Poetry from Lazzatoy Shukurillayeva

Central Asian young woman with a purple patterned collared blouse over a tan top with dark hair up behind her head. She's onstage in front of a flag.

Umring bo‘yi ishonging kelar
Buyuk bo‘lib tug‘ilganingga.
Farishtalar ishora qilar
Deya  ko‘kdan sen kelganingga.

Umr o‘tdi. Chang – to‘zon aro
Bilmay bormi yo eding yo‘qdan.
Yerostiga chorlaydi sado,
Lek ishorat bo‘lmadi ko‘kdan.

● Alexander Arkadyevich Feinberg

You believe throughout your life,
That you born being great, talented
Born once in a million.
Wait for angels to prove that.
Time has gone, life ended
Without purpose and achievement
You’ve realized nothing.
Next life is waiting you, but no prove yet

● Translation by Shukurilloyeva Lazzatoy Shamshodovna

Essay from Dilshoda Izzatilloyeva

Central Asian young woman in a white coat, small earrings, a black and white top, and black dress pants stands on a stage near a photo of leaders of her country and flags.

CAUSES AND TREATMENTS OF PNEUMONIA IN YOUNG CHILDREN

Abstract: This article provides information on the causes, symptoms, prevention strategies, and treatment methods of pneumonia, a disease commonly observed in children, especially during the winter season. Pneumonia is a significant respiratory infection that affects millions of children worldwide, leading to substantial illness and mortality. Understanding the various aspects of pneumonia can help take active measures to reduce its impact on children’s health.

Keywords: Pneumonia, Respiratory tract infection, TORCH infection, CBC, ESR, CRP, Treatment, Prevention.

Introduction: Every year, pneumonia is diagnosed in 17 million people worldwide. The mortality rate due to lung disease is very high, accounting for 8-9%. Pneumonia is an inflammatory process in lung tissue. In most cases, the disease is caused by infectious agents. The modes of infection transmission vary, often being spread through airborne droplets.

Main Section: Causes of Pneumonia:

Infectious (bacterial) – caused by bacteria like pneumococci, staphylococci, streptococci, etc.

Viral – caused by various viruses such as RSV and adenovirus.

Fungal – caused by molds, yeast fungi, and pneumocysts.

Mixed – in some cases, the lungs may be infected by multiple pathogens simultaneously.

Additionally, parasites can also cause pneumonia. Pneumonia tends to be more severe in children than in adults due to their underdeveloped immune system and mucociliary clearance.

Symptoms in Children:

Fever: 38-39°C or higher.

Cough: Dry or with phlegm.

Breathing difficulties: Rapid or labored breathing (fast deep breaths, shortness of breath).

Chest pain: Worsens during breathing or coughing.

Pale or bluish skin: Cyanosis due to low oxygen levels.

Loss of appetite: Refusal to eat, vomiting, or weakness.

Fatigue and weakness: Child becomes easily tired and inactive.

Abdominal pain or diarrhea.

Risk Factors During Pregnancy:

TORCH infections: Toxoplasma gondii, Rubella virus, CMV, Herpes simplex virus.

Influenza and respiratory infections.

Bacterial infections: Streptococcus group B, chlamydia, gonorrhea.

Maternal fever during pregnancy (hyperthermia).

Maternal chronic diseases: Diabetes, tuberculosis.

Passive smoking.

Vitamin and nutritional deficiencies.

Diagnostic Methods:

Complete blood count (CBC).

ESR (Erythrocyte sedimentation rate).

CRP (C-reactive protein).

Blood gas analysis.

Bacteriological analysis.

Immunological tests.

Treatment Methods: Bacterial Pneumonia:

Antibiotics such as penicillin, amoxicillin, and cephalosporins.

Viral Pneumonia:

Antiviral drugs (e.g., Oseltamivir).

Symptomatic treatment (antipyretics like paracetamol and ibuprofen).

Fungal Pneumonia:

Antifungal medications (e.g., Fluconazole).

Supportive Care:

Oxygen therapy.

Hydration and nutrition support.

Chest physiotherapy.

Prevention Measures:

Vaccination against pneumococcus and Haemophilus influenzae.

Healthy lifestyle practices.

Breastfeeding.

Maintaining hygiene and avoiding passive smoking.

Conclusion: Pneumonia is a serious health threat, especially for young children. Early diagnosis, proper treatment, and preventive strategies like vaccination and hygiene practices are crucial in reducing its impact. Strengthening healthcare services and raising awareness among parents can further aid in preventing childhood pneumonia.

