with both diameters >= 2 cm

- Patients must have a bone marrow aspirate and biopsy within 28 days of enrollment and
no intervening anticancer therapy

- Patients must have a CT of chest, abdomen, and pelvis within 28 days of enrollment;
patients with evidence of adenopathy in the neck must have a CT of neck

- Patients should not have evidence of active central nervous system lymphoma

- Electrocardiogram (EKG) must be free of any arrhythmias (excluding sinus arrhythmia
or infrequent premature ventricular contractions)

- Patients must have a Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) performance status of 0, 1, or 2

- Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) >= 1,500/mm^3

- Serum creatinine < 1.5 mg/dl or creatinine clearance greater than 60/ ml per minute
by the following formula (all tests must be performed within 28 days prior to
registration)

- Total bilirubin < 1.5 times upper limit of normal, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) <
5 times upper limit of normal

- Patients must have a serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) performed within 14 days prior
to registration

- All patients must be informed of the investigational nature of this study and have
given written consent in accordance with institutional and federal guidelines

- Patients must be anticipated to complete at least 2 cycles of chemotherapy

- Platelets >= 100,000/mm^3 (without transfusion)

Exclusion Criteria:

- Patients known to be human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive

- Pregnant or nursing women; men or women of reproductive potential may not participate
unless they have agreed to use an effective contraceptive method

- Patients with other prior malignancies except for adequately treated basal cell
carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, cervical cancer in situ, or other
cancer from which the patient has been disease free for 5 years or greater, unless
approved by the protocol Chair or Co-Chair

- Patients that are refractory (i.e. not responded or progressed within 6 months) to a
carboplatin, cisplatin, ifosfamide, or etoposide-based regimen-based regimen

- Patients that have other medical conditions that would contraindicate treatment with
aggressive chemotherapy (including active infection, uncontrolled hypertension,
congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, or myocardial infarction within
the past 6 months, or uncontrolled arrhythmia)

- Patients with a history of impaired cardiac status (including history of severe
coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure or arrhythmia); if
the patient's history is questionable, a measurement of left ventricular ejection
fraction should be obtained within 42 days prior to registration; patients with left
ventricular ejection fraction < 50% are not eligible

- Autologous or allogeneic transplantation within 12 months or radioimmunotherapy
within 6 months of registration

- No concurrent treatment with valproic acid or on valproic acid within 2 weeks of
study enrollment

- No prior treatment with histone deacetylase inhibitors

- No concurrent therapy for this malignancy