Dear Vaccine: Global Voices Speak to the Pandemic

by Naomi Shihab Nye (Editor), David Hassler (Editor), Tyler Meier (Editor), Dr. Richard Carmona (Foreword by), Gov. Mike DeWine (Afterword)

Overview

"In the midst of all this division around the world, something to bring us together."—PBS NewsHour

People from around the world reflect on the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine through poetry

When so much in our lives ground to a halt in the spring of 2020, no one knew how long the COVID-19 pandemic would last. After long months of shutdowns, social distancing, and worry, the first coronavirus vaccines were released in December 2020.

In March 2021, the Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University and the University of Arizona Poetry Center launched the website for the Global Vaccine Poem project, inviting anyone to share experiences of the pandemic and vaccination through poetry. Dear Vaccine features selections from over 2,000 poetry submissions to the project, which come from all 50 states and 118 different countries.

Internationally acclaimed author Naomi Shihab Nye, in her introduction, highlights the human dimensions found across the responses. Richard Carmona, the 17th Surgeon General of the United States, provides a foreword that contextualizes the global scope of the problem, as well as the political and public health dimensions.

Making use of poetry’s powerful tools to connect us across division, Dear Vaccine reminds us that medical advances alone are not enough to solve the vexing challenges of the pandemic; the arts—and poetry—have a profound and critical role to play.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781606354391
Publisher:	Kent State University Press
Publication date:	04/05/2022
Pages:	202
Sales rank:	1,065,625
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

Naomi Shihab Nye, Palestinian American, is the Young People’s Poet Laureate of the United States (Poetry Foundation). For 2019–2020 she was the poetry editor of the New York Times Sunday Magazine. Selected for Lifetime Achievement Awards by the National Book Critics Circle and the Texas Institute of Letters in both 2019 and 2020, she has conducted writing workshops all over the world and published more than 35 books of poetry and prose.

David Hassler is director of the Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University. He cofounded Traveling Stanzas, a national community arts project, and is the author or editor of nine books of poetry and nonfiction, including the play May 4th Voices: Kent State, 1970.

Tyler Meier is director of the University of Arizona Poetry Center. His poems and prose have appeared in POETRY, Boston Review, Indiana Review, Bat City Review, Washington Square Review, At Length, Tupelo Quarterly, Arizona Republic, AGNI, and elsewhere.

