Press release of Dr. Diana Davidson University of Alberta
As people continue to be infected and affected by HIV, and the hope of an effective vaccine recedes longer and longer into the future, education and activism remain our best hopes in battling AIDS. Writing enables people to form arguments; provide testimony; break silences; trace histories; expose inequities and injustices; and imagine new ways of relating to, loving, and desiring each other. Writing helps us to see HIV/AIDS in new ways and encourage us to carry out the work of existing and future activisms.
In association with “The Art of Living Committee” at HIV Edmonton, I am editing an anthology of creative writing (fiction and non-fiction) about HIV/AIDS by Albertans. Submissions can take any form — poetry, short story, biography, creative nonfiction, drama — as long as they are no more than 20 pages (approximately). The flexible (negotiable) deadline for submissions is Monday, February 19th, 2003.
As an editor, I am responsible for collecting submissions and assessing materials. I currently write and teach in the Department of English at the University of Alberta. I have multiple academic publications accepted for scholarly journals and anthologies, and have a book manuscript on AIDS literature under consideration at Manchester University Press. While
employed as a counselor at the South Peace AIDS Council (in Grande Prairie, Alberta) I edited a self-published booklet entitled Blue Streaks: A Collection of Poetry About HIV/AIDS By Residents of Northern Alberta (1997). Blue Streaks gave marginal voices a vehicle for expression and created a community awareness of the disease and I anticipate the same success will be achieved with the new Art of Living project.
The Art of Living: Albertans Write HIV/AIDS will contribute to the small, growing, and socially essential field of AIDS narratives and criticism. I hope you will consider being a key player in making this vision a reality.
Submissions and inquiries can be directed to Dr. Diana Davidson at diana.davidson@ualberta.ca adn 3-5 Humanities Centre, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E5.
Dr. Diana Davidson’s U of A Web site:
http://www.ualberta.ca/~dmd3/
