Medica Poetica is a lighthearted but profoundly sympathetic look at 83 common ailments or conditions of modern life. Using verse as a medium, Sylvia has transcended the usual mode of doctor-patient interaction and conveyed a remarkable empathy for what it feels like to be afflicted with these “maladies.”

Her new book is a dramatic departure from Sylvia’s first work, Materia Poetica, in that it deals with ailments as opposed to remedies. In broadening her style in this way, Sylvia demonstrates with Medica Poetica the extraordinary power of verse to reach to the heart of a subject -- even one as painful and sensitive as the ills that plague us all.

“The poems...carry a depth that stays through time, and speaks directly to the experienced physician, of the meeting of suffering patient and caring physician.”

-- Deborah Gordon, MD, from the Foreword.

Like all Poetica Press books, Medica Poetica is beautifully designed and elegantly produced. It is richly bound in red cloth and includes a ribbon bookmark. Many of the verses in the book are illustrated with antique woodcuts that are topical in nature and contribute to the book’s unique character.