“It is not lightly to be dismissed because of the ebullient egotism with which it is written. The testimony of the chief actor in the drama is worth listening to.”
+ − Review 3:649 D 29 ’20 1000w
BUNKER, JOHN JOSEPH LEO. Shining fields and dark towers. *$1.25 Lane 811
19–15769
This is the first volume of a poet from the Middle West who looks down from philosophic heights upon the din of battle, of traffic and travail with a sweet and mellow wisdom and an encompassing faith in a divine love. The contents in part are: Earth-music; The flute-player; To harsh judgment thinking itself wisdom; The splendid stranger; New York sketches; Ballade of faces fair; Love’s intendment; The great refusal; Quest and haven.
“Though the section entitled ‘New York sketches,’ and the study called ‘Complainte d’amour,’ contain some of the cleverest and most interesting vers libre that the present reviewer has ever seen, Mr Bunker is no disciple of the new school. He is essentially in the great tradition, and it is in the familiar forms, the recognized types of English verse, that he does his most ample and satisfying work.” H: A. Lappin
+ Bookm 50:373 N ’19 850w
“Not always with the same perfection of expression does he sing, but at the same time never does he fail to give, whatever the mood or theme may be, a significance to it that comes from his spiritual manner of approach and understanding. This peculiarly individual quality is as apparent in the four poems of the ‘New York sketches’ with their realistic background and outlines, as in the ‘Quest and haven,’ the memorial poem to Francis Thompson.” W. S. B.
+ Boston Transcript p11 F 7 ’20 1300w