Yvor Winters was a beloved teacher and a minor poet whose criticism has a reputation for idiosyncrasy. In this book he savagely attacks T. S. Eliot, Hopkins, and Frost. He is less negative on Crane and Stevens; he has an ongoing critical war with Ransom. While some of this is daring to speak of the "elephant in the room", speaking of the aspects of some of these great poets' styles that have, perhaps, made others of us uncomfortable, but that are general not spoken of, much of the time one has the impression that he has such high standards and such narrow tastes, that there simply isn't much poetry he likes very much. The writing is old-fashionedly elegant, the argumentation is brilliant, the passion evident ... still, one prefers a critic who is more willing to like poems more easily and more broadly. ( )