SOURCE: "Poet in Spite of Himself," New Republic, Vol. 122, No. 17, April 24, 1950, pp. 30-31.

In the following review of Strike through the Mask!, Rosenthal claims that he endured Viereck's "saucy banalities" in this volume for the sake of six or seven rich, suggestive poems, including "Small Perfect Manhattan " and "My Gentlest Song.

Those Terrifying Whimsies of Peter Viereck! Granted, as another, greater poet has told us, that a person of genius has to do something. Still, just look at the sort of thing he sees fit to print:

"None of that!" shouted the Ohio River. "No more roses and nightingales permitted to any poet who drinks our waters, yours or mine. Those creaking nightingales of the Rheumatic movement! Longfellow reads like a pretty short fellow nowadays. Better a live extravert than a dead lyre."

Yet we must bear with him. The man may be garrulous. He may write books...