An upcoming free event at the West Hollywood Library will shine a light on the beginning of the AIDS crisis. In early May, an evening with author Richard A. McKay and his book Patient Zero and the Making of the AIDS Epidemic will offer plenty of opportunity for reflection and discussion. Supported by Lambda Literary and Book Soup, copies of the novel will also be available for purchase.
Starting at 7 p.m. on May 9th in the City’s Council Chambers/Public Meeting Room, the event will be moderated by L.A.-based poet Steven Reigns (a.k.a. the first Poet Laureate of West Hollywood), who is sure to bring plenty to the discussion about the books subject, which follows the travails of a gay man whose skin cancer diagnosis in 1980 takes on new meaning as the HIV/AIDS epidemic reaches a fever pitch, and who receives widespread posthumous notoriety when he is incorrectly identified as patient zero of the North American outbreak.
An incisive examination of the ways in which human nature tends always to place blame and look for a scapegoat in times of crisis, Patient Zero and the Making of the AIDS Epidemic is essential reading regardless of sexual orientation, and what better way to get an elevated new understanding of the material than from the author himself?
Sure to be insightful, informative and filled with revelations, this event is not to be missed.
And though it is free, RSVPs are strongly recommended on Eventbrite, here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/patient-zero-and-the-making-of-the-aids-epidemic-a-conversation-tickets-44436456638.
