Enclosures: Reflections from the Prison Cell and the Hospital Bed; Poetry by Shirin Karimi

BOOK DESCRIPTION

In this enthralling book of poetry, Shirin Karimi explores suffering and loss among the ill and imprisoned, bringing us, in the words of poet Martha Donovan, author of Dress Her in Silk, “to the heart of what it means to be human: in the face of adversity we can either be crushed by the weight of our lives or we can become, if only for a moment, ‘Weightless, like astronauts or angels.’ With wisdom and compassion beyond her years, Karimi shows us, with aching beauty, the resiliency of the human spirit in times of great loss.”

REVIEWS

“Shirin Karimi’s poems―so spare, direct, and passionate―dare to imagine the lives of those from whom others too often turn away, those who are ill and those who are confined, caught within the enclosures of hospitals and prisons. Speaking through the voices of the dispossessed, Karimi’s poems extend the boundaries of what we understand and who we imagine ourselves to be.” Richard McCann, author of Mother of Sorrows

“Shirin Karimi is a brave new voice in medical poetry. She is unafraid to peer into the dark corners of the human soul; and she demands that we follow her gaze when we otherwise might choose to avert our eyes. A doctor-poet in the making.” Christine Montross, author of Body of Work: Meditations on Mortality from the Anatomy Lab

“Enclosures is a work of uncommon grace and beauty. Shirin Karimi brings a warm heart and a sharp mind to bear on life’s awful limits and inspiring possibilities. Her words resonate with images of love, loss, and enduring hope, lingering in the mind, hauntingly, long after the cover is closed.” Robert Johnson, Editor, BleakHouse Publishing