Table of Contents

Editors' Note David Hassler Tyler Meier xi

Foreword Dr. Richard Carmona xv

Acknowledgments xix

Introduction Naomi Shihab Nye xxi

Dear Vaccine Naomi Shihab Nye 1

Lessons-What We Learned While Alone

Joan Beth Gerstein Oceanside, California 4

Nina Palattella Erie, Pennsylvania 5

Nisreen Yamany Makkah, Saudi Arabia 6

Yahia Lababidi Egypt and USA 7

Denise Alden Twin Cities, Minnesota 8

Tracy Rice Weber Hampton, Virginia 9

Liz Gray Newton, Massachusetts 10

Catherine Elizabeth Gamblin Otis, Oregon 11

Mosab Abu Toha Gaza, Palestine 12

David J. Bodney Tucson, Arizona 13

Elizabyth A. Hiscox Fort Collins, Colorado 14

Lynda Allen Fredericksburg, Virginia 15

Luisa A. Igloria Norfolk, Virginia 16

Philip Metres University Heights, Ohio 17

Alvena Gael Kirkpatrick Ojai, California 18

Rivka Joseph Cleveland, Ohio 19

Suzanne Ohlmann Seward, Nebraska 20

Margo Berdeshevsky Paris, France 21

Sean Dennison Medford, Oregon 22

Kashiana Singh Chicago, Illinois 23

Michael Simms Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 24

TC Nivedita Kerala, India 25

Paula J. Lambert Columbus, Ohio 26

Todd Snider Munroe Falls, Ohio 27

Kari Wimbish Charlotte, North Carolina 28

Kelley Alison Smith Rhode Island 29

Tan Zi Ning Singapore 30

Melissa Standish Houston, Texas 31

Eleni Hines Black River, New Brunswick 32

Ann N. Vermel Fort Collins, Colorado 33

Ken Waldman Anchorage, Alaska 34

Marc A. Crowley Coclii.se County, Arizona 35

Gratitude-Only as Lovely as You Are Shared

Dorothy Beavington Surrey British Columbia, Canada 38

Ofelia Zepeda Tucson, Arizona 39

Alison Hawthorne Deming Tucson, Arizona 40

George Ella Lyon Lexington, Kentucky 41

Carl Little Somesville, Maine 42

Candace Frede New York, New York 43

Anna Mari Räsänen Helsinki, Finland 44

Mary Zettelman Greer Shalersville, Ohio 45

Suzanne Kilkus Madison, Wisconsin 46

Silke Feltz Norman, Oklahoma 47

Fran Hillyer Glorieta, New Mexico 48

Fabio Corsini Rome, Italy 49

Lahab Assef Al-Jundi San Antonio, Texas 50

Dean R. Kahler Canton, Ohio 51

Konrad Ng Honolulu, Hawaii 52

Samantha Antoine Ann Arbor, Michigan 53

Amoaba Gooden Kent, Ohio 54

Kate McCarroll Moore Danville, California 55

Susan M. Tyrrell Lawton, Oklahoma 56

Tish Hinojosa Austin, Texas 57

Sue Seal Cape Town, South Africa 58

Brendan Constantine Los Angeles, California 59

Emily-Sue Sloane Huntington Station, New York 60

Susan Scheid Washington, DC 61

Muna Agwa Cleveland, Ohio 62

Kate Sommers-Dawes San Francisco, California 63

Bill Bradley New York City New York 64

TC Tolbert Tucson, Arizona 65

Kami Bates Tucson, Arizona 66

Emily Gammons Columbus, Ohio 67

Jenny Browne San Amonio, Texas 68

Susan Markovich Waterloo, Iowa, and Tucson, Arizona 69

Sarah. Gzemski Tucson, Arizona 70

Lindsay Mann Ann Arbor, Michigan 71

Grief-That Breath Could Bring Us Death

Melanie Miller Columbus, Ohio 74

Robbi Nester Lake Forest, California 75

Meg Files Tucson, Arizona 76

Mo H. Saidi San Antonio, Texas 77

Cathy Song Volcano, Hawaii 78

Jade Busca Marseille, France 80

Katherine Willis Pershey Western Springs, Illinois 81

Todd Diacon Kent, Ohio 82

Shihab M. A. Ghanem Dubai, United Arab Emirates 83

Ellyse Theede Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada 84

Aleksandra Golos Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 85

Joanne Feenstra Slocan, British Columbia, Canada 86

Hannah Potter Pasadena, Maryland 87

Vivian Blatnik Kent, Ohio 88

Terri Pilarski Dearborn, Michigan 89

Gail Pdnderknecht Shaker Heights, Ohio 90

Bonnie James Shaker Burton, Ohio 91

Erin Kearney Kitchener, Ontario, Canada 92

Sandra Villeneuve Ottawa, Canada 93

Genevieve Lehr Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 94

Julie Heifetz Rockville, Maryland 95

Tanya Huntington Mexico City, Mexico 96

Majid Naficy Los Angeles, California 97

Peter Kahn Chicago, Illinois 98

Sadie Schlegel Holmesville, Ohio 99

Julie Naslund Bend, Oregon 100

