"Aaron Smith's The Book of Daniel has remained at the top of my reading pile for weeks now. I go back to it again and again, because I don't know of any other contemporary poet who so skillfully combines sexuality, popular culture, and self-revelation. Smith can skewer the pretensions of the poetry world as only someone deeply in love with and committed to contemporary poetry can do. The poems in this collection are wry and biting and, I bet, really fun to write. Except for the utterly heartbreaking ones. Because make no mistake, Smith can turn from funny to rueful to wrenching like turning a page, or jumping from one line of verse to another. In this book Smith joins the ranks of his heroes, Sexton, Plath, and O'Hara, to name three. I bow to his mad skills, he's one of the best poets writing today.

" --Robert McDonald at The Book Stall.