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This small volume of blank verse apparently published privately presents an intriguing story of a genuine magician who, as a result of his speaking of his craft incautiously and aloud, suddenly finds himself confined because “a well defined delusion requires a certain degree of external restraint for the patient's own safety, of course.” As the poem progresses, it becomes obvious that this gentleman is a true sorcerer of the old school capable of those ancient practices long believed dead and whenever he applies his miraculous skill, although he usually performed tricks unnerving to adults but delightful to children, he is considered mentally deranged.
While not unduly profound in its thinking or filled with deep understanding, the conversations describing the psychiatric examination portray the psychiatrist in an undesirable sort of attitude which one would suspect is probably real to many patients. A knowledge of psychiatry is essential to really get the most from this little book which then becomes at many points extremely humorous. Throughout the poem the formal attitude of the physician is maintained, useless and hopeless though it may seem and, in addition to the psychiatrist, the occupational therapists, the nurses and the attendants all come in for a bit of excellently done ribbing. There are some good descriptions of the companion patients of the doctor and the conclusion, a true magical denoument, is certainly unanticipated by the psychiatrist but is realistic and eventful—if you believe in magic.
The book is heartily recommended for pleasure reading and could well be made required reading for those doctors who believe in their own personal God-like power. It could well be given as a present to anyone working in the field of mental medicine.