Mathias Orhero, Department of English, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

"Written in the form of a diary, the reader can see how the pandemic and the global lockdown have affected the poet’s persona and, by extension, all of humanity. The collection thrives best in how it reveals the psychological implications of the lockdown. The collection is also a ready material to those in the field of medical humanities, especially in its role as a form of psychotherapy. It is easy for the reader to identify the evolution of the poet’s mental state from the outbreak of the pandemic to the point where the collection ends. It is also safe to say the poet’s mental states mirror the progression of the virus. It is interesting to observe that the poet’s initial tone of despair quickly turns to rage in poems that topicalize racism in America and then when we return to the pandemic, the poet’s tone is not as bleak as it was at the beginning of the collection. I feel strongly about this collection, especially concerning its relevance, topicality, and, most importantly, the fact that it provides new critical lenses for Tanure Ojaide’s poetry. A good poet is not always predictable, and this collection justifies that idea with all its psychological, philosophical, and literary wealth."