When Scrambled Eggs & Whiskey: Poems 1991–1995 appeared in 1996, the critical reception of the collection was generally positive. Though no critic picked out “I, I, I” for particular comment, the poem was posted on various websites and is anthologized in The Autumn House Anthology of Contemporary Poetry, edited by Sue Ellen Thompson (2005).

Eric Murphy Selinger concludes his essay on Carruth, “The Importance of a Small Floy Floy,” with a consideration of Scrambled Eggs & Whiskey: Poems 1991–1995, calling it a “first-rate new collection.” Selinger credits the collection with two qualities widely praised in Carruth’s poetry, spontaneity and emotional honesty, in his commendation of the poet’s “apparently off-the-cuff, heart-on-sleeve verses.” This comment could easily apply to “I, I, I.”

Ray Olson, reviewing the collection for Booklist, notes the influences on Carruth of the poets Ezra...