‘Short but sweet. There is a certain profoundness to 4 line poems… even if they’re not meant to be profound.’
– Popshot magazine (who did not publish the poems in question)
‘Made me laugh!’
– Wendy Cope, poet
‘Akin to reading a humorous article on the application of X-rays in stereotactic neurosurgery. But beautifully written.’
– Monalee Suranimala, entrepreneur and nerd
‘A very close read.’
– Geoff Dyer, author
‘Tremendous.’
– Tom Fleming, Deputy Editor, Literary Review
‘What Adam Smyth said.’
– Nicholas Lezard, literary critic, New Statesman
‘Fine work.’
– Richard Coles, priest
‘Up your butt, cricket boy.’
– Robert Muchamore, author
‘Gold medal for ultra-randomest assembly of sentences in human history.’
– Denis Beckett, writer and commentator
‘Finest one-word review I ever had!’
– Matthew Baylis, author, Man Belong Mrs Queen
‘Wonderfully funny.’
– Jean-Claude Lebensztejn, author, Pissing Figures: 1280–2014
‘Terse.’
– ‘Giles’, soldier
‘Thoughtful and generous.’
– Justin Marozzi, author and journalist
‘ASH Smyth sees things differently.’
– theartsdesk.com
‘Too much of the cricket.’
– Matt Thacker, editor, The Nightwatchman
‘Prolix smart-arse.’
– Dan Richards, artist and author
‘Stylish craftsmanship.’
– Gaston Dorren, linguist and author
‘Great T-shirts.’
– Howard Male, musician and author
‘So, were you in the SAS?’
– ‘USAid’ guy
‘Writer, teacher, poet, troublemaker.’
– Deshan Tennekoon, photographer and graphic novelist
‘Completely fucking mad.’
– Igor Toronyi-Lalic, arts editor, The Spectator
‘An absolute bastard to cut down.’
– Marcus Berkmann, author and cricket captain
‘Cherubic.’
– Desmond Mpilo Tutu, Archbishop of Cape Town and Nobel laureate
‘You are the literary equivalent of this.’
– DS Hilton, Esq., photographer, model and wingman
‘You read too much.’
– Anthony McGowan, author
‘You write beautifully. Your thinking is another matter.’
– Alexandra Coghlan, critic/ex
‘Sharp and discerning.’
– Andrew Fidel Fernando, author
‘No lie bro, you’re one of my beard idols… boom!’
– Jay Swan, martial artist
‘TAKE *THAT*, HEMINGWAY.’
– Sarah Perry, author
‘A minor suicidal character in a major Russian novel.’
– Sunila Galappatti, author
‘The incarnation of a tickling gif.’
– Zia Haider Rahman, author
‘Laconic.’
– Air Commodore Nigel Philips CBE, Governor of the Falkland Islands
‘Made some of our readers feel uncomfortable.’
– Queen Mob’s Teahouse
‘A sweet fellow… very tolerant.’
– Richard Flanagan, author
‘Refreshingly un-pious.’
– Sam Leith, author and Spectator books ed.
‘Makes AA Gill and Jeremy Clarkson sound like soft liberals.’
– Seamus Smyth, Father
‘All this arty stuff and blogging doesn’t seem to be doing you much good.’
– Yvonne Smyth, Mother
‘A good institute.’
– @Unwise_Trousers
‘A dragon?!’
– Prince Michael of Kent