In its Approval Matrix feature from the week of 2/28/22, New York magazine classified The Esopus Reader as both “brilliant and highbrow,” calling it “a handsome collection of writing and exploration of the creative process.”

This is the second time Esopus has earned this distinction from the well-known weekly; in 2011, composer Anthony Cheung's essay from Esopus 16, "New Colors: Notes on Composing in the 21st Century," also appeared in the upper-right quadrant of the influential chart.