A&U May 2014

MAY 2014 • ISSUE 235 • AMERICA’S AIDS MAGAZINE

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RUFFALO THE ACTOR HELPS REJUVENATE The Normal Heart ON HBO

AIDS IN CINEMA CHRIS MASON JOHNSON • TEST

ALLEN SOWELLE & JOSH FEINMAN

• Front Seat Chronicles plus

Philadelphia FIGHT • DIFFA’s Dining by Design • Judy Gold

What is STRIBILD? STRIBILD is a prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before. It combines 4 medicines into 1 pill to be taken once a day with food. STRIBILD is a complete singletablet regimen and should not be used with other HIV-1 medicines.

STRIBILD does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS. To control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses you must keep taking STRIBILD. Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to reduce the risk of passing HIV-1 to others. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids. Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body fluids on them.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about STRIBILD?

• Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you also have HBV and stop taking STRIBILD, your hepatitis may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking STRIBILD without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health. STRIBILD is not approved for the treatment of HBV.

• Take a medicine that contains: alfuzosin, dihydroergotamine, ergotamine, methylergonovine, cisapride, lovastatin, simvastatin, pimozide, sildenafil when used for lung problems (Revatio®), triazolam, oral midazolam, rifampin or the herb St. John’s wort.

• For a list of brand names for these medicines, please see the Brief Summary on the following pages.

• If you take hormone-based birth control (pills, patches, rings, shots, etc).

• Take any other medicines to treat HIV-1 infection, or the medicine adefovir (Hepsera®).

• If you take antacids. Take antacids at least 2 hours before or after you take STRIBILD.

What are the other possible side effects of STRIBILD?

• If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if STRIBILD can harm your unborn baby.

Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking STRIBILD.

Do not take STRIBILD if you:

Serious side effects of STRIBILD may also include:

• Build-up of an acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency.

Symptoms of lactic acidosis include feeling very weak or tired, unusual (not normal) muscle pain, trouble breathing, stomach pain with nausea or vomiting, feeling cold especially in your arms and legs, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat.

• New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do regular blood and urine tests to check your kidneys before and during treatment with STRIBILD. If you develop kidney problems, your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking STRIBILD.

• You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or serious liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking STRIBILD for a long time. In some cases, these serious conditions have led to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any symptoms of these conditions.

• All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis virus infection.

• All the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. STRIBILD may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how STRIBILD works. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.

Do not start any new medicines while taking STRIBILD without first talking with your healthcare provider.

Who should not take STRIBILD?

STRIBILD can cause serious side effects:

• Serious liver problems. The liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and fatty (steatosis). Symptoms of liver problems include your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice), dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored bowel movements (stools), loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, and/or stomach pain.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking STRIBILD?

• Bone problems, including bone pain or bones getting soft or thin, which may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones.

• Changes in body fat can happen in people taking HIV-1 medicines.

• Changes in your immune system.

Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking STRIBILD. The most common side effects of STRIBILD include nausea and diarrhea. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or don’t go away.

• If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed.

HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk. Also, some medicines in STRIBILD can pass into breast milk, and it is not known if this can harm the baby.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see Brief Summary of full Prescribing Information with important warnings on the following pages.

STRIBILD is a prescription medicine used as a complete single-tablet regimen to treat HIV-1 in adults who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before. STRIBILD does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.

I started my personal revolution Talk to your healthcare provider about starting treatment.

STRIBILD is a complete HIV-1 treatment in 1 pill, once a day.

Ask if it’s right for you.

Patient Information STRIBILD® (STRY-bild) (elvitegravir 150 mg/cobicistat 150 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg/ tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg) tablets Brief summary of full Prescribing Information. For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information, including Patient Information.

• Do not stop taking STRIBILD without first talking to your healthcare provider • If you stop taking STRIBILD, your healthcare provider will need to check your health often and do blood tests regularly for several months to check your HBV infection. Tell your healthcare provider about any new or unusual symptoms you may have after you stop taking STRIBILD

What is STRIBILD?

Who should not take STRIBILD?

• STRIBILD is a prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before. STRIBILD is a complete regimen and should not be used with other HIV-1 medicines.

• STRIBILD does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. You must stay on continuous HIV-1 therapy to control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses.

• Ask your healthcare provider about how to prevent passing HIV-1 to others. Do not share or reuse needles, injection equipment, or personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them. Do not have sex without protection. Always practice safer sex by using a latex or polyurethane condom to lower the chance of sexual contact with semen, vaginal secretions, or blood.

Do not take STRIBILD if you also take a medicine that contains: • adefovir (Hepsera®) • alfuzosin hydrochloride (Uroxatral®) • cisapride (Propulsid®, Propulsid Quicksolv®) • ergot-containing medicines, including: dihydroergotamine mesylate (D.H.E. 45®, Migranal®), ergotamine tartrate (Cafergot®, Migergot®, Ergostat®, Medihaler Ergotamine®, Wigraine®, Wigrettes®), and methylergonovine maleate (Ergotrate®, Methergine®) • lovastatin (Advicor®, Altoprev®, Mevacor®) • oral midazolam • pimozide (Orap®) • rifampin (Rifadin®, Rifamate®, Rifater®, Rimactane®) • sildenafil (Revatio®), when used for treating lung problems • simvastatin (Simcor®, Vytorin®, Zocor®) • triazolam (Halcion®) • the herb St. John’s wort Do not take STRIBILD if you also take any other HIV-1 medicines, including: • Other medicines that contain tenofovir (Atripla®, Complera®, Viread®, Truvada®) • Other medicines that contain emtricitabine, lamivudine, or ritonavir (Atripla®, Combivir®, Complera®, Emtriva®, Epivir® or Epivir-HBV®, Epzicom®, Kaletra®, Norvir®, Trizivir®, Truvada®) STRIBILD is not for use in people who are less than 18 years old.

What is the most important information I should know about STRIBILD? STRIBILD can cause serious side effects, including: 1. Build-up of lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis). Lactic acidosis can happen in some people who take STRIBILD or similar (nucleoside analogs) medicines. Lactic acidosis is a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Lactic acidosis can be hard to identify early, because the symptoms could seem like symptoms of other health problems. Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms which could be signs of lactic acidosis: • feel very weak or tired • have unusual (not normal) muscle pain • have trouble breathing • have stomach pain with nausea or vomiting • feel cold, especially in your arms and legs • feel dizzy or lightheaded • have a fast or irregular heartbeat 2. Severe liver problems. Severe liver problems can happen in people who take STRIBILD. In some cases, these liver problems can lead to death. Your liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and you may develop fat in your liver (steatosis). Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms of liver problems: • your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice) • dark “tea-colored” urine • light-colored bowel movements (stools) • loss of appetite for several days or longer • nausea • stomach pain You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking STRIBILD for a long time.

3. Worsening of Hepatitis B infection. If you have hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and take STRIBILD, your HBV may get worse (flare-up) if you stop taking STRIBILD. A “flare-up” is when your HBV infection suddenly returns in a worse way than before.

• Do not run out of STRIBILD. Refill your prescription or talk to your healthcare provider before your STRIBILD is all gone

What are the possible side effects of STRIBILD? STRIBILD may cause the following serious side effects: • See “What is the most important information I should know about STRIBILD?” • New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys before you start and while you are taking STRIBILD. Your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking STRIBILD if you develop new or worse kidney problems.

• Bone problems can happen in some people who take STRIBILD. Bone problems include bone pain, softening or thinning (which may lead to fractures). Your healthcare provider may need to do tests to check your bones.

• Changes in body fat can happen in people who take HIV-1 medicine. These changes may include increased amount of fat in the upper back and neck (“buffalo hump”), breast, and around the middle of your body (trunk). Loss of fat from the legs, arms and face may also happen. The exact cause and long-term health effects of these conditions are not known.

• Changes in your immune system (Immune Reconstitution Syndrome) can happen when you start taking HIV-1 medicines. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that have been hidden in your body for a long time. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you start having any new symptoms after starting your HIV-1 medicine.

The most common side effects of STRIBILD include: • Nausea • Diarrhea Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

• These are not all the possible side effects of STRIBILD. For more information, ask your healthcare provider.

• Call your healthcare provider for medical advice about side effects.

You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking STRIBILD? Tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including: • If you have or had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis B infection • If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if STRIBILD can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking STRIBILD. - There is a pregnancy registry for women who take antiviral medicines during pregnancy. The purpose of this registry is to collect information about the health of you and your baby. Talk with your healthcare provider about how you can take part in this registry.

• If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you take STRIBILD. - You should not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby.

- Two of the medicines in STRIBILD can pass to your baby in your breast milk. It is not known if the other medicines in STRIBILD can pass into your breast milk.

- Talk with your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements: • STRIBILD may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how STRIBILD works.

• Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you take any of the following medicines: - Hormone-based birth control (pills, patches, rings, shots, etc) - Antacid medicines that contain aluminum, magnesium hydroxide, or calcium carbonate. Take antacids at least 2 hours before or after you take STRIBILD - Medicines to treat depression, organ transplant rejection, or high blood pressure - amiodarone (Cordarone®, Pacerone®) - atorvastatin (Lipitor®, Caduet®) - bepridil hydrochloride (Vascor®, Bepadin®) - bosentan (Tracleer®) - buspirone - carbamazepine (Carbatrol®, Epitol®, Equetro®, Tegretol®) - clarithromycin (Biaxin®, Prevpac®) - clonazepam (Klonopin®) - clorazepate (Gen-xene®, Tranxene®) - colchicine (Colcrys®) - medicines that contain dexamethasone - diazepam (Valium®)

- digoxin (Lanoxin®) - disopyramide (Norpace®) - estazolam - ethosuximide (Zarontin®) - flecainide (Tambocor®) - flurazepam - fluticasone (Flovent®, Flonase®, Flovent® Diskus®, Flovent® HFA, Veramyst®) - itraconazole (Sporanox®) - ketoconazole (Nizoral®) - lidocaine (Xylocaine®) - mexiletine - oxcarbazepine (Trileptal®) - perphenazine - phenobarbital (Luminal®) - phenytoin (Dilantin®, Phenytek®) - propafenone (Rythmol®) - quinidine (Neudexta®) - rifabutin (Mycobutin®) - rifapentine (Priftin®) - risperidone (Risperdal®, Risperdal Consta®) - salmeterol (Serevent®) or salmeterol when taken in combination with fluticasone (Advair Diskus®, Advair HFA®) - sildenafil (Viagra®), tadalafil (Cialis®) or vardenafil (Levitra®, Staxyn®), for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). If you get dizzy or faint (low blood pressure), have vision changes or have an erection that last longer than 4 hours, call your healthcare provider or get medical help right away.

- tadalafil (Adcirca®), for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension - telithromycin (Ketek®) - thioridazine - voriconazole (Vfend®) - warfarin (Coumadin®, Jantoven®) - zolpidem (Ambien®, Edlular®, Intermezzo®, Zolpimist®) Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine. Do not start any new medicines while you are taking STRIBILD without first talking with your healthcare provider.

Keep STRIBILD and all medicines out of reach of children.

This Brief Summary summarizes the most important information about STRIBILD. If you would like more information, talk with your healthcare provider. You can also ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for information about STRIBILD that is written for health professionals, or call 1-800-445-3235 or go to www.STRIBILD.com.

