From: mtaranto@shearson.com (Mark Taranto)
Subject: A question of ethics regarding literary biographies
Organization: Yale CS Mail/News Gateway
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 1992 21:32:45 GMT


Over the past several weeks, I have been reading the Anne Sexton biography.
It is my "subway book" -- that is, I only read it on the subway.  Since
I only take it once or twice per week, I have been reading the book for
quite a while.  It is an interesting book, and offers me great protection.
People on the subways go out of their way to avoid anyone reading a
literary biography.
 
There was a controversy about this book, because Diane Middlebrook used
tapes from Sexton's psychiatric sessions as part of her research.  The
controversy involves the ethics of her doctor.
 
Last spring, well before I started reading the book, I asked what
people thought about it.  A few people stated that they thought
it was wrong of him to turn over the tapes.  At the time, I kept
my opinion to myself -- because I wanted to keep an open mind
about the question, until I read the book.
 
I've now read enough of the book to make a decision.  I'd like to
re-ask the question, in part, because I have more facts, and in part
because Fiona was taking a break from the net when I asked it
before.  Since Fiona is a psychiatrist, I am quite interested in
her professional and private opinions of the controversy.
 
Here are some of the facts and assumptions.  Some may or may not be
relevant in making the decision.
 
 
        1.  Anne Sexton is considered important enough as a poet
            that people are interested in her biography.
 
        2.  Anne Sexton started writing poetry as a way to deal with
            her (quite serious) psychiatric problems.  Her genre
            of poetry was called "confessional" and dealt with her
            emotional difficulties.
 
        3.  In addition to writing in order to deal with her own
            problems, she viewed her work as a way to help others
            deal with their own problems, and to educate people
            about mental illnesses.
 
        4.  Anne Sexton was a pack-rat -- that is, she kept everything,
            including copies of letters she sent and old manuscripts
            of poems.  In her therapy, she talked about her desire
            to write a book which she would leave among her papers,
            so that it could be published posthumously.

        5.  While most of the tapes were in Dr. Orne's possession,
            some of them were in Anne Sexton's possession when she died.
 
        6.  Her children (and heirs) wanted Middlebrook to have access
            to the tapes.
 
        7.  Her children and Dr. Orne agreed that Anne Sexton would
            have wanted her biographer to have access to the tapes.
            Anne Sexton never explicitly said this, though.
 
        8.  The tapes exist because Anne Sexton had serious problems
            remembering.  She would make great headway in a session,
            leave, and forget everything that happened.  Orne suggested
            that they tape the sessions, and that she then listen to
            them, and write up notes on what happened.  Therefore, there
            are also written notes on many of these sessions in her
            papers.
 
 
 
There is one further consideration.  Perhaps the whole ethics question
is moot.  To whom do the tapes belong?  If they are like letters, then
they belong to Anne Sexton's daughters.  Thus, it is their decision,
not Dr. Orne's.  Perhaps Mike Godwin (or anyone else who has passed the
Bar in Massachusetts) could render a legal opinion?
 
As for my opinion?  I think that in general it is unwise for a
psychiatrist to discuss anything that goes on in his office.  But
given the wishes of her heirs, the fact that much of the information
is available in notes, the fact that time has passed since her death,
and the fact that he has good reason to believe that Anne Sexton would
have wanted him to disclose the information, I think he made the right
choice.
 
What do you think?
 
Mark