I’ve known Eliot Katz for about ten years, and I’ve seen his poetry grow. In style and substance, he follows in the Whitmanic democratic tradition. Beyond that, he’s developed a unique blend of literary influences: Romantics, Dickinson, Williams, surrealists, Brecht, Beats, modern feminist- and ecology-conscious poets, African-American and Latin American political modes. He uses a long-line oratorical form with lyrical passion, makes odd philosophical probes, populist humoresques, registers moments of contemplation and imagination. He’s clear about minute particulars and works with American idiom. What’s remarkable is the unabashed quest for spiritual health & enlightenment in a world otherwise depressed. Imaginative & sprightly conversations with dinosaurs, spirits, and UFO creatures give “E. Katz” an alternative “distanced” perspective on late-20th century planet Earth; even blueprints proposed for social transformation, American glasnost & perestroika! E. Katz has created his own original poetics for personal observation, animated discourse, critical insight, fantasy and communal vision.
–Allen Ginsberg, 1990