Issued: October 2013

COMPLERA, EMTRIVA, GILEAD, the GILEAD Logo, GSI, HEPSERA, STRIBILD, the STRIBILD Logo, TRUVADA, and VIREAD are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. ATRIPLA is a trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb & Gilead Sciences, LLC. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. © 2014 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. STBC0076 03/14

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The More You Buy the More You Help Our Orphan Bracelets are handcrafted by South African women living with HIV/AIDS using (lead free) copper, brass and aluminum wire. All proceeds go towards helping mothers and children in South Africa whose lives have been severely impacted by HIV/AIDS. Your purchase provides employment to the mothers, and nourishment and care to the HIV/AIDS orphans in South Africa

Be Part of the Solution ... Until There’s A Cure

c o n t e n t s May 2014

40 Cover Leading an All-Star Cast in the Film Version of The Normal Heart, Mark Ruffalo Talks with A&U’s Dann Dulin About the Importance of Projecting One’s Voice in the Fight Against AIDS

Departments

Features 32 Gallery DIFFA’s Dining by Design Makes AIDS Awareness Its Centerpiece 26 FIGHT for a World Without AIDS A Philadelphia-Based Nonprofit Makes June a Month-Long Teachable Moment 36 Tests of Courage A New Film by Chris Mason Johnson Hits that Perfect Beat 46 Gold Rush AIDS Advocate Judy Gold Mines Life for Its Comedy 48 Getting Real Behind the Wheel Allen Sowelle and Josh Feinman Put HIV & Other Social Issues in Drive 18 Poetry by Mary Ellen Shaughan cover by Jeff vespa / Contour by Getty Images; inside photo by JoJo Whilden/HBO

6

Frontdesk

8

Mailbox

9

NewsBreak

16

Ruby’s Rap

Bryan West

viewfinder 24

Just*in Time

lifeguide 50

Wellness Watch

52

Hep Talk

54

Destination: Cure

56

The Culture of AIDS

60

Lifelines

64

Survival Guide

A&U Frontdesk

Matters of the Heart

M

aybe I’m getting sappy in my middle age years, but I’m actually excited that May 25 will be the debut of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart on HBO. After this year’s big Oscar win for Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto’s performances in Dallas Buyers Club, who in HIV-positive America wouldn’t be ecstatic that HIV/AIDS is once again in the mainstream media’s spotlight?

It’s as if the commercial and critical success of Dallas Buyers Club, and to a lesser extent last year’s Liberace biopic on HBO, have paved the way for more mainstream acceptance of a once-difficult subject matter into America’s family rooms. I call it the continued mainstreaming of a once-feared but isolated plague. It’s as if film and television studios have figured out a way to make palatable what was once considered box office poison and served it on one of the glorious table settings created by top-notch designers for DIFFA’s Dining by Design (see this issue’s Gallery).

It is truly an honor that Mark Ruffalo chose A&U to be interviewed for this month’s cover story. Long a gay rights and civil rights advocate, Mr. Ruffalo is the costar (along with Julia Roberts, Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons, among an all-star cast) in what could revolutionize how mainstream America views people living with HIV/AIDS. It fits right in with the premise of this magazine—to destigmatize HIV/AIDS through an attractive and empathetic medium for both people living with HIV/AIDS and those who aren’t positive but are the caregivers, husbands, wives, partners, and loved ones of those who are. Others have taken the arts-as-advocacy route as well. In this issue alone, we feature interviews with creators of two other cinematic gems, Test, a film about HIV in the dance world, and Front Seat Chronicles, a Web/television series that drives audiences toward social issues like AIDS. Interviewed by A&U’s Dann Dulin, Ruffalo doesn’t disappoint. He turns out to be an eloquent and impassioned cover story subject. His scruffy good looks have always appealed to movie audiences. But his nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for 2010’s The Kids Are All Right attests to his acting chops. A good deal of the credit, of course, must go

A M E R I C A’ S A I D S M A G A Z I N E issue 235 vol. 23 no. 5 May 2014 editorial offices: (518) 426-9010 fax: (518) 436-5354

to Larry Kramer, a playwright, novelist, and premier AIDS activist, who rewrote the way men and women can take ownership of their disease and push for fast-tracking of lifesaving drugs. This model of citizen intervention has been replicated in other diseases, but it is perhaps unique to the AIDS cause that Larry’s initial anger and frustration over the slow pace of drug discovery will always immortalize both the man and the madness.

And I mean madness in the best possible way. Larry’s anger was a reaction to the stupidity of the Reagan administration and the then well-documented ineptitude of the FDA in the early years of the epidemic.

Although Larry Kramer has not given any interviews in support of HBO’s production, his words (of which there are tens of thousands in print) will attest to how important his mission was and is in the fight against AIDS. What it boils down to is how television is still the most efficient way to change minds. Witness how abortion was first spoken of on Norman Lear’s Maude. How racism was pilloried on All in the Family.

How gays and lesbians have become part of the television family because of such shows as Will & Grace and most recently Modern Family. TV is the great common denominator in America. Everyone has a TV. For all intents and purposes it is where new and sometimes difficult subject matter gets a wider audience than anywhere else.

Perhaps almost thirty years after the discovery of the virus, in the words of Ruffalo’s character, Ned, the normalization of HIV/ AIDS is now upon us. But in the words of Mark Ruffalo, it is terrible that it has taken this long: “It’s a shame how [the epidemic] was handled...if somebody had had the courage or the humanity to stand up in some leadership position and say, ‘No, we can’t turn our backs on this.’” The implication is that millions of lives could have been saved. And that is why The Normal Heart is anything but an aberration. It’s a reason to believe again that miracles do happen, and humanity will beat this terrible disease, once and for all.

DAVID WAGGONER

Editor in Chief & Publisher David Waggoner Managing Editor: Michael Needle Senior Editor: Dann Dulin Editors at Large: Chip Alfred, Sean Black Special Projects Editor: Lester Strong Literary Editor: Brent Calderwood Consulting Editor: Nick Steele Copy Editor: Maureen Hunter Contributing Editors: Sarah Churchill Downes, Reed Massengill, Kelly McQuain, Lesléa Newman, Robert E. Penn Contributing Writers: Noël Alumit, V. Anderson, Annie Buckley, Larry Buhl, Ruby Comer, Nancy Ellegate, LaMont “Montee” Evans, Diane Goettel, Sally Hessney, Angela Leroux-Lindsey, Sherri Lewis, Alina Oswald, Mark Rebernik, Dale Reynolds, Elizabeth Rodgers, Mariel Selbovitz, Justin B. Terry-Smith, Patricia Nell Warren, Chuck Willman, Jeannie Wraight Art Director: Timothy J. Haines Contributing Photographers: Jordan Ancel, Davidd Batalon, Mark Bennington, Tom Bianchi, Sean Black, Adam Bouska, Brian Bowen Smith, Fred Brashear, Jr., Tim Courtney, Stephen Churchill Downes, Greg Gorman, Francis Hills, Renée Jacobs, Tom McGovern, Nancy Perry, Annie Tritt National Advertising Director: Harold Burdick, Jr. Sales & Marketing: David L. Bonitatibus Advertising Sales Office: (518) 426-9010 National Advertising Representative: Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Subscription Info: (518) 426-9010 Circulation Manager: Robert Schelepanow Bookkeeper: Richard Garcia Board of Directors President: David Waggoner Vice President: Harold Burdick, Jr. Secretary: Richard Garcia Founding Board Members: Mark S. Labrecque, 1961–1992, Christopher Hewitt, 1946–2004, Mark Galbraith, 1962–2011

In Memoriam: Bill Jacobson, 1939–2005 Rhomylly B. Forbes, 1963–2011 Chris Companik, 1957–2012 A&U (ISSN 1074-0872) is published by Art & Understanding, Inc., 25 Monroe St., Suite 205, Albany, NY 12210-2743, USA. For A&U advertising information please call 518-426-9010; for subscriptions and address changes please call 518-426-9010; for letters to the editor and unsolicited manuscripts write A&U Magazine, 25 Monroe Street, Albany, New York 12210; fax 518-436-5354; or e-mail: mailbox@ aumag.org. All unsolicited manuscripts that do not have a S.A.S.E. cannot be returned and will not be acknowledged. ©2014 Art & Understanding, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. A&U may not be reproduced in any manner, either in whole or in part, without written permission of the publisher. A&U and the graphic representations thereof are the registered trademarks of Art & Understanding, Inc., a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization. Individual Subscription rates: $24.95 (12 issues). Institutional rates: $80.00 (12 issues). For subscriptions outside the USA and possessions, $30.95/Canada, $49.95/international, payable in advance in U.S. currency. First North American serial rights revert to contributors upon publication.

A&U retains the right to anthologize work in further issues, as well as in microform or reprinting on the Internet within the context of each issue. Statements of writers, artists and advertisers are not necessarily those of the publisher. Readers note: subjects and contributors to A&U are both HIV-positive and HIV-negative. In the absence of a specific statement herein concerning the serostatus of any individual mentioned in, or contributing material to, this publication, no inference is made with respect thereto and none should be implied. Letters written to A&U or its contributors are assumed intended for publication.

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A&U Mailbox

“I just read the new book by Martin Duberman, Hold Tight Gently: Michael Callen, Essex Hemphill, and the Battlefield of AIDS. What a powerful book on two early pioneers of the AIDS epidemic. You definitely get a different outlook on what was going on during that period of time from both of these men.…different racial/ethnic backgrounds often produced different experiences of the epidemic, and different responses as well.…”

Sometimes we need a historian to give us the perspective about a period in history. What really happened and why it happened. Martin Duberman is that historian and he gives us his take on the early AIDS epidemic [cover story, “Holding Tightly Gently,” by Lester Strong, March 2014]. Talking about Michael Callen and Essex Hemphill, you get both the white perspective and the black perspective.

AIDS in the beginning—at least in the United States—was primarily a white disease. Increasingly now the hardest-hit community is African-American. Duberman notes, “While most white gay men were clamoring [before protease inhibitors were released] for admission to experimental drug trials, some African Americans were reluctant to enter them.

Thanks to the notorious Tuskegee experiment (1932-72), distrust of the government was deeply entrenched….” Here you get the white and black take on the AIDS epidemic. I have not read the book Hold Tight Gently yet, but am looking forward to reading it.

—Barry A. Williams Paramus, New Jersey Thanks for a superb article. I just read the new book by Martin Duberman, Hold Tight Gently: Michael Callen, Essex Hemphill, and the Battlefield of AIDS. What a powerful book on

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two early pioneers of the AIDS epidemic. You definitely get a different outlook on what was going on during that period of time from both of these men. As Duberman notes, different racial/ethnic backgrounds often produced different experiences of the epidemic, and different responses as well. This is something we should remember even today, when we think about how women, youth, Latinos, and so on, may be affected by HIV/AIDS. —Maryetta Symington-Kelly Benton Harbor, Michigan

Swing Out, Sisters Your story on the Positive Women’s Network–USA really impressed me because the five women profiled were such moving personalities [“Sisters of Change,” by Chip Alfred, March 2014]. Reading about them, I mean, I found each of their stories insightful and powerful. Even through many hardships they have fought back and become activists for change. And you are right you have to be a part of the solution and not part of the problem. African-American women are now heavily impacted by the AIDS crisis. And these women are taking on the AIDS epidemic. I say good for them and good for us.

