Largely a self-taught writer, Patchen never appeared to win widespread recognition from the professors at universities or many literary critics. As the New York Times Book Review noted, “While some critics tended to dismiss his work as naive, romantic, capricious and concerned often with the social problems of the 1930s, others found him a major voice in American poetry.” Patchen was also known for creating painted poems. He collaborated with the composer John Cage on the radio play The City Wears A Slouch Hat (broadcast in 1942), in the 1950s he became famous in poetry circles for reading his poetry to the accompaniment of jazz music.
