Although Forché has been widely lauded for her poetry and her humanitarian work, she has also been criticized for writing overtly political poetry. Critical reception for The Angel of History, in which "The Garden Shukkei-en" appears, however, has been mostly positive. Writing for Magill Book Reviews, David Buehrer notes Forché's penchant for preachiness as well as her lyric brilliance, observing, " The Angel of History preserves and critiques, in a moralistic if stark tone, crimes against humanity and decency." Don Bogen is effusive in his praise in his review of the book for the Nation . Bogen notes that Forché has changed her firstperson, "look at this" reportorial style she worked so well in her previous two collections, and he claims that The Angel of History is "clearly a breakthrough [volume]." A writer for The Virginia Quarterly Review gives the collection a mixed review...