—Vanessa Courtney Peralta, New Mexico

Injustice for All I was really offended that health insurance providers in Louisiana want to drop coverage for poor low-income HIV-positive patients covered by the Ryan White CARE Act [Newsbreak, March 2014]. I guess there will be no more greetings, as the postcard says, from the lovely state of Louisiana. What the hell is wrong with the states in the South—why do they still have to be so backward as compared to the rest of the country? I hope the courts overrule this bad deal for people with AIDS; they need a fair deal in that horrible state whose motto is, ironically, “Union, Justice, and Confidence.” Shame on you, Louisiana.

—Welldon Michaels Midwest City, Oklahoma Send e-mail to: mailbox@aumag.org Send letters to: Mailbox, A&U, 25 Monroe Street, Suite 205, Albany, NY 12210 Or click on “Mailbox” on our Web site’s home page: www.aumag.org Tweet Us @au_magazine Facebook: http://on.fb.me/AUFANPAGE All correspondence requires name, address, and daytime phone number for confirmation. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

A&U • MAY 2014

photo by Stephen Churchill Downes

His Story

NEWSBREAK

Chuck the Baker photos courtesy GLWD Fund; innovator photos courtesy AAHIVM

Innovations in Patient Care The American Academy of HIV Medicine announced the winners of the third annual AAHIVM/Institute for Technology in Health Care HIV Practice Award, given to leaders in the field who have brought technological innovation to the HIV care setting. Both winners, Dr. Joanna Eveland of San Francisco, California, and Steve McCrosky of Flagstaff, Arizona, have integrated practices into their services to make sure patients do not fall through the gaps and are able to access the full benefits of the continuum of care. Each will receive a $10,000 award. 2014 marks the third year that AAHIVM has partnered with the Institute for Technology in Health Care to recognize best practices in the field of HIV care.

Dr. Joanna Eveland, MS, MD, and her multidisciplinary HIV team at San Francisco’s Clinica Esperanza Mission Neighborhood Health Center use a tracking system to improve patient healthcare for the roughly 400 HIV-positive patients treated annually. Using i2iTracks Population Health Management software for the past three years, the team facilitates linkage and retention as well as treatment adherence for a high-risk population. I2i, which stands for “interface-to-interface,” the program inputs data from the Electronic Health Record, practice management system, laboratory, and manually entered data. The result? An easily searchable database accessible by Dr. Joanna Eveland any staff member. By incorporating the real-time technology into the workflow of every member of the multidisciplinary team, the facility has been able to improve clinical outcomes to an even greater extent than before.

Steve McCrosky, MSN, FNP, AAHIVS, is helping impact the lives of individuals living with HIV/AIDS in rural Arizona communities. As the 200 patients for whom he provides direct clincal care services live in a region where it takes seven hours to travel from the eastern-most clinic to the western-most and where certified and experienced HIV specialists are rarer than in urban centers, McCrosky has employed multiple telehealth technologies to make sure patients are more connected to care. These technologies include real-time video conferencing and digital imaging, among others. Before using the telemedicine system, the nurse practitioner might only be able to see patients in person from one time a month to once every six months, depending on the number of patients attending the clinic. Now the teleheath technologies allow patients to be seen as often as twice weekly.

Steve McCrosky The non-profit professional organization American Academy of HIV Medicine helps improve the lives of individuals living with HIV/AIDS by helping physicians attain HIV-specialist credentials, engage in ongoing education, and identifying best practices, among other objectives.

For more information, log on to: www.aahivm.org.

Sponsor a Smile God’s Love We Deliver is celebrating its birthday on May 1. For twenty-seven years, the New York City-based non-profit has been providing meal delivery and other nutrition services for individuals living with HIV/AIDS and other life-altering illnesses.

The kitchen at God’s Love We Deliver is no stranger to birthday cakes, however. With Chuck Piekarski (a.k.a. Chuck “The Baker”) at the helm (pictured right), God’s Love We Deliver has been baking from scratch and personalizing MAY 2014 • A&U

9

COMPLERA is a prescription medicine used as a complete HIV-1 treatment in 1 pill a day. It is for adults who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before and who have no more than 100,000 copies/mL of virus in their blood. COMPLERA can also replace current HIV-1 medicines for some adults who have an undetectable viral load (less than 50 copies/mL) and whose healthcare provider determines that they meet certain other requirements. COMPLERA does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.

Just the

one

for me

COMPLERA is a complete HIV-1 treatment in only 1 pill a day.

Ask your healthcare provider if COMPLERA may be the one for you.

Pill shown is not actual size.

What is COMPLERA?

COMPLERA (emtricitabine 200 mg, rilpivirine 25 mg, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg) is a prescription medicine used as a complete HIV-1 treatment in one pill a day. COMPLERA is for adults who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before and who have no more than 100,000 copies/mL of virus in their blood (this is called ‘viral load’). COMPLERA can also replace current HIV-1 medicines for some adults who have an undetectable viral load (less than 50 copies/mL) and whose healthcare provider determines that they meet certain other requirements.

COMPLERA combines 3 medicines into 1 pill to be taken once a day with food. COMPLERA is a complete single tablet regimen and should not be used with other HIV-1 medicines. It is not known if COMPLERA is safe and effective in children under the age of 18 years.

COMPLERA does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS. To control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses you must keep taking COMPLERA. Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to reduce the risk of passing HIV-1 to others. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids. Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body fluids on them.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about COMPLERA?

COMPLERA can cause serious side effects: • Build-up of an acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency. Symptoms of lactic acidosis include feeling very weak or tired, unusual (not normal) muscle pain, trouble breathing, stomach pain with nausea or vomiting, feeling cold especially in your arms and legs, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat.

• Serious liver problems. The liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and fatty (steatosis). Symptoms of liver problems include your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice), dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored bowel movements (stools), loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, and/or stomach pain.

• You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or serious liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking COMPLERA for a long time. In some cases, these serious conditions have led to death.

Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any symptoms of these conditions.

• Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you also have HBV and stop taking COMPLERA, your hepatitis may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking COMPLERA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health. COMPLERA is not approved for the treatment of HBV.

Who should not take COMPLERA?

Do not take COMPLERA if you: • Take a medicine that contains: carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Equetro, Tegretol, Tegretol-XR, Teril, Epitol), oxcarbazepine (Trileptal), phenobarbital (Luminal), phenytoin (Dilantin, Dilantin-125, Phenytek), rifabutin (Mycobutin), rifampin (Rifater, Rifamate, Rimactane, Rifadin), rifapentine (Priftin), dexlansoprazole (Dexilant), esomeprazole (Nexium, Vimovo), lansoprazole (Prevacid), omeprazole (Prilosec), pantoprazole sodium (Protonix), rabeprazole (Aciphex), more than 1 dose of the steroid medicine dexamethasone or dexamethasone sodium phosphate, or the herbal supplement St. John’s wort.

• Take any other medicines to treat HIV-1 infection, or the medicine adefovir (Hepsera).

starting treatment with COMPLERA. If you have had kidney problems, or take other medicines that may cause kidney problems, your healthcare provider may also check your kidneys during treatment with COMPLERA. • Depression or mood changes. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms: feeling sad or hopeless, feeling anxious or restless, have thoughts of hurting yourself (suicide) or have tried to hurt yourself.

• Changes in liver enzymes: People who have had hepatitis B or C, or who have had changes in their liver function tests in the past may have an increased risk for liver problems while taking COMPLERA. Some people without prior liver disease may also be at risk. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your liver enzymes before and during treatment with COMPLERA. • Bone problems, including bone pain or bones getting soft or thin, which may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones.

• Changes in body fat can happen in people taking HIV-1 medicines.

• Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking COMPLERA. The most common side effects of COMPLERA include trouble sleeping (insomnia), abnormal dreams, headache, dizziness, diarrhea, nausea, rash, tiredness, and depression. Other common side effects include vomiting, stomach pain or discomfort, skin discoloration (small spots or freckles), and pain. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or do not go away.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking COMPLERA?

All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or had any kidney, mental health, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis virus infection.

• All the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

COMPLERA may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how COMPLERA works. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.

Do not start any new medicines while taking COMPLERA without first talking with your healthcare provider.

• If you take antacids. Take antacids at least 2 hours before or at least 4 hours after you take COMPLERA. • If you take stomach acid blockers. Take acid blockers at least 12 hours before or at least 4 hours after you take COMPLERA. Ask your healthcare provider if your acid blocker is okay to take, as some acid blockers should never be taken with COMPLERA. • If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if COMPLERA can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking COMPLERA. • If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk. Also, some medicines in COMPLERA can pass into breast milk, and it is not known if this can harm the baby.

•

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

What are the other possible side effects of COMPLERA?

Serious side effects of COMPLERA may also include: • New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood tests to check your kidneys before

Learn more at www.COMPLERA.com

Brief Summary of full Prescribing Information COMPLERA® (kom-PLEH-rah) (emtricitabine 200 mg, rilpivirine 25 mg, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg) tablets Brief summary of full Prescribing Information. For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information, including Patient Information.

What is COMPLERA? • COMPLERA is a prescription medicine used as a complete HIV-1 treatment in one pill a day. COMPLERA is for adults who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before and who have no more than 100,000 copies/mL of virus in their blood (this is called ‘viral load’). Complera can also replace current HIV-1 medicines for some adults who have an undetectable viral load (less than 50 copies/mL) and whose healthcare provider determines that they meet certain other requirements.

• COMPLERA is a complete regimen and should not be used with other HIV-1 medicines. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS. When used properly, COMPLERA may reduce the amount of HIV-1 virus in your blood and increase the amount of CD4 T-cells, which may help improve your immune system. This may reduce your risk of death or getting infections that can happen when your immune system is weak.

• COMPLERA does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. You must stay on continuous HIV-1 therapy to control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses.

• Ask your healthcare provider about how to prevent passing HIV-1 to others. Do not share or reuse needles, injection equipment, or personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them. Do not have sex without protection. Always practice safer sex by using a latex or polyurethane condom to lower the chance of sexual contact with semen, vaginal secretions, or blood.

What is the most important information I should know about COMPLERA? COMPLERA can cause serious side effects, including: • Build-up of an acid in your blood (lactic acidosis). Lactic acidosis can happen in some people who take COMPLERA or similar (nucleoside analogs) medicines. Lactic acidosis is a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Lactic acidosis can be hard to identify early, because the symptoms could seem like symptoms of other health problems. Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms which could be signs of lactic acidosis: – feel very weak or tired – have unusual (not normal) muscle pain – have trouble breathing – having stomach pain with nausea or vomiting – feel cold, especially in your arms and legs – feel dizzy or lightheaded – have a fast or irregular heartbeat • Severe liver problems. Severe liver problems can happen in people who take COMPLERA. In some cases, these liver problems can lead to death. Your liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and you may develop fat in your liver (steatosis). Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms of liver problems: – your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice) – dark “tea-colored” urine – light-colored bowel movements (stools) – loss of appetite for several days or longer – nausea – stomach pain

• You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking COMPLERA for a long time.

• Worsening of Hepatitis B infection. If you have hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and take COMPLERA, your HBV may get worse (flare-up) if you stop taking COMPLERA. A “flare-up” is when your HBV infection suddenly returns in a worse way than before. COMPLERA is not approved for the treatment of HBV, so you must discuss your HBV with your healthcare provider.

