If you're in New Orleans, swing by the Kolaj Institute Gallery for Big Orange Monster: An Emergency Collage Exhibition. The show runs from September 10 through October 18, 2025 and features contributions from 128 artists in 13 countries. Curated by Ric Kasini Kadour, these collages gather witty, scary, uncertain, thoughtful responses to all manner of orange monsters in our midst.

I could not help but think of the FDA's Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations, known as the Orange Book. This 'book' is itself a good thing, but improper listings by drugmakers contribute to abuse of the patent system and wild-high prices. The team at I-MAK (Initiative for Medicines, Access and Knowledge) has a database and information about the issue, as well as constructive solutions for improving the patent system. My collage entry in the show is called "Devil in the Details." ​

Visit the Kolaj Institute Gallery at 2374 Saint Claude Avenue (Suite 230) in New Orleans.

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​Bewitched 
by the lemon rind spiraling    
my neighbor’s rocks glass
I think of scurvy.

I toast the trick of citrus
and each sailor 
too late to receive it.
I sip respecting 
that early clinical trial,
Dr. Lind on the high seas
and all who stop misery 
through observation,
all who labor out-of-sight.
 
In class we learn
epi   demos   logos
the study of what befalls
a population, 
a cocktail of Greek words.
We learn that when
public health is working 
we don’t notice it. 

I toast those who do.



"Epidemiology at 5:00pm" is included in The Book of Jobs: Poems About Work. This digital anthology published by the journal One Art on Labor Day, September 1, 2025, is edited by Erin Murphy. Learn more here. The anthology will be re-launched by Penn State University Libraries Open Publishing in 2026. I am pleased that the poem found a place in this collection of truly varied voices and work experiences. "Epidemiology at 5:00pm" recognizes public health researchers, advocates and educators. I'm intending it in the broadest sense, but right now I especially thank CDC employees past and present for their tremendous dedication.