Because I subscribe to the newsprint copy of The New York Times Book Review, I have already received the issue dated July 20, 2008. In that issue is Mr. David Orr’s full-page review of The Warrior, a new collection of poems by Frances Richey. On her website, Frances Richey describes her book as “a memoir written in 28 poems.” I draw attention to the review because it discusses the larger aesthetic issue of putting autobiographical information into poetry: emotional truths, actual truths, subjective personal feelings, objective personal facts, authentic or confessional strategies. Even in ekphrastic poems (which can be written about imaginary works of art), these aesthetic issues come into play.
The book review mentions that one of the poems in The Warrior concerns a museum exhibit. Perhaps the poem is ekphrastic. When I read the book, I’ll know for sure.