– Do not run out of COMPLERA. Refill your prescription or talk to your healthcare provider before your COMPLERA is all gone.

– Do not stop taking COMPLERA without first talking to your healthcare provider.

– If you stop taking COMPLERA, your healthcare provider will need to check your health often and do blood tests regularly to check your HBV infection. Tell your healthcare provider about any new or unusual symptoms you may have after you stop taking COMPLERA. Who should not take COMPLERA? Do not take COMPLERA if you also take any of the following medicines: • Medicines used for seizures: carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Equetro, Tegretol, Tegretol-XR, Teril, Epitol); oxcarbazepine (Trileptal); phenobarbital (Luminal); phenytoin (Dilantin, Dilantin-125, Phenytek) • Medicines used for tuberculosis: rifabutin (Mycobutin); rifampin (Rifater, Rifamate, Rimactane, Rifadin); rifapentine (Priftin) • Certain medicines used to block stomach acid called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs): dexlansoprazole (Dexilant); esomeprazole (Nexium, Vimovo); lansoprazole (Prevacid); omeprazole (Prilosec, Zegerid); pantoprazole sodium (Protonix); rabeprazole (Aciphex) • Certain steroid medicines: More than 1 dose of dexamethasone or dexamethasone sodium phosphate • Certain herbal supplements: St. John’s wort • Certain hepatitis medicines: adefovir (Hepsera), lamivudine (Epivir-HBV) Do not take COMPLERA if you also take any other HIV-1 medicines, including: • Other medicines that contain tenofovir (ATRIPLA, STRIBILD, TRUVADA, VIREAD) • Other medicines that contain emtricitabine or lamivudine (ATRIPLA, Combivir, EMTRIVA, Epivir, Epzicom, STRIBILD, Trizivir, TRUVADA) • rilpivirine (Edurant) COMPLERA is not for use in people who are less than 18 years old.

What are the possible side effects of COMPLERA? COMPLERA may cause the following serious side effects: • See “What is the most important information I should know about COMPLERA?” • New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys before you start and while you are taking COMPLERA. If you have had kidney problems in the past or need to take another medicine that can cause kidney problems, your healthcare provider may need to do blood tests to check your kidneys during your treatment with COMPLERA. • Depression or mood changes. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms: – feeling sad or hopeless – feeling anxious or restless – have thoughts of hurting yourself (suicide) or have tried to hurt yourself • Change in liver enzymes. People with a history of hepatitis B or C

virus infection or who have certain liver enzyme changes may have an increased risk of developing new or worsening liver problems during treatment with COMPLERA. Liver problems can also happen during treatment with COMPLERA in people without a history of liver disease.

Your healthcare provider may need to do tests to check your liver enzymes before and during treatment with COMPLERA. • Bone problems can happen in some people who take COMPLERA. Bone problems include bone pain, softening or thinning (which may lead to fractures). Your healthcare provider may need to do tests to check your bones.

• Changes in body fat can happen in people taking HIV-1 medicine.

These changes may include increased amount of fat in the upper back and neck (“buffalo hump”), breast, and around the main part of your body (trunk). Loss of fat from the legs, arms and face may also happen.

The cause and long term health effect of these conditions are not known.

• Changes in your immune system (Immune Reconstitution Syndrome) can happen when you start taking HIV-1 medicines. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that have been hidden in your body for a long time. Tell your healthcare provider if you start having any new symptoms after starting your HIV-1 medicine.

The most common side effects of COMPLERA include: • Trouble sleeping (insomnia), abnormal dreams, headache, dizziness, diarrhea, nausea, rash, tiredness, depression Additional common side effects include: • Vomiting, stomach pain or discomfort, skin discoloration (small spots or freckles), pain Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

• These are not all the possible side effects of COMPLERA. For more information, ask your healthcare provider.

• Call your healthcare provider for medical advice about side effects.

You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking COMPLERA? Tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including: • If you have or had any kidney, mental health, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis B or C infection.

• If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if COMPLERA can harm your unborn child.

– There is a pregnancy registry for women who take antiviral medicines during pregnancy. The purpose of this registry is to collect information about the health of you and your baby. Talk to your healthcare provider about how you can take part in this registry.

• If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you take COMPLERA. – You should not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby.

– Two of the medicines in COMPLERA can pass to your baby in your breast milk. It is not known if this could harm your baby.

– Talk to your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements: • COMPLERA may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how COMPLERA works.

• If you take certain medicines with COMPLERA, the amount of COMPLERA in your body may be too low and it may not work to help

control your HIV-1 infection. The HIV-1 virus in your body may become resistant to COMPLERA or other HIV-1 medicines that are like it.

• Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you take any of the following medicines: – Antacid medicines that contain aluminum, magnesium hydroxide, or calcium carbonate. Take antacids at least 2 hours before or at least 4 hours after you take COMPLERA. – Certain medicines to block the acid in your stomach, including cimetidine (Tagamet), famotidine (Pepcid), nizatidine (Axid), or ranitidine hydrochloride (Zantac). Take the acid blocker at least 12 hours before or at least 4 hours after you take COMPLERA. Some acid blocking medicines should never be taken with COMPLERA (see “Who should not take COMPLERA?” for a list of these medicines).

– Medicines that can affect how your kidneys work, including acyclovir (Zovirax), cidofovir (Vistide), ganciclovir (Cytovene IV, Vitrasert), valacyclovir (Valtrex), and valganciclovir (Valcyte).

– clarithromycin (Biaxin) – erythromycin (E-Mycin, Eryc, Ery-Tab, PCE, Pediazole, Ilosone) – fluconazole (Diflucan) – itraconazole (Sporanox) – ketoconazole (Nizoral) – methadone (Dolophine) – posaconazole (Noxafil) – telithromycin (Ketek) – voriconazole (Vfend) Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine. Do not start any new medicines while you are taking COMPLERA without first talking with your healthcare provider.

How should I take COMPLERA? • Stay under the care of your healthcare provider during treatment with COMPLERA. • Take COMPLERA exactly as your healthcare provider tells you to take it.

• Always take COMPLERA with food. Taking COMPLERA with food is important to help get the right amount of medicine in your body. A protein drink is not a substitute for food. If your healthcare provider decides to stop COMPLERA and you are switched to new medicines to treat HIV-1 that includes rilpivirine tablets, the rilpivirine tablets should be taken only with a meal.

Keep COMPLERA and all medicines out of reach of children.

This Brief Summary summarizes the most important information about COMPLERA. If you would like more information, talk with your healthcare provider. You can also ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for information about COMPLERA that is written for health professionals, or call 1-800-445-3235 or go to www.COMPLERA.com.

Issued: December 2013

COMPLERA, the COMPLERA Logo, EMTRIVA, GILEAD, the GILEAD Logo, GSI, HEPSERA, STRIBILD, TRUVADA, VIREAD, and VISTIDE are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. ATRIPLA is a trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb & Gilead Sciences, LLC. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. ©2014 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. CPAC0098 02/14

NewsBreak

a birthday cake for every client, child and senior caregiver enrolled in its home-delivered meal program. Thousands of cakes bring smiles and sweetnss to clients every year on their special day. Now is your chance to be part of the delicious magic, which involves not only Chuck the Baker but also staff, volunteers, and delivery drivers. Consider joining the God’s Love Birthday Bake Sale and sponsoring a cake for $10 each. Other sponsorship levels are available as well.

For more information, log on to: www.glwd.org.

Born Free is a private sector-led initiative with a singular, achievable objective: ending mother-to-child transmission of HIV by December 31, 2015. To turn this deadline into a lifeline, Born Free has enlisted donors, policymakers, and partners, like the AIDS-conscious fashion community.

Taking its cue from the Millennium Development Goal Health Alliance, and working with advocates of all sorts across African countries, Born Free offers a simple but stark argument: 700 hundred children are infected every day, with 260,000 children affected in 2012 alone. Ninety-eight percent of the cases are preventable. One pill a day prevents a child from being born with HIV. Progress is being made: Each year since 2001 has brought a fifty-percent decline in children newly infected by this mode of transmission.

While mother-to-child transmission of HIV is infrequent in the U.S. and other Western countries, it is hitting hard individuals in regions like sub-Saharan Africa.

In time for Mother’s Day, Born Free recently launched one of a series of initiatives called the Born Free Collection, which features designer pieces for both women and children based on the work of noted Kenyan-born, New York-based visual artist Wangechi Mutu.

“Born Free is an idea that came from a place of deep respect for the delicate cycle of life.

How incredible to be able to work with gifted designers, who as mothers recognize what the devastating loss of a child could mean and how easily that loss can be avoided,” said Wangechi Mutu in a prepared release.

The twenty-two designers tapped to contribute to the Collection are all mothers: Diane von Furstenberg, Miuccia Prada, Jenna Lyons (J. Crew), Carolina Herrera, Victoria Beckham, Phoebe Philo (Celine), Gisele Bündchen, Tory Burch, Sarah Burton (Alexander McQueen), Consuelo Castiglioni (Marni), Alberta Ferretti, Donna Karan, Liya Kebede (lemlem), Clare Waight Keller (Chloe), Isabel Marant, Georgina Chapman and Karen Craig (Marchesa), Stella McCartney, Rachel Roy, Ivanka Trump, Donatella Versace and Vera Wang. Most pieces are under $250, with all profits from sales of the Collection to benefit Born Free.

An ad campaign, photographed by Patrick Demarchelier, also captures the maternal theme by featuring top models and their children, wearing the Born Free Collection.

Many of the designers, along with Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour, created a PSA to raise awareness about mother-tochild transmission and the power of motherhood to make a positive difference.

The May 2014 issue of Vogue features an article, penned by Jonathan Van Meter and illustrated with photographs by Annie Leibovitz, about a trip taken by two participating designers, Victoria Beckham and Liya Kebede, to see the work Clockwise from top: Born Free Collection being done to reduce mother-to-child transmission in designs by Diane von Furstenberg, Tory South Africa. Vogue’s parent company, Condé Nast, Burch, and Donatella Versace will donate 100 percent of new subscription proceeds, across all of its brands, purchased through the Born Free promotion running in May and June 2014 print issues and on brand Web sites. (Visit www.condenast.com/bornfree for more information.)

In addition, the M∙A∙C AIDS Fund has pledged to match every dollar from Born Free Collection purchases and donations, up to $500,000. The Fund will also match the purchase price of all tickets sold for the Born Free Mother’s Day Family Carnival, to be held in New York City on May 11 with live performances by Ariana Grande and Idina Menzel, and much more. Over the past two decades, the Fund has donated more than $27 million to the fight against AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, with a special emphasis on eliminating HIV among children in a region where ninety percent of all new infections are due to mother-to-child transmission.

Check out the Born Free Collection available exclusively on Shopbop.com, an Amazon Fashion site. Log on to www.bornfreeafrica.org for more information.

14

photos courtesy ShopBop

Born Free Collection

A&U • MAY 2014

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$24.95

Stay informed about art, activism, drug research, nutrition, alternative therapies, and the latest books, music, films, and TV shows plus every month your favorite celebrities and their take on the issues that face the HIV community.

call 518-426-9010 or Subscribe Online at aumag.org

BRYAN WEST Rent and he movingly comments, “It…was…life-changing.” This gifted hoofer and belter has been active in the HIV/AIDS community, participating in Broadway Cares, Broadway Bares, Easter Bonnet, and Gypsy of the Year.

