An Artists Model And Other Poems

In An Artists Model and Other Poems, preferring to portray his modela woman
with whom he has fallen in lovein words rather than in paint, author David J.
Murray off ers an extended hymn of praise to her, expressing unresolved yearning
throughout.

Following a prologue setting the scene, he presents her with four gifts, each
consisting of a set of twelve poems. Th e fi rst set of poems describes what its like
spending Christmas without her; the second set of poems compares her to the
Greek goddess Athena; the third set of poems likens her to a ballerina; and the
fourth set of poems, written in summer, compares her to the beauty of the season.

Between each set are entractes consisting of several poems that comment on the
complexities of their situation. Th e collection ends with an epilogue that recalls
the mood of the prologue.

Reflecting the conflict between Murrays emotions and his sense of propriety with
regard to his model, An Artists Model and Other Poems presents a cycle of poems
that are unabashedly of the high-fl ung romantic genre.