More Personal: Poems by Arnold David Richards

“This astonishing and moving collection of poems comes at a remarkable moment in our world. Actually, I dare say that this remarkable moment has resonated so powerfully for Arnold Richards that it  stimulated all the creative corners of his mind. What is most amazing is the convergence of all aspects of Arnie’s culturally rich background into a creative explosion. Reading these poems at times evokes old folk tales, history texts, but also music. There are direct allusions in the text to iconic cultural images and to our social reality, and at the same time, a moving recount of very personal experiences. Obviously, this is a writer who is contemplating what his legacy will be, and thus, finds it essential to do several things at once, once again declare his values, express his gratitude for those who deserve it, and appeal to soulmates for resonance. You will be reading and rereading, you will want to dialogue with Arnie and also to share with friends”.
—IRENE CAIRO, MD, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, living and practicing in New York; born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she received her medical education; author, Inside Out: Intimate Voices and Stories

“The late burst of poetic creativity by Arnie Richards is somewhat mysterious, somewhat surprising. His new volume of poems addresses both the messiness of our contemporary world and the existential messiness of being alive and aging. Even as his body declines, Richards’ imagination soars. Aging has permitted him to be less inhibited. His poems derive from over six decades of clinical experiences as a psychoanalyst, deep knowledge of many fields outside of psychoanalysis, including art and photography; he also has a capacity for extensive thinking on his life as a father, son, husband, caretaker, colleague, friend, Jewish intellectual, and cosmopolitan citizen of the world. Richards’ poems are part of an extended process of self-analysis. The very best of them are personal and emotional. Poetry is his method of connecting affectively to his readers and to himself; it also opens fascinating perspectives on history, politics, ultimately on language and knowledge itself. He taps into his rich fantasy life and constructs linkages between free association and automatic writing in the manner of the surrealists. He is comfortable with thematic material that can be simultaneously trivial and profound, ordinary and extraordinary, sacred and profane. Everyday reality is just as important as the sublime  realms of existence. The unifying element is Richards’ commitment to enjoyment, to the pleasure principle. Just as he wants his audience to ask questions of his work in a Socratic manner, so too does he want us to treasure his pleasure in creating these short but potent pieces of poetry. In the spirit of respect and recognition for this volume, I confess that I enjoyed them, read them out loud, and continue to reflect on them. They are lifeaffirming and inspiring.
—DAVID JAMES FISHER, PHD, practicing psychoanalyst in Los Angeles for over 46 years; Training Analyst, Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis; Senior faculty and Board Member, the New Center for Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles. Author of four books, including The Subversive Edge of Psychoanalysis (2025).

ISBN 9781969031144