Peggy Shumaker Fairbanks, Alaska 101

Hailey Schlegel Holmesville, Ohio 102

The Clinic-The Place We Met and Loved Each Other

Jodi Lundgren Victoria/Lekwungen, British Columbia, Canada 104

Stephanie Vincent New Castle, Pennsylvania 105

Lynn Otto Oregon 106

Teresa Anthofer Tucson, Arizona 107

Mark Scheel Mission, Kansas 108

Stuart Kestenbaum Deer Isle, Maine 109

Sean Petrie Austin, Texas 110

Hannah Jane Walker Cambridge, United Kingdom 111

Steven Oscherwitz Tucson, Arizona 112

Kim Stafford Portland, Oregon 113

Jacqueline Saphra London, United Kingdom 114

Elizabeth Gillespie London, Ontario, Canada 115

Warren Woessner Minneapolis, Minnesota 116

Bruce Gungle Tucson, Arizona 117

Sally Bliumis-Dunn Armonk, New York 118

Barbara Solow Florence, Massachusetts 119

Isaiah Hunt Cleveland, Ohio 120

Nostalgia-Every Day a Meditation in Remembering

Danusha Laméris Santa Cruz, California 122

Carrie Newcomer Bloomington, Indiana 123

Julie Swarstad Johnson Tucson, Arizona 124

Parker J. Palmer Madison, Wisconsin 125

Linda C. Belans Durham, North Carolina 126

Denise Kitagawa Calgary, Alberta, Canada 127

Tina McGill London, Ontario, Canada 128

Jessica Jones Ohio and Montana 129

Brenda Liddy Belfast, Northern Ireland 130

Grace Nye Melbourne, Australia 131

Claire Weiner Ann Arbor, Michigan 132

Sonnet Kekilia Coggins Makawao, Hawaii 133

Taylor Kirby Austin, Texas 134

Prasanta Verma Milwaukee, Wisconsin 135

Marie Boucher Monterey California 136

Sophia Caparisos Savannah, Georgia 137

Envisioning the Future-Believing We Belong to the Same Beauty

Mary Ellen Chown Oakville, Ontario, Canada 140

Cristiana Pagliarusco Vicenza, Italy 141

Dan Rosen Kamakura, Japan 142

Bill Meissner St. Cloud, Minnesota 143

Dawn Garisch Cape Town, South Africa 144

C. Louise Kennedy Vero Beach, Florida. 145

Barbara Ras Denver, Colorado 146

Erkut Tokman Istanbul, Turkey 147

Shannon Rose McMaster Youngstown, Ohio 148

Naomi Foyle Brighton, United Kingdom 149

James Crews Shaftsbury, Vermont 150

Clara Ruth Kelly Boxford, Massachusetts 151

Katie Manning San Diego, California 152

Maria McGinnis Stow, Ohio 153

Radhika Balu London, United Kingdom 154

Caitie Young Kent, Ohio 155

Karen Green Chatham, Ontario, Canada 156

Hannah Hindman Marana, Arizona 157

Joseph Ross Washington, DC 158

Taddy McAllister San Antonio, Texas 159

Margot Lavoie Portland, Oregon 160

Jan Stretch Victoria, British Columbia, Canada 161

Laura Wood Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada 162

Cindy Danes Bailey Milliard, Ohio 163

Carolyn Fichter Galizio Kent, Ohio 164

Susan Kimball Rochester, Minnesota 165

Sally McGreevey Hannay Comfort, Texas 166

Afterword Governor Mike DeWine 167

Notes on the Contributors 169

Editorial Reviews

Dear Vaccine offers a snapshot in time so that readers of the future can glimpse what it was like to anticipate and receive protection from a killer virus during a global pandemic.”—Mike DeWine, governor of Ohio

“Dear Vaccine is both address and adoration for the medical breakthrough that has liberated much of the world from unending lockdowns. Its bittersweet and sincere letter-poems personalize the notion that, regardless of age, condition, or location, that which makes us human also makes us vulnerable. It is as if the virus knows where to find us: classrooms, coffee shops, theaters, even our own living rooms. Even the briefest of lines reflects how far many had drifted from life’s small pleasures only to pine for them once they were taken away. The frustration of airport security. The silence of museums. Broken into six sections—based on isolation, gratitude, grief, vaccine clinic, nostalgia, and possibility—this anthology encompasses the range of emotions we all experienced as the pandemic swept across the planet in waves. In Dear Vaccine, we are unified by loss yet comforted by both science and art.”—Arlan Hess, City Books, Pittsburgh

From the Publisher