I think after reading this, they will be able to hold and understand the complexity of the situation and people involved. What do you hope readers get from the book? Today we’re seeing hysteria, data denying, and scapegoating with COVID. These judgments have lessened and that has helped with stigma. Unlike COVID, the modes of HIV transmission coincide with behaviors that have religious or societal judgment such as sex, anal sex, or IV drug use. How far, or how little, do you think our society has changed in its outlook on HIV in 30 years? It was always my hope that she would see the book. I spoke with his mother briefly at the start of my research. A hospice nurse recalled they would sit by his bedside daily. Soon his mother and stepfather moved into his house from Ohio to take care of him. Are they still alive and did you speak with them for the book?ĭavid disclosed his sexuality and HIV status to his mom when he was sick. When he feared he had HIV, he would take that same drive south to go to doctor’s offices and use an alias. He was fearful of being outed and would drive about two hours to Miami to go to gay bars and socialize. He was socially shy, owned a cocker spaniel, and for recreation he played tennis or spent time on his ski boat. This is a story already saturated with so much misinformation and I did not want to add to it.ĭavid was concerned about being out and ostracized in his small town.
TELLS OF HISTERA LICENSE
Even though the work is poetry, I chose not to take poetic license or fictionalize details. I thought short prose and poetry could give an understanding and empathic view into the life of David Acer and this horrible situation. The public reaction and unquestioned accusations of Acer’s accusers seemed fueled only by emotions. Why did you choose this storytelling method? You utilize a very unconventional structure in the book. I started researching it and kept encountering stories loaded with bias, hysteria, and homophobia. With all my transmission knowledge, I couldn’t figure out how that happened.
TELLS OF HISTERA TV
At work in 2008, I remembered in the 8th grade seeing a young woman on TV talk about getting HIV from her dentist. I’ve tested and given results to over 9,000 people. I worked as an HIV test counselor for a decade presented at national conferences. I wasn’t initially attracted to David as much as I was interested in what happened in that dental office. What attracted you to David’s story and were you aware of it when it was in the news?
TELLS OF HISTERA PLUS
Reigns spoke with Plus about his book - available now from City Lights Publishers - and what it tells us about health-related fear and misinformation. Writer Steven Reigns, the first Poet Laureate of West Hollywood, spent 10 years researching Acer’s story the result is A Quilt for David, Reigns’s lauded retelling of the ordeal, one that combines history with poetry and prose. The reputation of the closeted Acer, who died in 1990, was dragged through the mud as homophobia and HIV panic spread from Jensen, Fla., to all corners of the country. Special thanks to all contributors and audio diarists.Ī Listen production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.Web_a_quilt_for_david_book_steven_reigns.jpgĪfter several people were diagnosed with HIV in a small Florida town in the late 1980s, an unassuming dentist named David Acer was unfairly labeled a Typhoid Mary. Original music composed and performed by Rebekah Reid. The pair discuss the origins of hysteria, with a particular focus on the myth that black females have a greater insensitivity to pain. She tells her story of being diagnosed with the chronic illness Lupus. India is also joined by Dr Elinor Cleghorn, author of Unwell Women: A Journey Through Medicine and Myth in a Manmade World.
Ultimately unsuccessful - but not because it didn't work - but rather the people with the money didn't think it was important enough. Professor Richard Legro, Chair of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania, tells his story of attempting to test the effectiveness of sildenafil (aka Viagra) to treat period pain.
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