Hat Rack TreePaperback, 1 July 1999

Starting out in the Beatnik hey-day, Stein's poems go beyond their moment in embodying a rich variety of poetic possibilities. Likewise the range of his interests -- from Judaism, Hermeticism, and Buddhism to mathematics and philosophy, make his poetry a quirky and musical synthesis, whimsical, enigmatic, contemplative, and human. I find him one of the smartest men of his generation and one of its most exemplary poets. -- Robert Kelly.