Reviews of Charles H. Johnson's poetry collections
"In spare, beautifully constructed poems, Charles H. Johnson explores the complexities of coming of age, race, prejudice, the influence of culture and the searing legacy of war. Tunnel Vision marks the advent of a major new talent on the American literary scene."
	Maria Mazziotti Gillan, Executive Editor Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College and Director of the Creative Writing Program Binghamton University -- SUNY
"Sam's Place takes us to a college bar, the war in Vietnam and other places we thought we knew, until life stirred up unrelenting questions -- the kind that turn soldiers into poets. Life lessons in verse, Charles H. Johnson's Poetry traces the trajectory of his growth from greenhorn infantry lieutenant to inquisitive prober of the universe."
	Jan Barry author of Earth Songs: New and Selected Poems; co-editor, Winning Hearts and Minds; War Poems by Vietnam Veterans
"Johnson's poetry captures the imagination and paints vivid pictures in one's own mind, often causing the reader to pause and reflect. His Vietnam poems, influenced by his own military tour of duty there during the Vietnam War, prove to serve as great classroom tools for teaching recent American History as well as creative writing and language arts appreciation. I'm pleased to see more limelight shed on his wonderful words."
	Sibley J. Smith, Jr. Director of Education Vietnam Era Educational Center at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial
"Charles H. Johnson's Tunnel Vision, a magnificent book of poetry, has the all-inclusive, expansive vision of the gods. Dealing with war, peace, family, love, the Garden State Parkway and simple humanity, the poems enrich the reader with their wisdom, their imagery, and their musical sense. I welcome Johnson as a new bright voice, ringing in poetry of the cosmos and of the human experience, grounded in the American spirit."
	Emanuel di Pasquale, Professor of English Middlesex County College, New Jersey
"The journalist's eye for the telling detail, ear for inflection and commitment to clarity inform Tunnel Vision throughout. Mr. Johnson writes what he knows, and what he knows is contemporary America - he shows a special feeling not only for his grandparents' Virginia farm and the Millstone River but for the grit that's quintessentially Jersey. "Riding is never easy in Central New Jersey" begins "Easy Riding," a hymn to the freedom of the open road that only a commuter could love. Read Mr. Johnson's book. It's real. And really good."
	Michael Redmond, Lifestyle Editor Princeton Packet