"I did like your work. It is finished, professional, and distinctive. 'Mediterranean' is a poem I like particularly."

"A début of impressive qualities… There is original vision here, and he will surely be heard from further".

Elio Vittorini
(in a personal letter)

"Your poems about wartime London are particularly touching".

Bernard Valéry
(UK Press Gazette, 29 mai 1967)

"A more moving sing-song of a child's impressions of war I have never seen".

Louis Untermayer
(on the cover of the book)

"Keith Barnes accomplishes a rather extraordinary union : a blend of the beautiful and the bizarre. I can't decide which I like better : the bitter protests or the playful ironies. In any case, it's a welcome début."

Louis Untermayer
(in a personal letter)

"Your poem 'Sharper than my eyes' is one of the most erotic poems I have read. "

Laurie Lee
(in a personal letter)

"Your book is a genuine star in a sky of reflections."