For a time, Bryan lived in Los Angeles and was a production assistant to iconic celebrity photographer, Herb Ritts. He worked on the photo shoots of such superstars as Elizabeth Taylor, Tyra Banks, Shakira, and Justin Timberlake.

Though the Priscilla tour ended late last year, echoes of the show remain. Bryan and I meet up at The Blue Stove, an eatery located in his cozy Brooklyn neighborhood, to babble over lunch.

Ruby Comer: This place is enchanting, my dear! Why did you choose it?

Bryan West: It’s like stepping back in time when you walk in here. They bake every kind of pie and cookie and even quiche. [The waiter sets down a slice of key lime pie in front of Bryan.] The coffee is excellent, it has free Wi-Fi, and all the people who work here look like they came from Mayberry, except they have tattoos.

Our waiter does resemble Barney Fife! So the tour ended late last year. Looking back, how do you feel about the experience?

It was so much fun and I miss the show tremendously. I also never had to do cardio because of the physical demands of my role. Now I’m on a treadmill every day.

West (right) as Felicia in Priscilla

16

Alas, back to the gym. [I sample my warm apple cinnamon pie. Yummy!] How similar are you to your character, Adam?

I like to make people laugh and can be a bit of a handful sometimes, but other than that, I am nothing like Adam. He’s

so much fun to play though!

You made your Broadway debut in Hairspray. What was that like?

I was so nervous, Ruby, and I had the flu, so it was a crazy out of body experience.

Say, what pops into your noggin when the AIDS epidemic is mentioned?

Immediately, Rock Hudson. I guess I remember my family talking about how he had AIDS when I was very little.

When did you first experience the disease up-close?

While I was working with Herb Ritts….

What impact did it have on you?

I saw him getting weaker and thinner, but he was always so kind—and funny.

He had a great laugh. He used to direct a lot from a microphone [during a shoot] so that continued on page 60

ruby illustration by Davidd Batalon; Priscilla photo by Joan Marcus; portrait courtesy of B. West

H

ot…Stuff!

What do these words conjure up for you my darlings? Sizzling French fries? An arousing piece of art? How about the timeless tune made famous by the legendary disco diva Donna Summer, a featured number in the Tony-award winning musical, Priscilla Queen of The Desert? It’s electrifyingly sung

by Bryan West, who portrays Adam (and his alter ego the outrageous Felicia) in the national touring company. “Hot Stuff” is also a moniker I bestow on him—with a capital “H” and a capital “S.” This little dreamboat understudied the role of Adam on Broadway, but for the road, he spun that disco ball and made the role his own. A familiar face on Broadway, he appeared in Hairspray, which was created

by Baltimore’s favorite son, John Waters.

Bryan is also a Baltimore native who chalks up Waters as an inspiration. The lad also performed in Hairspray’s national tour, and in the national tour of Wicked as well. The first Broadway show Bryan ever saw was

A&U • MAY 2014

Bringing hearts together since 1998

P zMatch.c m

poetry

Generosity

A

After school today you rode your bike uptown to pick up the newspapers for your route, then delivered them on your way home.

When you finally arrived, fresh young face flushed from the ride, you shrugged off your backpack and told me about the pottery you’d made at school, how you’d planned to bring it home for me, but that the old lady at #110 had looked so sad, so alone, and was so happy to see you that you’d given it to her instead.

Rather than feeling cheated I loved you all the more for having shared what would have been mine.

18

A&U • MAY 2014

poetry

It’s All a Mistake, Isn’t It?

I

I don’t believe this is happening.

You and me sitting in this unfamiliar doctor’s office in a distant city watching doctors and nurses come and go; now serious, then some dark humor passes between them.

In and out of rooms as if they’re hunting for the right one.

While you watch them waiting for one to call your name, I watch you, my handsome son, the picture of health.

Surely someone is mistaken.

Doctors aren’t perfect, are they?

Or labs?

Just look at him, I want to say.

How can anyone who looks this healthy have diminished numbers of T cells?

Doctors don’t know everything.

I am a mother; I would know if my son was dying.

As if I’ve never seen you before, I study you, trying to absorb the essence of you— your frame, your unruly curls, your ready smile— for future reference.

—Mary Ellen Shaughan

Mary Ellen Shaughan lives in Western Massachusetts. Her poetry has appeared in Mid-America Poetry Review, Foliate Oak, Long Story Short, Daily Palette/Iowa Writes, and other journals.

MAY 2014 • A&U

19

ABOUT PREZISTA

®

PREZISTA® is always taken with and at the same time as ritonavir (Norvir ®), in combination with other HIV medicines for the treatment of HIV infection in adults. PREZISTA® should also be taken with food.

• The use of other medicines active against HIV in combination with PREZISTA®/ritonavir (Norvir ®) may increase your ability to fight HIV. Your healthcare professional will work with you to find the right combination of HIV medicines • It is important that you remain under the care of your healthcare professional during treatment with PREZISTA® PREZISTA® does not cure HIV infection or AIDS and you may continue to experience illnesses associated with HIV-1 infection, including opportunistic infections. You should remain under the care of a doctor when using PREZISTA.® Please read Important Safety Information below, and talk to your healthcare professional to learn if PREZISTA® is right for you.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about PREZISTA®?

• PREZISTA® can interact with other medicines and cause serious side effects. See “Who should not take PREZISTA®?”

• PREZISTA® may cause liver problems. Some people taking PREZISTA,® together with Norvir ® (ritonavir), have developed liver problems which may be life-threatening. Your healthcare professional should do blood tests before and during your combination treatment with PREZISTA.® If you have chronic hepatitis B or C infection, your healthcare professional should check your blood tests more often because you have an increased chance of developing liver problems • Tell your healthcare professional if you have any of these signs and symptoms of liver problems: dark (tea-colored) urine, yellowing of your skin or whites of your eyes, pale-colored stools (bowel movements), nausea, vomiting, pain or tenderness on your right side below your ribs, or loss of appetite • PREZISTA® may cause a severe or life-threatening skin reaction or rash. Sometimes these skin reactions and skin rashes can become severe and require treatment in a hospital. You should call your healthcare professional immediately if you develop a rash.

However, stop taking PREZISTA® and ritonavir combination treatment and call your healthcare professional immediately if you develop any skin changes with these symptoms: fever, tiredness, muscle or joint pain, blisters or skin lesions, mouth sores or ulcers, red or inflamed eyes, like “pink eye.” Rash occurred more often in patients taking PREZISTA® and raltegravir together than with either drug separately, but was generally mild Who should not take PREZISTA®?

• Do not take PREZISTA® if you are taking the following medicines: alfuzosin (Uroxatral®), dihydroergotamine (D.H.E.45,® Embolex,® Migranal®), ergonovine, ergotamine (Cafergot,® Ergomar ®), methylergonovine, cisapride (Propulsid®), pimozide (Orap®), oral midazolam, triazolam (Halcion®), the herbal supplement St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum), lovastatin (Mevacor,® Altoprev,® Advicor ®), simvastatin (Zocor,® Simcor,® Vytorin®), rifampin (Rifadin,® Rifater,®

Rifamate,® Rimactane®), sildenafil (Revatio®) when used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension, indinavir (Crixivan®), lopinavir/ ritonavir (Kaletra®), saquinavir (Invirase®), boceprevir (Victrelis™), or telaprevir (Incivek™) • Before taking PREZISTA,® tell your healthcare professional if you are taking sildenafil (Viagra,® Revatio®), vardenafil (Levitra,® Staxyn®), tadalafil (Cialis,® Adcirca®), atorvastatin (Lipitor ®), rosuvastatin (Crestor ®), pravastatin (Pravachol®), or colchicine (Colcrys,® Col-Probenecid®). Tell your healthcare professional if you are taking estrogen-based contraceptives (birth control). PREZISTA® might reduce the effectiveness of estrogen-based contraceptives. You must take additional precautions for birth control, such as condoms This is not a complete list of medicines. Be sure to tell your healthcare professional about all the medicines you are taking or plan to take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

What should I tell my doctor before I take PREZISTA®?

• Before taking PREZISTA,® tell your healthcare professional if you have any medical conditions, including liver problems (including hepatitis B or C), allergy to sulfa medicines, diabetes, or hemophilia • Tell your healthcare professional if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding — The effects of PREZISTA® on pregnant women or their unborn babies are not known. You and your healthcare professional will need to decide if taking PREZISTA® is right for you — Do not breastfeed. It is not known if PREZISTA® can be passed to your baby in your breast milk and whether it could harm your baby. Also, mothers with HIV should not breastfeed because HIV can be passed to your baby in the breast milk What are the possible side effects of PREZISTA®?

• High blood sugar, diabetes or worsening of diabetes, and increased bleeding in people with hemophilia have been reported in patients taking protease inhibitor medicines, including PREZISTA® • Changes in body fat have been seen in some patients taking HIV medicines, including PREZISTA.® The cause and long-term health effects of these conditions are not known at this time • Changes in your immune system can happen when you start taking HIV medicines. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that have been hidden • The most common side effects related to taking PREZISTA® include diarrhea, nausea, rash, headache, stomach pain, and vomiting. This is not a complete list of all possible side effects. If you experience these or other side effects, talk to your healthcare professional. Do not stop taking PREZISTA® or any other medicines without first talking to your healthcare professional You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please refer to the ritonavir (Norvir ®) Product Information (PI and PPI) for additional information on precautionary measures.

Please read accompanying Patient Information for PREZISTA® and discuss any questions you have with your doctor.

28PRZDTC0288R8

PREZISTA® (darunavir) is a prescription medicine. It is one treatment option in the class of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) medicines known as protease inhibitors.

ily Once-Da

Once-Daily PREZISTA® (darunavir) taken with ritonavir and in combination with other HIV medications can help lower your viral load and keep your HIV under control.

The PREZISTA® Experience isn’t just an HIV treatment.

It’s an HIV treatment experience as unique as you.

Find out if the PREZISTA® Experience is right for you.

Ask your healthcare professional and learn more at PREZISTA.com

Snap a quick pic of our logo to show your doctor and get the conversation started.

Please read the Important Safety Information and Patient Information on adjacent pages.

Janssen Therapeutics, Division of Janssen Products, LP © Janssen Therapeutics, Division of Janssen Products, LP 2014 01/14 006960-131202

IMPORTANT PATIENT INFORMATION PREZISTA (pre-ZIS-ta) (darunavir) Oral Suspension PREZISTA (pre-ZIS-ta) (darunavir) Tablets Read this Patient Information before you start taking PREZISTA and each time you get a refill. There may be new information. This information does not take the place of talking to your healthcare provider about your medical condition or your treatment.

Also read the Patient Information leaflet for NORVIR® (ritonavir).

What is the most important information I should know about PREZISTA? • PREZISTA can interact with other medicines and cause serious side effects. It is important to know the medicines that should not be taken with PREZISTA. See the section “Who should not take PREZISTA?” • PREZISTA may cause liver problems. Some people taking PREZISTA in combination with NORVIR® (ritonavir) have developed liver problems which may be life-threatening. Your healthcare provider should do blood tests before and during your combination treatment with PREZISTA. If you have chronic hepatitis B or C infection, your healthcare provider should check your blood tests more often because you have an increased chance of developing liver problems.

• Tell your healthcare provider if you have any of the below signs and symptoms of liver problems.

