“His poems are of plain speak and verbal music, of erudition and common sense. They are learned poems, but they are also accessible. And, most of all, they are deeply felt.”
Davis McCombs

“Undoubtedly, this is a work
headed for literary permanence
in our collective ear.”
Major Jackson

For the more than forty years J. Chester Johnson has written verse, his work received praise from writers and poets spanning several decades – from, among others, Allen Tate and Nobel Laureate I. B. Singer to current, well-known poets, such as Molly Peacock and Major Jackson.