{"product_id":"a-quilt-for-david-paperback","title":"A Quilt for David - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eSteven Reigns\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe hidden history of a vulnerable gay man whose life and death were turned into tabloid fodder.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the early 1990s, eight people living in a small conservative Florida town alleged that Dr. David Acer, their dentist, infected them with HIV. David's gayness, along with his sickly appearance from his own AIDS-related illness, made him the perfect scapegoat and victim of mob mentality. In these early years of the AIDS epidemic, when transmission was little understood, and homophobia rampant, people like David were villainized. Accuser Kimberly Bergalis landed a \u003cem\u003ePeople \u003c\/em\u003emagazine cover story, while others went on talk shows and made front page news.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith a poet's eulogistic and psychological intensity, Steven Reigns recovers the life and death of this man who also stands in for so many lives destroyed not only by HIV, but a diseased society that used stigma against the most vulnerable. It's impossible not to make connections between this story and how the twenty-first century pandemic has also been defined by medical misinformation and cultural bias.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInspired by years of investigative research into the lives of David and those who denounced him, Reigns has stitched together a hauntingly poetic narrative that retraces an American history, questioning the fervor of his accusers, and recuperating a gay life previously shrouded in secrecy and shame.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Much too long, suffering has been part of our collective queer legacy. We weather the storm of insult to character and seemingly irreconcilable injustice in tandem with the hope that the arc of time will bend towards justice; our time is now. \u003cem\u003eA Quilt for David\u003c\/em\u003e is a posthumous journal of vindication.\"\u003cstrong\u003e--Brontez Purnell\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003e100 Boyfriends\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A stunning homage to people with AIDS.\"\u003cstrong\u003e--Sarah Schulman\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eLet the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"I found this an incredibly moving book. Reigns deals in hard truths, revisioning one man's life and death, and our collective queer history.\"\u003cstrong\u003e--Justin Torres\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eWe the Animals\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eA Quilt for David \u003c\/em\u003eis amazing and so powerful, filled with anger and frustration . . . It's an unforgettable book.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eMarie Cloutier, Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn, NY\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Told in short, occasionally haiku-like entries, Reigns has done what literature should: put the reader into the mind, the suffering, of another human being.\"\u003cstrong\u003e--Andrew Holleran\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eChronicle of a Plague, Revisited\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Steven Reigns lifts David Acer thirty years after his death to show the naked cost of violent, unexamined public opinion around the catastrophe of AIDS. This poetry masterfully documents the tangle of hatred and lies haunting a generation of survivors. I am often grateful for what poems give to me, most especially the ones in this book.\"\u003cstrong\u003e--CAConrad\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eAMANDA PARADISE: Resurrect Extinct Vibration\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This writing is energetic, alive, and uncensored. Through poetry and prose we glean a deep understanding of a life misunderstood and mischaracterized. Reigns goes to the mat to find out what really happened, and with his expert pacing we're right there with him.\"\u003cem\u003e--\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNatalie Goldberg\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eWriting Down the Bones\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"One of the most important roles a poet can assume is that of emotional historian. Reigns certainly understands that notion in this necessary and genre-bending book.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Blanco\u003c\/strong\u003e, 2013 Presidential Inaugural Poet, author of \u003cem\u003eHow to Love a Country\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSteven Reigns, Los Angeles poet and educator, was appointed the first Poet Laureate of West Hollywood. He has two previous collections, \u003cem\u003eInheritance\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eYour Dead Body is My Welcome Mat\u003c\/em\u003e, and over a dozen chapbooks. Reigns edited \u003cem\u003eMy Life is Poetry\u003c\/em\u003e, showcasing his students' work from the first-ever autobiographical poetry workshop for LGBTQ seniors. Reigns has lectured and taught writing workshops around the country to LGBTQ youth and people living with HIV. He worked for a decade as an HIV test counselor in Florida and Los Angeles. Currently he is touring \u003cem\u003eThe Gay Rub, \u003c\/em\u003e an exhibition of rubbings from LGBTQ landmarks around the world, and has a private practice as a psychotherapist. He lives in West Hollywood, CA.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 128\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.47 x 8.11 x 5.59 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 08, 2021\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46563346481337,"sku":"9780872868816","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0686\/4309\/4713\/files\/OG5vZjBtYlRDdGprRnQxdTMyL1hjdz09.webp?v=1772694320","url":"https:\/\/thoobo.com\/products\/a-quilt-for-david-paperback","provider":"Thoobo","version":"1.0","type":"link"}