• Dark (tea colored) urine • yellowing of your skin or whites of your eyes • pale colored stools (bowel movements) • nausea • vomiting • pain or tenderness on your right side below your ribs • loss of appetite PREZISTA may cause severe or life-threatening skin reactions or rash.

Sometimes these skin reactions and skin rashes can become severe and require treatment in a hospital. You should call your healthcare provider immediately if you develop a rash. However, stop taking PREZISTA and ritonavir combination treatment and call your healthcare provider immediately if you develop any skin changes with symptoms below: • fever • tiredness • muscle or joint pain • blisters or skin lesions • mouth sores or ulcers • red or inflamed eyes, like “pink eye” (conjunctivitis) Rash occurred more often in people taking PREZISTA and raltegravir together than with either drug separately, but was generally mild.

See “What are the possible side effects of PREZISTA?” for more information about side effects.

What is PREZISTA? PREZISTA is a prescription anti-HIV medicine used with ritonavir and other anti-HIV medicines to treat adults with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) infection. PREZISTA is a type of anti-HIV medicine called a protease inhibitor. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

When used with other HIV medicines, PREZISTA may help to reduce the amount of HIV in your blood (called “viral load”). PREZISTA may also help to increase the number of white blood cells called CD4 (T) cell which help fight off other infections. Reducing the amount of HIV and increasing the CD4 (T) cell count may improve your immune system.

This may reduce your risk of death or infections that can happen when your immune system is weak (opportunistic infections).

PREZISTA does not cure HIV infection or AIDS and you may continue to experience illnesses associated with HIV-1 infection, including opportunistic infections. You should remain under the care of a doctor when using PREZISTA. Avoid doing things that can spread HIV-1 infection.

• Do not share needles or other injection equipment.

• Do not share personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them, like toothbrushes and razor blades.

• D o not have any kind of sex without protection. Always practice safe sex by using a latex or polyurethane condom to lower the chance of sexual contact with semen, vaginal secretions, or blood.

Ask your healthcare provider if you have any questions on how to prevent passing HIV to other people.

Who should not take PREZISTA? Do not take PREZISTA with any of the following medicines: • alfuzosin (Uroxatral®) • dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45®, Embolex®, Migranal®), ergonovine, ergotamine (Cafergot®, Ergomar®) methylergonovine • cisapride • pimozide (Orap®) • oral midazolam, triazolam (Halcion®) • the herbal supplement St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) • the cholesterol lowering medicines lovastatin (Mevacor®, Altoprev®, Advicor®) or simvastatin (Zocor®, Simcor®, Vytorin®) • rifampin (Rifadin®, Rifater®, Rifamate®, Rimactane®) • sildenafil (Revatio®) only when used for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Serious problems can happen if you take any of these medicines with PREZISTA. What should I tell my doctor before I take PREZISTA? PREZISTA may not be right for you. Before taking PREZISTA, tell your healthcare provider if you: • have liver problems, including hepatitis B or hepatitis C • are allergic to sulfa medicines • have high blood sugar (diabetes) • have hemophilia • are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. It is not known if PREZISTA will harm your unborn baby.

Pregnancy Registry: You and your healthcare provider will need to decide if taking PREZISTA is right for you. If you take PREZISTA while you are pregnant, talk to your healthcare provider about how you can be included in the Antiretroviral Pregnancy Registry. The purpose of the registry is follow the health of you and your baby.

• are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. We do not know if PREZISTA can be passed to your baby in your breast milk and whether it could harm your baby. Also, mothers with HIV-1 should not breastfeed because HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in the breast milk.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Using PREZISTA and certain other medicines may affect each other causing serious side effects. PREZISTA may affect the way other medicines work and other medicines may affect how PREZISTA works.

Especially tell your healthcare provider if you take: • other medicine to treat HIV • estrogen-based contraceptives (birth control). PREZISTA might reduce the effectiveness of estrogen-based contraceptives. You must take additional precautions for birth control such as a condom.

• medicine for your heart such as bepridil, lidocaine (Xylocaine Viscous®), quinidine (Nuedexta®), amiodarone (Pacerone®, Cardarone®), digoxin (Lanoxin®), flecainide (Tambocor®), propafenone (Rythmol®) • warfarin (Coumadin®, Jantoven®) • medicine for seizures such as carbamazepine (Carbatrol®, Equetro®, Tegretol®, Epitol®), phenobarbital, phenytoin (Dilantin®, Phenytek®) • medicine for depression such as trazadone and desipramine (Norpramin®) • clarithromycin (Prevpac®, Biaxin®) • medicine for fungal infections such as ketoconazole (Nizoral®), itraconazole (Sporanox®, Onmel®), voriconazole (VFend®) • colchicine (Colcrys®, Col-Probenecid®) • rifabutin (Mycobutin®) • medicine used to treat blood pressure, a heart attack, heart failure, or to lower pressure in the eye such as metoprolol (Lopressor®, Toprol-XL®), timolol (Cosopt®, Betimol®, Timoptic®, Isatolol®, Combigan®) • midazolam administered by injection • medicine for heart disease such as felodipine (Plendil®), nifedipine (Procardia®, Adalat CC®, Afeditab CR®), nicardipine (Cardene®) • steroids such as dexamethasone, fluticasone (Advair Diskus®, Veramyst®, Flovent®, Flonase®) • bosentan (Tracleer®) • medicine to treat chronic hepatitis C such as boceprevir (VictrelisTM), telaprevir (IncivekTM)

IMPORTANT PATIENT INFORMATION • m edicine for cholesterol such as pravastatin (Pravachol®), atorvastatin (Lipitor®), rosuvastatin (Crestor®) • medicine to prevent organ transplant failure such as cyclosporine (Gengraf®, Sandimmune®, Neoral®), tacrolimus (Prograf®), sirolimus (Rapamune®) • salmeterol (Advair®, Serevent®) • medicine for narcotic withdrawal such as methadone (Methadose®, Dolophine Hydrochloride), buprenorphine (Butrans®, Buprenex®, Subutex®), buprenorphine/naloxone (Suboxone®) • medicine to treat schizophrenia such as risperidone (Risperdal®), thioridazine • medicine to treat erectile dysfunction or pulmonary hypertension such as sildenafil (Viagra®, Revatio®), vardenafil (Levitra®, Staxyn®), tadalafil (Cialis®, Adcirca®) • medicine to treat anxiety, depression or panic disorder such as sertraline (Zoloft®), paroxetine (Paxil®, Pexeva®) • medicine to treat malaria such as artemether/lumefantrine (Coartem®) This is not a complete list of medicines that you should tell your healthcare provider that you are taking. Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist if you are not sure if your medicine is one that is listed above. Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of them to show your doctor or pharmacist when you get a new medicine. Do not start any new medicines while you are taking PREZISTA without first talking with your healthcare provider.

How should I take PREZISTA? • Take PREZISTA every day exactly as prescribed by your healthcare provider.

• You must take ritonavir (NORVIR®) at the same time as PREZISTA. • Do not change your dose of PREZISTA or stop treatment without talking to your healthcare provider first.

• Take PREZISTA and ritonavir (NORVIR®) with food.

• Swallow PREZISTA tablets whole with a drink. If you have difficulty swallowing PREZISTA tablets, PREZISTA oral suspension is also available. Your health care provider will help decide whether PREZISTA tablets or oral suspension is right for you.

• PREZISTA oral suspension should be given with the supplied oral dosing syringe. Shake the suspension well before each use. See the Instructions for Use that come with PREZISTA oral suspension for information about the right way to prepare and take a dose.

• If your prescribed dose of PREZISTA oral suspension is more than 6 mL, you will need to divide the dose. Follow the instructions given to you by your healthcare provider or pharmacist about how to divide the dose. Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist if you are not sure.

• If you take too much PREZISTA, call your healthcare provider or go to the nearest hospital emergency room right away.

What should I do if I miss a dose?

People who take PREZISTA one time a day: • If you miss a dose of PREZISTA by less than 12 hours, take your missed dose of PREZISTA right away. Then take your next dose of PREZISTA at your regularly scheduled time.

• If you miss a dose of PREZISTA by more than 12 hours, wait and then take the next dose of PREZISTA at your regularly scheduled time.

People who take PREZISTA two times a day • If you miss a dose of PREZISTA by less than 6 hours, take your missed dose of PREZISTA right away. Then take your next dose of PREZISTA at your regularly scheduled time.

• If you miss a dose of PREZISTA by more than 6 hours, wait and then take the next dose of PREZISTA at your regularly scheduled time.

If a dose of PREZISTA is skipped, do not double the next dose. Do not take more or less than your prescribed dose of PREZISTA at any one time.

What are the possible side effects of PREZISTA? PREZISTA can cause side effects including: • See “What is the most important information I should know about PREZISTA?” • Diabetes and high blood sugar (hyperglycemia). Some people who take protease inhibitors including PREZISTA can get high blood sugar, develop diabetes, or your diabetes can get worse. Tell your healthcare provider if you notice an increase in thirst or urinate often while taking PREZISTA. • Changes in body fat. These changes can happen in people who take antiretroviral therapy. The changes may include an increased amount of fat in the upper back and neck (“buffalo hump”), breast, and around the back, chest, and stomach area. Loss of fat from the legs, arms, and face may also happen. The exact cause and longterm health effects of these conditions are not known.

• Changes in your immune system (Immune Reconstitution Syndrome) can happen when you start taking HIV medicines. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that have been hidden in your body for a long time. Call your healthcare provider right away if you start having new symptoms after starting your HIV medicine.

• Increased bleeding for hemophiliacs. Some people with hemophilia have increased bleeding with protease inhibitors including PREZISTA. The most common side effects of PREZISTA include: • diarrhea • headache • nausea • abdominal pain • rash • vomiting Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

These are not all of the possible side effects of PREZISTA. For more information, ask your health care provider.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

How should I store PREZISTA? • Store PREZISTA oral suspension and tablets at room temperature [77°F (25°C)].

• Do not refrigerate or freeze PREZISTA oral suspension.

• Keep PREZISTA away from high heat.

• PREZISTA oral suspension should be stored in the original container.

Keep PREZISTA and all medicines out of the reach of children.

General information about PREZISTA Medicines are sometimes prescribed for purposes other than those listed in a Patient Information leaflet. Do not use PREZISTA for a condition for which it was not prescribed. Do not give PREZISTA to other people even if they have the same condition you have. It may harm them.

This leaflet summarizes the most important information about PREZISTA. If you would like more information, talk to your healthcare provider. You can ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for information about PREZISTA that is written for health professionals.

For more information, call 1-800-526-7736.

What are the ingredients in PREZISTA? Active ingredient: darunavir Inactive ingredients: PREZISTA Oral Suspension: hydroxypropyl cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, methylparaben sodium, citric acid monohydrate, sucralose, masking flavor, strawberry cream flavor, hydrochloric acid (for pH adjustment), purified water.

PREZISTA 75 mg and 150 mg Tablets: colloidal silicon dioxide, crospovidone, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose. The film coating contains: OPADRY® White (polyethylene glycol 3350, polyvinyl alcohol-partially hydrolyzed, talc, titanium dioxide).

PREZISTA 400 mg and 600 mg Tablets: colloidal silicon dioxide, crospovidone, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose. The film coating contains: OPADRY® Orange (FD&C Yellow No. 6, polyethylene glycol 3350, polyvinyl alcohol-partially hydrolyzed, talc, titanium dioxide).

