John is a wonderful poet and a great instructor. His Imitations class was interesting and a great way to workshop my poetry. I am quite sad that he's retiring and I wish him the best--wish I could have had more classes with him!

John is a great professor, but can taking some warming up for some personality types. I recommend taking at least two classes with him before making a decision. I loved his Chaucer class, but hated Diaries, although I think that was the fault of my classmates and not of John's. He's very talented in his own right as a poet as well.

John is a great professor: incredibly smart and knowledgeable and helpful. My only complaint would be that he sometimes lets students talk too much about irrelevant subjects. He is so nice he doesn't always tell people to shut up when he should. But I love him and love his classes.

He's a nice guy, and often has interesting things to say, only someof which are related to what the class is about. Also, he seems quite willing to let people sit there silently for quite a while if no one volunteers any discussion. It seemed like the sort of class where you could get useful discussion if you tried, or just sit there in silence.

John is a great guy and a great poet. Very insightful and available in office hours for interesting talks and advice. Gives excellent feedback on essays and poems to take your writing to the next level. Diaries class is like nothing else -- amazing!!! Must take it.

I didn't take any classes with John the first couple years at school because I'd heard he was boring. Not true! He's insightful, interesting, and a great story teller. Gives great feedback on writing, too. His diaries class is awesome.