[1] Ascroft's published poetry collections have been well received, and he has helped in editing New Zealand literary magazines Landfall, Glottis: New Writing and takahē.
[2] Ascroft's poetic influences include song lyrics, Bruce Robinson's screenplay for Withnail & I, the wordier skits of Monty Python, Peter Cook or Fry & Laurie, and Tina Fey.
"[9] Sharp states that the "pleasure in reading Ascroft is in watching this quick-witted improviser conjure forth metaphors, mythologies, word-music, then deconstruct them in a flash.
She finds the work impossible to ignore: "when Ascroft sets off down the lanes of form and style and a surfeit of words tossed everywhere like breadcrumbs, there is nowhere I don’t want to follow.
In 2015, Ascroft's Nothing is as Inconsiderate as Talking was described by Emma Neale as "a cavorting, satirical imagination" that "hits levels of comedic joy that stand out from any crowd.
"[16] Two years later, Ascroft's "Moral Sloth" was also highly commended in the award, with Bill Manhire calling it "a virtuoso display of formal skills."