References:

.Internal Diseases: Medical-Scientific Edition by Abdugaffor Gadayev. Tashkent: Muharrir Publishing, 2020.

.Hospital Pediatrics, edited by Prof. S.A. Rakhimov, Prof. A.R. Isroilov. Tashkent, 2010.

Children’s Diseases by T.A. Daminov, B.T. Kholmatova, U.R. Boboyeva. Tashkent, 2012, p.159.

United Nations Children’s Fund. 2020. Pneumonia. Available at: https:/ /data.unic ef.org / topic/childhealt h/pneumonia/

Community-acquired pneumonia in children: prevalence, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention // Scientific-practical program. Moscow: Original Maket, 2011, p.64.

Clinical Pharmacology: National Guidelines edited by Yu.B. Belousova, V.G. Kukesa, V.K. Lepakhina et al. Moscow: GEOTAR-Media, 2009, p.976.

Essay from Z.I. Mahmud (one of several)

Sylvia Plath’s Lady Lazarus and Daddy

Examine close reading of Sylvia Plath’s poems “Lady Lazarus” and “Daddy” with critical perspectives and textual references in association with the thesis statement that “Lady Lazarus” and “Daddy” both rebel coercion confinement of patriarchy and misogyny.

(Image of Sylvia Plath, young white woman with brown hair and eyes, yellow v-neck sweater, red lipstick and a headband)

Examine close reading of Sylvia Plath’s poems “Lady Lazarus” and “Daddy” with critical perspectives and textual references in association with the thesis statement that “Lady Lazarus” and “Daddy” both rebel coercion and confinement of patriarchy and misogyny.

Sylvia Plath’s “Lady Lazarus” and “Daddy” are conical works of transcendentalist American feminism posthumously anthologized in the poetry collection Ariel in 1965. American poetesses’ egotistical individuality and romanticist fantasy of selfhood quest crusading the forces of sublimity is universally foreshadowed by the phenomenal poems. Gloom and doom, dark humour and black humour engender the motifs of revenge and memory through mythologization, poeticization, psychologization, romanticization and/or fantasization in these quasi-confessional and quasi autobiographical elegies.

“Lady Lazarus” is a vindication of the temptation of fate as implied in the poetical rhetorics: “Herr God, Herr Lucifer”/ “Beware/ Beware”. Epiphanic voice of the romanticist egomaniacal heroine of femininity is reflected in the biblical figuration of the transformative poetess. The resurrectionist figuration is an avenging phoenix that transcends the contemporary recalcitrant barriers of race, class, ethnicity, gender, nationality and culture[al] stereotyp[ical]es expectations of the hackneyed microcosm. This overarching feminist emancipation salvages herself by historicizing in the hyperbolic figurative tropes foreshadowing: “Out of the ash/ I rise with my red hair/ And I eat men like air.” Etherealism and surrealism surmounts in the reincarnation and resurrection impresarios of “Lady Lazarus”.

On the contrary, “Daddy” was merely the first jet of flames from a literary dragon, who in the last years of her life breathed a burning river of bale across the literary landscape. “Daddy” is a subversive indictment of overarching feminism harbouring cantankerousness and obstreperousness against patriarchal dominance. “Daddy, daddy, you bastard. I’m through…” is the culmination of a matriarchal feminist stance of the woman poet in accord with the second and third wave of feminism epochs. American poetess Sylvia Plath’s invocation of fascism and nazism is entwined in the impresario that she envisions witnessing renderings of holocaust Nazi cremation of the extermination in concentration camps and the associated violence and trauma of survivialhood. This documentary testament bears antisemitism as projected by the figurative tropes: “my skin/bright as a Nazi lampshade” and “my face…/… Jewish linen”. 

Quintessential poetry of the grotesquery of suffering and vulnerability are starkly evident in both the poems. In comparison, both of these poems are embodiments of empowered femininity through canonical works of women writing. “Lady Lazarus” fictional character and poetic personae reawakens and resurrects the graveyard tombed femininity in avenging the suicidal despair—-”It’s a theatrical comeback in broadway” echoes and resonates the revenge fantasy of impulsive and ironwilled “Lady Lazarus’s” femininity—a noteworthy exploration of second and third wave feminism. In contrast, “Daddy” disempowers patriarchal subjectivity of the object of male gaze, which views womanhood and femininity as commodities of objectification and fetishization.

