Dear Vaccine: Global Voices Speak to the Pandemic

By Naomi Shihab Nye, Dr. Richard Carmona and Gov. Mike DeWine

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Kent State University Press
• Release date: Apr 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9781631014819

Book preview

coverimage

Dear Vaccine

Dear

Vaccine

Global Voices Speak to the

Pandemic

Edited by Naomi Shihab Nye,

David Hassler, and Tyler Meier

Foreword by Dr. Richard Carmona

Afterword by Ohio Governor Mike Dewine

This publication was made possible in part

through the generous support of

© 2022 by The Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio 44242

All rights reserved

ISBN 978-1-60635-439-1

Manufactured in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced, in any manner

whatsoever, without written permission from the Publisher, except

in the case of short quotations in critical reviews or articles.

Cataloging information for this title is available

at the Library of Congress.

26 25 24 23 22  5 4 3 2 1

Contents

Editors’ Note by David Hassler and Tyler Meier

Foreword by Dr. Richard Carmona

Acknowledgments

Introduction by Naomi Shihab Nye

Dear Vaccine by Naomi Shihab Nye

Lessons—What We Learned While Alone

Joan Beth Gerstein Oceanside, California

Nina Palattella Erie, Pennsylvania

Nisreen Yamany Makkah, Saudi Arabia

Yahia Lababidi Egypt and USA

Denise Alden Twin Cities, Minnesota

Tracy Rice Weber Hampton, Virginia

Liz Gray Newton, Massachusetts

Catherine Elizabeth Gamblin Otis, Oregon

Mosab Abu Toha Gaza, Palestine

David J. Bodney Tucson, Arizona

Elizabyth A. Hiscox Fort Collins, Colorado

Lynda Allen Fredericksburg, Virginia

Luisa A. Igloria Norfolk, Virginia

Philip Metres University Heights, Ohio

Alvena Gael Kirkpatrick Ojai, California

Rivka Joseph Cleveland, Ohio

Suzanne Ohlmann Seward, Nebraska

Margo Berdeshevsky Paris, France

Sean Dennison Medford, Oregon

Kashiana Singh Chicago, Illinois

Michael Simms Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

TC Nivedita Kerala, India

Paula J. Lambert Columbus, Ohio

Todd Snider Munroe Falls, Ohio

Kari Wimbish Charlotte, North Carolina

Kelley Alison Smith Rhode Island

Tan Zi Ning Singapore

Melissa Standish Houston, Texas

Eleni Hines Black River, New Brunswick

Ann N. Vermel Fort Collins, Colorado

Ken Waldman Anchorage, Alaska

Marc A. Crowley Cochise County, Arizona

Gratitude—Only as Lovely as You Are Shared

Dorothy Beavington Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

Ofelia Zepeda Tucson, Arizona

Alison Hawthorne Deming Tucson, Arizona

George Ella Lyon Lexington, Kentucky

Carl Little Somesville, Maine

Candace Frede New York, New York

Anna Mari Räsänen Helsinki, Finland

Mary Zettelman Greer Shalersville, Ohio

Suzanne Kilkus Madison, Wisconsin

Silke Feltz Norman, Oklahoma

Fran Hillyer Glorieta, New Mexico

Fabio Corsini Rome, Italy

Lahab Assef Al-Jundi San Antonio, Texas

Dean R. Kahler Canton, Ohio

Konrad Ng Honolulu, Hawaii

Samantha Antoine Ann Arbor, Michigan

Amoaba Gooden Kent, Ohio

Kate McCarroll Moore Danville, California

Susan M. Tyrrell Lawton, Oklahoma

Tish Hinojosa Austin, Texas

Sue Soal Cape Town, South Africa

Brendan Constantine Los Angeles, California

Emily-Sue Sloane Huntington Station, New York

Susan Scheid Washington, DC

Muna Agwa Cleveland, Ohio

Kate Sommers-Dawes San Francisco, California

Bill Bradley New York City, New York

TC Tolbert Tucson, Arizona

Kami Bates Tucson, Arizona

Emily Gammons Columbus, Ohio

Jenny Browne San Antonio, Texas

Susan Markovich Waterloo, Iowa, and Tucson, Arizona

Sarah Gzemski Tucson, Arizona

Lindsay Mann Ann Arbor, Michigan

Grief—That Breath Could Bring Us Death

Melanie Miller Columbus, Ohio

Robbi Nester Lake Forest, California

Meg Files Tucson, Arizona

Mo H. Saidi San Antonio, Texas

Cathy Song Volcano, Hawaii

Jade Busca Marseille, France

Katherine Willis Pershey Western Springs, Illinois

Todd Diacon Kent, Ohio

Shihab M. A. Ghanem Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Ellyse Theede Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Aleksandra Golos Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Joanne Feenstra Slocan, British Columbia, Canada

Hannah Potter Pasadena, Maryland

Vivian Blatnik Kent, Ohio

Terri Pilarski Dearborn, Michigan

Gail Rinderknecht Shaker Heights, Ohio

Bonnie James Shaker Burton, Ohio

Erin Kearney Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

Sandra Villeneuve Ottawa, Canada

Genevieve Lehr Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Julie Heifetz Rockville, Maryland

