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jess_mango's review against another edition
4.0
Viruses have been on the forefront of everyone's mind for the past year. But for some, viruses have always been a big part of their work. Seema Yasmin is a medical doctor and a journalist who has worked the front line of outbreaks, including Ebola. In this new collection of poems, she uses her personal experiences as a female doctor of color working those front lines. She recounts times that people haven't respected her or asked for another doctor because of her gender or her skin color. She also shares in poetry form the dichotomy between how the world reacts to an outbreak that causes deaths of white people vs. those that cause deaths of black people. This collection as a well-done personal examination of virus with special attention to how reactions are impacted by sexism and racism. Recommend this one!
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
ryliereadss's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
fast-paced
4.5
Dr. Seema Yasmin documents the Ebola outbreak through poetry. Even though Covid isn’t mentioned, some of these poems are very applicable. Not only does this collection reflect on epidemics, it also has poems about Dr. Yasmin’s experience as a female doctor, the patriarchy and woman’s roles, and queerness in the medical community. I really enjoyed the poems that were formatted differently, like as a graphs and such. A fantastic collection, highly recommend!
shelf_1ndulgence's review against another edition
5.0
I have always been interested in medicine and medical advances, but given my background in psych, I have often focused on mental health and neuroscience.
During this pandemic I have found myself drawn to epidemiology and while I have read a lot of scientific articles, I have also read stories about how viruses affect people, family, and communities. How those neediest among us are often affected disproportionately and yet we are seldom aware or seldom care because it has not touched one of us.
Because of this, I instantly jumped on the opportunity to review an ARC of If God Is A Virus by Dr. Seema Yasmin. This is a collection of poems based on the original reporting from West Africa and the US during the Ebola epidemic. Dr. Yasmin is a doctor and a journalist and thus her unique perspective allows us to see the epidemic from multiple lenses in order to give voice to multiple key players, including the virus.
Her poems are poignant and they ask us to understand the true suffering of people, especially those so different from us. It also asks us to understand that not all virus are evil and that some serve bigger purposes and thus we should continue to study them so that we can reap the benefits and avoid the hurt.
In a time where so many of her poems can also be used to describe the Covid-19 pandemic, I think her writing are crucial and timely. I highly recommend this and I am grateful to @booksforwardpr for providing me with an ARC.
During this pandemic I have found myself drawn to epidemiology and while I have read a lot of scientific articles, I have also read stories about how viruses affect people, family, and communities. How those neediest among us are often affected disproportionately and yet we are seldom aware or seldom care because it has not touched one of us.
Because of this, I instantly jumped on the opportunity to review an ARC of If God Is A Virus by Dr. Seema Yasmin. This is a collection of poems based on the original reporting from West Africa and the US during the Ebola epidemic. Dr. Yasmin is a doctor and a journalist and thus her unique perspective allows us to see the epidemic from multiple lenses in order to give voice to multiple key players, including the virus.
Her poems are poignant and they ask us to understand the true suffering of people, especially those so different from us. It also asks us to understand that not all virus are evil and that some serve bigger purposes and thus we should continue to study them so that we can reap the benefits and avoid the hurt.
In a time where so many of her poems can also be used to describe the Covid-19 pandemic, I think her writing are crucial and timely. I highly recommend this and I am grateful to @booksforwardpr for providing me with an ARC.
half_book_and_co's review against another edition
4.0
"Ebola Cento
Oh mother, mother, where is happiness?
Fling your red dress faster and faster, dancer,
And say: Sir, were I you, as I should be,
A very pestilence upon you fall!"
Seema Yasmin is a medical doctor and science journalist. Her debut poetry collection, too, engages deeply with the Ebola crisis of 2014-2016 in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. But she also writes about other illnesses, and fundamentally about the racism, misogyny, queer-hatred within the medical field - all while employing such a variety of poetical means. A truly beautiful and harrowing collection.
Oh mother, mother, where is happiness?
Fling your red dress faster and faster, dancer,
And say: Sir, were I you, as I should be,
A very pestilence upon you fall!"
Seema Yasmin is a medical doctor and science journalist. Her debut poetry collection, too, engages deeply with the Ebola crisis of 2014-2016 in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. But she also writes about other illnesses, and fundamentally about the racism, misogyny, queer-hatred within the medical field - all while employing such a variety of poetical means. A truly beautiful and harrowing collection.
shaouais's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
5.0
One of the most powerful and evocative collections I have read. I had to keep putting it down to digest before going back for more - it was that emotive.
leavingsealevel's review against another edition
3.0
The fact that Yasmin wrote most/all of these poems well before covid is...something. The last two years have made explicit--over and over again--what is usually supposed to remain under a cloud of plausible deniability: that when some people are dying the powerful will drop everything to save lives, and when other people are dying we shrug and move on with our days.
rebzreads100's review against another edition
5.0
Really interesting poems. My favourite was the Lady Doctor one. This was one of five poetry books a friend sent to me and the one I had the hardest time getting into, but once I started focusing on them more and reading deeper I think this one is actually my favourite. There is a lot of good messages about various themes there.