This opportunity to bring my poetry book, truth be bold—Serenading Life & Death in the Age of AIDS, to the 29th Annual Interdisciplinary Conference at the International Forum for Psychoanalytic Education, IFPE, is extremely gratifying.
The conference will be held at the Mayflower Park Hotel, 405 Olive Way, Seattle, WA.
October 25—27, 2018. My panel will be on Friday, October 26, from 9:55—11:05 AM:
The Boldness of Truth, Silence, and HIV/AIDS
Room: Green, Moderator: Laurence Green
Speaking Out to Stigma: Truth be bold, a long-term survivor breaks her silence
Presenter: Julene T. Weaver, M.A., LMHC (WA)
Speaking Out to Stigma will invite participants to think about chronic illness as a hidden trauma and how societal taboos impact your healing journey. Through timed writing and discussion, this presentation will encourage finding one’s voice, developing inner resources, and the healing power of expression that builds strength to confront stigma.
Silence = Death. AIDS role in unsilencing gay identity
Presenter: James G. Croghan, M.A., Ph.D. (NY)
The political call to arms “silence = death” was instrumental in making AIDS drugs available. It raised consciousness and precipitated “coming out”. In 2006, Andre Aciman reminded us that “silence = hope”. Through case history material, the psychological ramifications of unsilencing for gay men, particulary those with HIV will be discussed.
The Conference Schedule can be found here. I will also moderate a presentation on Thursday, October 25th, at 4:20—5:30 PM, How Poetry Informs and Shapes Silences, featuring Fredrick B. Davis, MD, and Laurie Burns, MS, MFT.