"He is quite simply the finest poet in English of his generation."
(Bryan Appleyard, The Times, 1984)

"I rarely read a poem by Ashbery that doesn't make me laugh, and I don't believe that's a sign of disrespect."
(Anne Stevenson, The London Magazine, Aug-Sept 2003)

"He is forever questing after his present even as he meditates on the cultural past and the problematic future of humankind. Like Eliot he enriches his verse with erudite allusions; like Stevens he is fond of philosophical inferences. His distinctive contribution to modern American verse is his ability to convey so much matter in so conversationally fluid a manner. Ashbery convinces by his verbal clarity and remains one of the most lucid of living poets. This volume of 138 poems is beautifully assured in its artistry."
(Alan Bold, The Weekend Scotsman, 5th April 1986)

"Reading Ashbery is an invigorating affair whose rewards are high."
(Jeremy Harding, The Independent, 14th May 1987)

"a definitive presence in American poetry."
(Eavan Boland, The Irish Times, 4th April 1992)