In "Privacy Issues, " Austin Alexis deals with a multitude of subjects. Seldom a participant, he is rather an empathetic observer of life. Even when the speaker seems to be himself, we are not sure whether he is using this technique to make the poem seem more personal or employing his imagination to get inside his character's mind.

This book is divided into three numbered sections. In the first and longest, his subjects do not originate in an ivory tower but are as contemporary and relevant as today's news reports. They include guns, prisoners, increasing dependence on technological...