PREZISTA 800 mg Tablets: colloidal silicon dioxide, crospovidone, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, hypromellose. The film coating contains: OPADRY® Dark Red (iron oxide red, polyethylene glycol 3350, polyvinyl alcohol-partially hydrolyzed, talc, titanium dioxide).

This Patient Information has been approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration.

Product of Ireland Manufactured by: PREZISTA Oral Suspension PREZISTA Tablets Janssen Pharmaceutica, N.V. Janssen Ortho LLC, Beerse, Belgium Gurabo, PR 00778 Manufactured for: Janssen Therapeutics, Division of Janssen Products, LP, Titusville NJ 08560 Revised: December 2013 NORVIR® is a registered trademark of its respective owner.

PREZISTA® is a registered trademark of Janssen Pharmaceuticals © Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 2006 007653-131217

Hello Justin,

It’s been a while. I want to say congrats on all the wonderful things happening in your life. On another note, I would love your opinion on something. When should someone like myself, who is positive, disclose that information to someone you like or may be interested in? I find myself in such a hard space. Do you think guys are more open to dating men with HIV? I hope to hear from you soon!

—Quinton

This question is asked time and time again by all of us who are HIV-positive, unconsciously or consciously, whether we are talking about disclosure at work or play. You might not know this, but you ask this question to yourself more often than you think.

When I was dating I was very open about my status. It was one of the first things that I disclosed to my potential partner. If the guy that you are seeing doesn’t want to be with you after you tell him, then he isn’t worth your time. Also, if he doesn’t respect you for telling you in the first place, my opinion is to lose his number quickly. If he can’t respect you for telling him something so sacred then he isn’t even worth the dirt under your fingernails…..if there is any!

I have been rejected before when disclosing and luckily I had

24

enough self-esteem to say, “NEXT!!”

For instance, I was on a date with a guy and it was going really well. At the end of the date he and I made our way to my apartment in SW Washington, D.C. He asked if he could come up and I told him about my status. He immediately told me to get out of the car. After that moment I told myself that I would be upfront with my HIV status, even before the date started. It’s better to know what you are going into instead of being blind.

One fear that a lot of us have when being HIV-positive is being rejected. Being loved, despite what the masses say, is what every human being on this earth wants.

Sometimes it doesn’t have to be love from a spouse or boyfriend—it can be friends or family that soothe or scratch that love itch we all have.

The cliché that love is all we need rings true.

Your next question is a good one, “Do you think guys are more open to dating men with HIV?” Ten years ago I might have said “no.”

HIV has given us time to think: If we had a partner with a terminal illness would we be okay with being or staying with them?

Also, thinking about how HIV is contracted also presses the community to question its own fear and stigma. Nowadays I think that the world, especially those within the gay community, has gotten more and more comfort-

able with dating people who are HIV-positive. When HIV was first discovered, it killed within years of some diagnoses. But in this day and age people who are HIV-positive are living healthy lives. If the man that you are dating is educated enough on HIV he will know that there is a recent finding that says, in the U.S. and Canada, a twentyyear-old HIV-positive adult can expect to live into their seventies if on antiretroviral therapy. Last year, a European study found an average life expectancy for a person living with HIV was 71.5 to 75 years. Also another recent study says that when an HIV-positive individual is considered undetectable they cannot transmit the virus. Now this is not to say go out and have sex without a condom; what I’m trying to say is take care of yourself so that your virus can become undetectable. Also, still use a condom because there are other sexually transmitted infections that you have to worry about like hepatitis, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, etc. If he knows these things, then he knows that there is little risk for you to transmit anything to him.

Just remember, you have to start loving yourself before you can even think of having love in your heart for someone else. I hope this helps in your journey to find love. Also remember to take your time—good things happen to those who wait. ◊

A&U • MAY 2014

photo by Don Harris © Don Harris Photographics, LLC. all rights reserved

Justin B. Terry-Smith has been fighting the good fight since 1999. He’s garnered recognition and awards for his work, but he’s more concerned about looking for new ways to transform society for the better than resting on his laurels. He started up in gay rights and HIV activism in 2005, published an HIV-themed children’s book, I Have A Secret (Creative House Press) in 2011, and created his own award-winning video blog called, “Justin’s HIV Journal”: justinshivjournal.blogspot.com. Now, with this column, Justin has found a way to give voice to the issues that people write to him about. Visit his main Web site at www.justinbsmith.com. He welcomes your questions at jsmithco98@hotmail.com.

“AN UNFLINCHING MASTERPIECE.” —DAVID LEVERING LEWIS, Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer of W.E.B. Du Bois

“Daringly imagined and beautifully written, Hold Tight Gently is a major work of

modern history that chills us to the bone even as it moves us to tears.”

—MICHAEL BRONSKI, Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Harvard University

“A

deeply moving work of largely hidden history.”

—BARBARA SMITH, author of The Truth That Never Hurts

“A powerful book that displays both the malice and the nobility of our species.” —Kirkus Reviews “This marvelous book will be read by activists everwhere—and empower the future.”

—BLANCHE WIESEN COOK, author of Eleanor Roosevelt

“Funny and moving, enlightening and thoughtful, inspiring and enraging, this dual biography reveals the heartbreaking losses caused by the epidemic as well as the many ways people fought back.”

—JOHN D’EMILIO, Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies and History, University of Illinois at Chicago

THE NEW PRESS

THE NEW PRESS Publishing in the Public Interest www.thenewpress.com

FIGHT AIDS

for a World Without

Philadelphia FIGHT believes education equals empowerment

by Alina Oswald

T

photos by Holly Clark

ruth is that catch-phrases like “AIDS free generation” or “getting to zero” capture a promising vision of a world free of AIDS, by instilling the hope and dedication needed to eradicate this disease, but, at the end of the day, especially looking at the rising numbers of newly diagnosed individuals, especially among the youth, these nicely packaged messages can become just sound bites that, well, sound good and mean well...and nothing more. And that alone can stand in the way of truly putting an end to the epidemic.

And yet, some AIDS service organizations go beyond the sound bite and below the surface of the perceived imminence of an AIDS cure, and do the tough work required to actually make a cure happen in our lifetime. Philadelphia FIGHT, a regional grass-roots ASO, proves that finding a cure is not only in the hands of scientists, researchers and medical experts. It’s in all of our hands.

To find out how exactly Philadelphia FIGHT works, day after day, to realize this goal, I called FIGHT’s Director of Education, Juliet Fink Yates. For the past eight years, Yates has been an intrinsic part of the organization, and of its AIDS Education Month series of events that partners with over seventy different organizations to reach a wider community.

Alina Oswald: How has AIDS Education Month changed over the past two decades?

Juliet Fink Yates: It started out as a one-day conference, combined with [HIV] testing. But, [in time], it has expanded to include several huge conferences. And when I say huge, I mean over a thousand people [attending] each conference. It [also] includes over a hundred different community presentations. We go out into communities that don’t talk much about HIV/AIDS, and do an HIV State of the Union presentation, to make sure that people know about HIV/

26

AIDS. So, over the years, [AIDS Education Month] has become a much larger series of events, [much more than we’ve ever imagined].

Why is June dedicated to AIDS education?

National HIV Testing Day is on June 27. [One] reason we Faith Leaders Summit Keynote Speaker actress LisaRaye McCoy, do AIDS Education AIDS Education Month (AEM) 2013 Month is to get the word out about HIV in healing and hope to people living with HIV/ the wider public, and make sure that folks AIDS. I don’t think that we can end the know that they can get tested, get linked to epidemic unless people get into the room, care, that there is treatment, and that they and really talk about important messages can live a normal life with HIV. [regarding] HIV, [like] addressing and reducing stigma in the faith communities.

This year’s schedule has activities and proSo both of these conferences [Behind grams for everyone. There are events targetthe Walls: Prison Health Care and Reentry ing the prison population, and also a Faith Summit, and Faith Leaders and Community Leaders Community Summit, with keynote Summit] are very much aimed at reaching speaker Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright. Why is communities that we don’t get to talk to it important to include these communities? every day. And that’s entirely the point.

During AIDS Education Month we work hard to connect communities, especially Why focus on those who are or have those who’re not [otherwise] connected, to been incarcerated? the AIDS service world. The focus is on In general, the HIV epidemic is cenmarginalized communities in general. tered on marginalized communities, and We focus on prison services. So, our that includes folks who are incarcerated and Prison Summit brings together a unique who come back into their communities. group of people—ex-offenders, parole And so, [in order to] end this epidemic, officers, prison guards, and people who are it’s critically important to not only make working on reentry with people who have sure that folks who are HIV-positive and in a history of incarceration. The focus is on prison get services and healthcare that they prison, healthcare, HIV and reentry, but need to stay healthy, but it’s also critically that encompasses a lot of different topics, important that, when they get out of prison, and it also gets people in the same room they are not lost to care. talking about HIV, prisons and mass incarIt’s [also] critically important that those cerations, in a way that they don’t get to talk who are HIV-negative and in prison or reabout [otherwise]. turning from prison understand the impact That’s the same idea behind faith comof HIV, and how to stay safe and healthy. munities. [They] are so important in ending So, I think that the population who is the epidemic, in providing messages of A&U • MAY 2014

incarcerated is the same (or similar to the) population that has the highest rates of HIV in Philadelphia, and in the U.S. I ask because, while many people may understand the role of faith leaders when it comes to HIV/AIDS, they may take a whyshould-I-care attitude toward those in prison or who have been incarcerated.

I think that they would say that about anybody potentially impacted by HIV. Why do I care about poor people? Why do I care about gay people? Why do I care about, you know...but the reality is that [HIV] touches so many of us, and we can’t end the epidemic if we don’t address some of the causes of the epidemic, which include poverty, mass incarceration, the war on drugs, and homophobia, for example.

I also noticed events related to AIDS activism. Why is it important to address AIDS activism in this day and age?

We, at Philadelphia FIGHT, have a long history of working closely with the AIDS activism movement in Philadelphia through ACT UP Philly, and a variety of other organizations. Part of what we believe is that [while] HIV is a virus, the epidemic is caused by poverty, stigma and fear, and it requires that we fight for justice in order to end those things.

The early AIDS activists refused to lie down and die.

They went out to Wall Street and made noise, and demanded that the government put money into ending the AIDS epidemic, whether providing drugs [or] services. They changed how we access drugs [today]. We believe that the early activists changed the world.

So, every year we focus on a slightly different [activism] movement that is happening right now. In the past we have focused on drug policy, and the war on drugs. We’ve done activism around HIV cure—what are activists demanding, what needs to happen. This year’s Movements for Change event honors Kiyoshi Kuromiya, a gay rights supporter and HIV activist who died of HIV in 2000, [by celebrating activists who continue this work].

MAY 2014 • A&U

This year we’re going to focus on immigration, because there is so much happening right now with the immigration movement, including detention and deportation, access to affordable healthcare through the Affordable Care Act, and access to legal services. If you are undocumented, but also if you are here legally, there are a lot of barriers that immigrants have when accessing HIV care or legal care.

The calendar is chock-full of exciting events. At the opening ceremony, for example, the 2014 Kiyoshi Kuromiya Award

Yates: “It’s one of the last events that we do, so after all the hard work, after going to all these conferences, it’s a way to celebrate the fact that we are alive, having fun, and moving on with our lives.”