“And a head in the freakish Atlantic/ Where it pours bean-green over blue/ In the waters of the beautiful Nauset”. Elegiac diatribe imperils the fatherly figure’s imperious and domineering spirits: closure of relationship; association to racism of antisemitism: furtherance to the testament of burgeoning and full fledged feminist movements. In a nutshell, “Daddy” is a melodramatic treasure hunt of communion of torture, trauma, massacre, sacrifical martyrdom and survivalist victimhood. Cultural appropriation of the imaginary Plathian canonical homeland casts a role as the subversive counter cultural feminine speaking back to the dominant masculinist authoritarianism and hegemony. Moreover, obituary and elegy of the electra complex critiquing the fascist vampiric perpetrator’s predatoriness as morbidly entrenched within the masculinist domain. Perceptive subjectivity of being deported to the Holocaust concentration camp is envisioned and foretold by the metaphors of apocalyptic gloom and doom as embodied by the wretchedness and viciousness of fathers and husbands in general. Despite the heritage of the dictatorial regime and patriarchal misogyny, “Every woman adores a fascist” … “And get back, back, back to you.” 

“Lady Lazarus” and “Daddy” voices puritanical spirits of protest against rigidified and terroristic visions of male power and masculinist authority. These poems canonize themselves as transgressive dialects transforming invisibility to visibility and private as public. 

Further Reading, References, Endnotes and Podcasts

Stripped Cover Lit Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath Poetry Discussion: Summary, Analysis, Interpretation, Review

A Lecture on Sylvia Plath’s “Lady Lazarus” and “Daddy” John Pistelli

2.72K subscribers

Daddy by Sylvia Plath Summary, Analysis, Themes, Review Stripped Cover Lit 14K subscribers

American Literature | Sylvia Plath: analysis of “Daddy” | Poem analysis Ad Maiora

83.7K subscribers

Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath in 8 minutes Simon Andrew

1.23K subscribers

Daddy by Silvia Plath Simon Andrew 1.23K subscribers

Review – Lady Lazarus (Sylvia Plath) – Patron Poem

Stripped Cover Lit

14K subscribers

Sylvia Plath, Cliffs Notes on American Poets of the 20th Century Mary Ellen Snodgrass, M.A. University of North Carolina, Greensboro, Lincoln, Nebraska, pp. 211-217, 2000.

“Daddy” Jacqueline Rose, Bloom’s Modern Critical Views: Sylvia Plath (2007), Bloom’s Literary Criticism, pp. 38-51

Chapter Title: Plath’s Bodily Ego Restaging the Sublime, Book Title: Women Poets and the American Sublime, Joanne Feit Diehl, Indiana University Press (1990) pp. 1-32

Wikipedia Readings

Poetry from J.J. Campbell

Middle aged white man with a beard standing in a bedroom with posters on the walls
J.J. Campbell

—————————————————————————-

the breakfast of a champion

leftovers and

christmas cookies

the breakfast

of a champion

how much liquor

in the coffee this

morning

whatever it takes

to avoid the inevitable

chasing death like

a whore in church

that dark haired vixen

of the teenage years

imagine if she would

have said yes and all

this bullshit would

have never happened

imagine if you were

actually someone

worth saying yes

to

————————————————————————

a visit to the doctor before a snowstorm

blood pressure of

someone in perfect

health

blood sugar of

someone that will

be dead in a few

months

more scratches of

the head than i have

seen in years

but as always

what designer drug

will the insurance

pay for

i guess the pain

can wait

i suppose all this

booze is here for

a reason

———————————————————————–

flirting with disaster

one of these nights

one of these drinks

will probably kill

me

i feel like i am an

expert at flirting

with disaster

a quick tongue

will get you

places in these

sordid circles

she does believe

we are going to

spend forever

in harmony

i hate to break

it to her

but the chances

of that happening

are even worse

than my impending

doom

—————————————————————————

just a few inches

snow on the way

now the panic

will set in

long lines for

gas and groceries

jesus christ

just a few inches

some stupid fuck

will ask where

the hell is global

warming now

this is when i

would love to

grab him and

tell him about

the good ole’

days of four

fucking seasons

instead of just

hot and cold

———————————————————————-

into something beautiful

and here comes

this angel willing

to grab me by the

throat and drag me

into this century

of course, as much

as i want to believe

she has my best

interests in mind

this fucking wall

i have been building

won’t allow my

complete belief to

grow into something

beautiful

this is where the

distance apart

is my friend

allows me many

miles to get my

split brain back

into one

i hope those stunning

eyes meet me on some

edge of the world

and we both decide

to fucking jump

J.J. Campbell (1976 – ?) is a 3 time Best of the Net nominee and a recent Pushcart Prize nominee. He’s been recently published at The Beatnik Cowboy, The Dope Fiend Daily, Disturb the Universe Magazine, Horror Sleaze Trash and Yellow Mama. He is currently working on a yet to be titled book of new poems. You can find him most of the time on his mildly entertaining blog, evil delights. (https://evildelights.blogspot.com)

Essay from Federico Wardal

Egyptian man, older middle aged, short brown hair, mustache, and beard, in a dark suit holding a bronze award at a film festival.