Tanya Huntington Mexico City, Mexico

Majid Naficy Los Angeles, California

Peter Kahn Chicago, Illinois

Sadie Schlegel Holmesville, Ohio

Julie Naslund Bend, Oregon

Peggy Shumaker Fairbanks, Alaska

Hailey Schlegel Holmesville, Ohio

The Clinic—The Place We Met and Loved Each Other

Jodi Lundgren Victoria/Lekwungen, British Columbia, Canada

Stephanie Vincent New Castle, Pennsylvania

Lynn Otto Oregon

Teresa Anthofer Tucson, Arizona

Mark Scheel Mission, Kansas

Stuart Kestenbaum Deer Isle, Maine

Sean Petrie Austin, Texas

Hannah Jane Walker Cambridge, United Kingdom

Steven Oscherwitz Tucson, Arizona

Kim Stafford Portland, Oregon

Jacqueline Saphra London, United Kingdom

Elizabeth Gillespie London, Ontario, Canada

Warren Woessner Minneapolis, Minnesota

Bruce Gungle Tucson, Arizona

Sally Bliumis-Dunn Armonk, New York

Barbara Solow Florence, Massachusetts

Isaiah Hunt Cleveland, Ohio

Nostalgia—Every Day a Meditation in Remembering

Danusha Laméris Santa Cruz, California

Carrie Newcomer Bloomington, Indiana

Julie Swarstad Johnson Tucson, Arizona

Parker J. Palmer Madison, Wisconsin

Linda C. Belans Durham, North Carolina

Denise Kitagawa Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Tina McGill London, Ontario, Canada

Jessica Jones Ohio and Montana

Brenda Liddy Belfast, Northern Ireland

Grace Nye Melbourne, Australia

Claire Weiner Ann Arbor, Michigan

Sonnet Kekilia Coggins Makawao, Hawaii

Taylor Kirby Austin, Texas

Prasanta Verma Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Marie Boucher Monterey, California

Sophia Caparisos Savannah, Georgia

Envisioning the Future—Believing We Belong to the Same Beauty

Mary Ellen Chown Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Cristiana Pagliarusco Vicenza, Italy

Dan Rosen Kamakura, Japan

Bill Meissner St. Cloud, Minnesota

Dawn Garisch Cape Town, South Africa

C. Louise Kennedy Vero Beach, Florida

Barbara Ras Denver, Colorado

Erkut Tokman Istanbul, Turkey

Shannon Rose McMaster Youngstown, Ohio

Naomi Foyle Brighton, United Kingdom

James Crews Shaftsbury, Vermont

Clara Ruth Kelly Boxford, Massachusetts

Katie Manning San Diego, California

Maria McGinnis Stow, Ohio

Radhika Balu London, United Kingdom

Caitie Young Kent, Ohio

Karen Green Chatham, Ontario, Canada

Hannah Hindman Marana, Arizona

Joseph Ross Washington, DC

Taddy McAllister San Antonio, Texas

Margot Lavoie Portland, Oregon

Jan Stretch Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Laura Wood Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada

Cindy Danes Bailey Hilliard, Ohio

Carolyn Fichter Galizio Kent, Ohio

Susan Kimball Rochester, Minnesota

Sally McGreevey Hannay Comfort, Texas

Afterword by Governor Mike DeWine

Notes on the Contributors

Editors’ Note

The idea for the Global Vaccine Poem began on a phone call with Arizona arts administrators in late January 2021, convened by the Arizona Commission on the Arts. Acknowledging the profound challenges the pandemic presented across all sectors of our lives, the group was working to imagine how we could bring all of our resources—especially from the arts and culture sector—to help meet the specter of this particularly difficult challenge. We talked about how our cultural civic institutions were sites of public trust—how could we leverage this trust? We talked about the power of the arts to make the science behind vaccine development and vaccination outcomes more meaningful and more powerful. We talked about how storytelling could help allay the public health conundrum of vaccine hesitancy.

After the call, Tyler Meier, the director of the University of Arizona Poetry Center, reached out to David Hassler, the director of the Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University. The Wick Poetry Center had been pioneering digital platforms and expressive writing tools as part of their Traveling Stanzas community poetry project and interactive website. The moment for poetry was rich. Amanda Gorman had just mesmerized the United States with her inaugural poem for the new presidential administration, an inflection moment in a greater trend: poetry readership has been expanding in the United States, especially among younger readers from diverse backgrounds. We know the art form is simultaneously expansive and yet provides easy access for anyone to experiment with its materials of language and honesty, emotion and compression. We quickly realized that a public, participatory art project featuring poetry had a real shot at making a difference.

David reached out to celebrated poet Naomi Shihab Nye, the Poetry Foundation’s Young People’s Poet Laureate, and asked her about creating a model poem for the project; her enthusiasm was (and is!) infectious, and she immediately began imagining a poem on the spot and joined the project as a key collaborator. Her poem Dear Vaccine was the result, and it became our model for four writing prompts to invite participation in the project.

With initial financial investment from the University of Arizona and Kent State University, the Wick Poetry Center’s design and development collaborators Each + Every created the project website and the project materials. In late March 2021, www.globalvaccinepoem.com went live, and we distributed cards inviting participation into the project at vaccination sites in Arizona, Ohio, and Texas.

What happened next was profound for all of us. Thousands of responses