SOURCE: "The Poet as Critical Reader," in The New York Times, October 31, 1970, p. 27.

In the review below, Lask praises A Poet's Alphabet, stating that "for a book of criticism, [Bogan's volume is unusual in the amount of sheer reading pleasure it provides."]

Louise Bogan's critical pieces [in A Poet's Alphabet] come to us almost as from another age. Not that her subjects are dated. The list of poets reviewed could not be more contemporary. But her tone of civilized inquiry, her judgment that was both detached and involved, the complete absence of trivia and small talk and her desire only to engage the work at hand make her appear a sport in these days of ego-bruising and assertive journalism. She is kind but sharp eyed, soft spoken but penetrating, sympathetic but not fooled. Though her tastes and values are stamped on every page, she never intrudes in person...