Wael Elouny, star bridge between Egypt and Hollywood

Wael Elouny, 42 years old, is an Egyptian star, born in the cultural capital Alexandria, home of the legendary Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Wael Elouny is making his debut in Europe and the USA with the film “Ancient taste of Death …on mother pearl floor” by Antonello Altamura, a film with new philosophical aspects. Wael has a spontaneous character, a very lively spirit, a volcano of creativity. Wael, in addition to cinema, has experience in theater and television and is the winner of  many film awards.

Walking with Wael through the streets of Cairo, everyone recognizes him and stops to ask for his autograph, because people like Wael and he does not want to have the mask of the star. Wael works with big film productions, but is attracted by indie productions, overflowing with creativity and certainly a faithful mirror of current customs. For all this I introduced him to the Italian director Antonello Altamura, 50 years old, for “Ancient taste of Death” an indie movie of the Hollywood Art Film Production, based between Hollywood and San Francisco, so the production is Californian in cooperation with an Italian production.

The author, Italian-American Federico Wardal, holding a stage prop gun up to actor Wael Elouny.

It is a film that links the dramas of the Hollywood golden age with the enigmas and dramas of ancient Egypt at the time of Cleopatra VII. It is a film where the world of the invisible and the metaphysical acts on reality, which, elusive, never, really allows itself to be fully identified. The scene I shot with Wael is totally immersed in this context. The character of Wardal, who has two souls, goes to the oracle of Siwa to meet Bayed (Wael Elouny), since he is opposed by Ottavio-Ottaviano (Antonello Altamura in his debut as an actor). Bayed advises Wardal against eliminating Ottavio. Wardal rebels against Bayed’s advice, which he takes as an insult to his power, which he sublimates by saying: “I am history”, while Bayed interrupts Wardal’s abstraction-delirium, who points a gun at Bayed, but Bayer’s charisma prevents his assassination and Wardal, consumed by the drama, falls at Bayer’s feet.

Wael and I wanted to shoot the scene in Arabic, under the supervision of the great political journalist of “Akhbar El Youm” Ph.D. Ahmed Elsersawy. On that day in December 2024 Wael was busy with two films and I with a television recording. We both wanted to shoot that scene which in the film will be called: “I am history”. We repeated it several times and each time we enriched it with a new idea, in five hours of work, pressed by our other work commitments. There was a perfect harmony between me and Wael, a great professionalism. Then, from Cairo, we made a video call to Antonello Altamura in Turin. Wael and I were very satisfied with our work and Altamura likes a lot that scene. 

Writer Federico Wardal, in jeans, a coat, and scarf, standing on the right of Wael Elouny and actor Antonello Altamura. They're outside at a cafe at night with a few chairs on a concrete area near bushes and a parking lot.

Here is a true story of our world of cinema, here is an important step of cooperation between Californian and Egyptian cinema and the Arab world. There is a project to create a solid bridge between Hollywood cinema and Egyptian, Saudi and Arab Emirates cinema through a colossal film festival. Fingers crossed.

Poetry from Pat Doyne

LIVES ON FIRE

LA is a forest of lives

now feeding carnivorous flames,

flames that cremate neighborhoods, and grow.

It’s a painful choice—stay, spray, and pray?

Or run for your life–

taking only kids, pets and meds?

What about looters? Water damage?

Grandpa’s first editions?

How can we live without heaped-up trivia

that tells us who we are?

Then add critics.

You’re living in a desert, dummy.

Now you want bail-out?

Trump says the fire is California’s fault, anyway.

As LA incinerates,

the face of homelessness changes.

It’s no longer the curse of drugs and crazies.

With homes, jobs, and banks in ashes,

the homeless are now doctors, teachers, plumbers,

people who lived charmed lives—

lives eaten up by equal-opportunity flames,

flames that treat everyone alike;

flames that leave everyone alike

bereft, betrayed, and defeated.

Palisades, Eaton and Hurst are war zones:

drought and dense construction

in no-holds-barred battle with

consequences.

Infernos always win.