{"product_id":"yersag","title":"Yersinia Pestis, by Ashwini Gangal","description":"\u003cp align=\"justify\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePoetry, chapbook, 20 pages, from\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b00ff;\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-style=\"color: #2b00ff;\"\u003e\u003ca style=\"color: #2b00ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/bottlecap.press\/collections\/bottlecap-features\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-style=\"color: #2b00ff;\" data-mce-href=\"https:\/\/bottlecap.press\/collections\/bottlecap-features\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBottlecap Features\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"justify\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eYersinia Pestis, the bacterium that led to the deadly medieval plague, is the eponym of this chapbook, a collection of six poems of varying length and style but similar in theme, mood and clime. \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSome of these poems were written during the worst hour of the recent pandemic, while others were born in the afterglow of the carnage. But all six pieces germinated from the same idea, that human beings and the microbes that infect, envenom and slaughter them are very alike. Just like us, these invisible germs want to reproduce and thrive, with little concern for the creatures they live off. \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThis mix of rhymes and free verse is a meditation on the human condition as seen through the prism of disease. It’s also an ode to the existential angst, despair, disquietude and madness that the plague of our century has left in its wake.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"justify\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAshwini Gangal is a California-based writer. The 2020 pandemic turned Ashwini into an obsessive reader of medical anthropology and plague-themed literature. Her deep interest in the way microbes shape human lives has bled into her fiction and poetry. The more she reads about human history, the more she identifies as a misanthrope. Ashwini has worked as a journalist for the last 13 years. Until recently, she ran a digital newsroom for a business publication called \u003cem\u003eafaqs.com\u003c\/em\u003e, as managing editor. Ashwini is passionate about mental health and has a master’s degree in clinical psychology. Lit mags and zines that have published her poetry in recent times include \u003cem\u003eZvona i Nari\u003c\/em\u003e (Croatia), \u003cem\u003eThe Hooghly Review\u003c\/em\u003e (India), \u003cem\u003ePenumbra\u003c\/em\u003e (USA), \u003cem\u003eSan Antonio Review\u003c\/em\u003e (USA), \u003cem\u003eOne Art\u003c\/em\u003e (USA), \u003cem\u003eSein und Werden\u003c\/em\u003e (UK), \u003cem\u003eIceblink Lit\u003c\/em\u003e (USA), \u003cem\u003eTap into Poetry\u003c\/em\u003e (UK) and \u003cem\u003ePapers Publishing\u003c\/em\u003e (USA).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ashwini Gangal","offers":[{"title":"Chapbook","offer_id":46765247332667,"sku":"YERSAG","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital Download (PDF)","offer_id":46765247398203,"sku":"YERSAGe","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0062\/4420\/4614\/files\/Yersiniafront.png?v=1693946270","url":"https:\/\/bottlecap.press\/products\/yersag","provider":"Bottlecap Press","version":"1.0","type":"link"}