For years, it has become a tradition to end AIDS Education Month with a Gospel Concert event that brings faith communities together using music as an inspiration to address the AIDS epidemic. But the work doesn’t stop with the gospel or with June. FIGHT’s ultimate mission is to find an AIDS cure within the lifetime of those living with HIV today. To achieve this goal, this outstanding grass-roots organization tries to empower its target communities by bringing them information about PrEP, testing and getting treatment, and reducing viral load, hence, empowering them to actually end the epidemic.

Top: Philadelphia FIGHT staff member Gena Poulard with spoken word performers at Beyond the Walls: Prison Health Care & Reentry Summit, AEM 2013 Left: AEM 2013 Community Cookout

for Prevention, Treatment and Justice will be presented to Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, PhD, researcher and Nobel Prize winner for the codiscovery of HIV. And the Hip Hop for Philly free concert (headlined by Grammy nominee and chart-topping hip hop artist Wale) and a fun and free-spirited Community Cookout, a community health fair for consumers, people living with HIV/ AIDS and their entire families, will close out the month-long series of events. Says

As for catch-phrases and jingles that imply an impending AIDS-free world, they are all great, Yates says, “but we need to tie them to the real world, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

To join in on a great month of activities, check out AIDS Education Month at www.aidseducationmonth.org. To find out more about Philadelphia FIGHT, visit www.fight.org.

Alina Oswald interviewed Dining Out for Life spokesperson Ted Allen for the April issue.

27

Get

engaged!

A National Coalition Advancing Health & Healthcare Access for HIV Positive Communities

Join

Amplify the voice of PLWH in DC and around the country by joining the Pozitively Health Coalition at www.HealthHIV.org.

Engage Help us understand the needs of PLWH by taking the Pozitively Healthy survey at www.HealthHIV.org.

Connect E-mail or call Pozitively Healthy Staff: Joseph Jefferson: Joseph@HealthHIV.org Julio Fonseca: Julio@HealthHIV.org 202-232-6749 Facebook.com/PozitivelyHealthy @HealthHIV YouTube.com/HealthHIV

is a project of

A National Coalition Advancing Health & Healthcare Access for HIV Positive Communities A National Coalition Advancing Health & Healthcare Access for HIV Positive Communities

Announcing

A new national coalition for people living with HIV and their allies advocating for HIV positive communities

A National Coalition Advancing Health & Healthcare Access for HIV Positive Communities Are you concerned how health care reform will affect you?

Do you want to empower PLWH to make pozitively healthy decisions?

Join

Would you like to become a better informed consumer?

today!

A National Coalition Advancing Health & Healthcare Access for HIV Positive Communities

A National Coalition Advancing Health & Healthcare Access for HIV Positive Communities

EMPOWERMENT through EDUCATION and ADVOCACY l Empowered consumers are healthier consumers.

Empowered consumers engage in a dialogue with their providers about their health goals and treatment plans.

Consumer education helps PLWH recognize high quality, stigma-free health care and empowers them to take full advantage of health care reform.

Educated consumers can effectively advocate for equitable treatment throughout the health care system.

Effective advocacy by educated and empowered consumers helps ensure that competent, affordable, and effective health services and treatment are more accessible.

‘‘

Pozitively Empowering I am a 53-year-old Black gay man who has been HIV-positive for the past 25 years. I am dedicated to working with and advocating for youth, so that they may not have to endure the pain and hardships I have experienced. My involvement with Pozitively Healthy allows me to work with a diverse group of individuals on a personal, meaningful, and shared cause. I treasure the opportunity to be a positive influence and to help empower all HIV consumers.

My passion for helping others has led me to join a number of advocacy groups, as well as found Brothers Reaching Others, Inc. (BRO), which provides resources, educates clients, empowers individuals, develops skills, engages others, and disseminates information to disenfranchised and impoverished communities.

ʼʼ

Edward Jackson, CEO, Brothers Reaching Others, Anniston, Alabama

Pozitively Healthy National Steering Committee

Brandon Aversano George Washington University Washington, DC

David Brakebill Florida Keys HIV Community Planning Key West, FL

Matthew Lesieur VillageCare New York, NY

Stephen Bailous Metropolitan Washington Regional Ryan White Planning Council Washington, DC

Robert Caldwell The Tauri Group, Biowatch Systems Program Office Washington, DC

Andrew Hartman Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Institute of Catholic Charities Washington, DC

Judi Billings Targetted Alliances Puyallup, WA

Andrew Espinosa Midwest AIDS Training + Education Center Chicago, IL

Angel Hernandez Orocovis, PR

Mark Fischer Values in Action Washington, DC

Edward Jackson Brothers Reaching Others, Inc. Anniston, AL

leads to ACCESS to better care and improved health.

‘‘

Pozitively Educating and Advocating My involvement with Pozitively Healthy is rooted in understanding the history of the HIV movement, and my desire to diminish the emotional and social suffering PLWH experience due to ignorance and judgment. I see stigma as one of the largest barriers to testing and treatment. We need to change the way HIV is understood in public discourse; HIV is a virus and a public health issue. My long-term vision for Pozitively Healthy is to one day look back at the victory over stigma and judgment and see an enlightened and accepting society that recognizes HIV as a medical issue as opposed to a moral one.

ʼʼ

Ann Stuart Thacker, Executive Director, AIDSNET, Bethlehem, PA

‘‘

Pozitively Improving Access to Better Health As a gay man born during the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis, I never would have guessed that nearly 30 years later that stigma, barriers to quality heath care, and undue suffering would still exist for so many members of my community. Heroic efforts and huge advancements in science have been made; however, we have seen little progress in addressing not only the stigma of being HIV-positive, but also the legal and emotional ramifications of intolerance and misinformation. It is because of this uphill battle for PLWH that I have chosen to advocate on behalf of myself, my friends, and my community by joining Pozitively Healthy. It is because of those men and women who fought during the early days that I’m able to now lend my voice in support for those will come after me.

Bryce Romero, Consumer Marketing Assistant, Human Rights Campaign

ʼʼ

Pozitively Healthy advocates and educates so that the HIV community is and remains Pozitively Healthy

Angel Lozada Pittsburgh, PA Randal Lucero National Quality Center, Consumer Advisory Committee New Mexico Aging & Long-Term Services Department’s HIV/AIDS Advocacy Network Albuquerque, NM Oliver Martin, III National United Church of Christ HIV and AIDS Network Green Bay, WI

Eric Martinez Positive Mind & Body Support Group Net Vero Beach, FL Butch McKay Okaloosa AIDS Support and Informational Services, Inc. (OASIS), Fort Walton Beach, Florida Mark Peterson Michigan Positive Action Coalition (MI-POZ) Detroit, MI

Bryce Romero Human Rights Campaign Washington, DC

Ann Stuart Thacker AIDSNET Bethlehem, PA

David Sheon Whitecoat Strategies, LLC Washington, DC

Tim Vincent California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center Oakland, CA

John Tenorio Pueblo Community Health Center EIS Program Canton City, CO

David Waggoner A&U, America’s AIDS Magazine Albany, NY Channing Wayne Larkin Street Youth Services San Francisco, CA

VISUALFEAST For Thirty Years, DIFFA Has Made a Difference Text & Photos by Sean Black

C

elebrating thirty years, Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA) once again gathered some of the world’s top designers along with the biggest names in home decor for its annual fundraising dinner and auction.

DIFFA’s signature event, Dining by Design 2014, was held March 20–24 at Manhattan’s Pier 94 in conjunction with the Architectural Digest Home Design Show. Transforming the waterfront space into an extravaganza of palatable delights, the closing night Gala communed patrons around over forty, beautifully appointed tables ranging from the stark and sublime to the lavish and inviting. Whether channeling ancient Rome or invoking tropical mysticism from the jungles of Bali, the evening festivities offered worldly flair with tabletops carefully set with vivid centerpieces, exquisite settings, and luxury linens. Offering additional food-forthought, many of the tasteful installations served up stirring messages, reminding attendees and those seated of why they’d come together.

Co-chaired by Cindy Allen, DIFFA Board Chairman and Editor in Chief of Interior Design Magazine, along with event co-chair and board trustee, Alfredo Paredes of Ralph Lauren, the weekend-long thirtieth-anniversary tribute (at-times available for public viewing) also included an opening mixer, Cocktails by Design.

“This extraordinary event coalesces the most creative visionaries in design today, who all bring their enormous talent and passion to the table, creating community for us all,” opens Allen in her welcome.

Having grown to an impressive organization since its grass-roots inception in 1984, DIFFA’s executive director, Johanna Osburn proudly reports, “DIFFA and our chapters (Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Kansas City, New York, San Francisco, Seattle) have granted over $40 million over the last

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thirty years, and many of our early grantees continue to lead the charge in fighting AIDS in the United States through treatment, education, prevention and research.”

Originally founded as Design and Interior Furnishings Foundation for AIDS, the organization was launched by textile designer Patricia Green, a still active, ex-oficio board member and design industry executive Larry Pond, who succumbed to his battle with AIDS in 1992. Today, DIFFA is a leading financial supporter of organizations that provide prevention education programs targeted to populations at risk of infection, treatment, and direct care services for people living with or impacted

by HIV/AIDS. They also help groups that support public policy initiatives in an effort to add resources to private sector funds.

“DIFFA has an incredible legacy,” continues Osburn. “It was founded by a group of designers in response to a crisis. They saw the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS among their peers and harnessed their anger and fear into one of the most successful organizations in the fight. We also have been able to harness the creativity and passion of our supporters to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS through our events and provide in-kind support as well.”

A recap of some of the eye-catching tables and dining spaces at this year’s gala include Gensler + Herman Miller, with a color-changing space reminding us to love “XO” one another; Design Within Reach, with a sturdy, modern and simplified approach; and Roche Bobois, with a sleek and faceted, semi-enclosed lounge space created by sister architects Hariri & Hariri.

IA Interior Architects & Teknion Studio presented a gift-box vignette.

A Japanese “Mount Fuji” retreat was surrounded by silks dyed with clouds by 2Michaels for Beacon Hill.

Also notable were the regal creation by Philip Gorrivan for Fendi Casa and Luxe

Magazine inspired by the Massimo Listri’s photograph of the seventeenth-century Reggia di Venaria I; and the relaxed yet elegant space by Ralph Lauren Home, which touted a cherry blossom-adorned Evalina chandelier.

An exotic motif with jungle flair was offered by Arteriors sporting Golden Subin accent stools surrounding an organic Kazu dining table.

Kara Mann designed a hand-dyed tribute space for Maya Romanoff, who recently passed.

David Rockwell’s commemorative photo wall invited attendees to participate in pictures.

Architectural Digest’s freshly floral creation with settings by Bernardaud surrounded an extravagant Carlos Mota centerpiece bouquet.

Echo Design’s cozy corner of Heirloom India offered a breathtaking space while Knoll with HOK dazzled with sparkling Swarovski stemware and offered colorful macaroon treats.

Kravet’s installation introduced Diane von Furstenberg’s geometrically bold and colorful collection for the home.

Marc Blackwell’s creation was encapsulated in a unified orange-red structure with poppies centering the tabletop.

And New York Design Center (NYDC) with Kati Curtis affirmed a masculine-feminine juxtaposed approach featuring Timorous Beasties wall papers and gender-playful portraits by Ulric Collette.

Up-and-coming student designers and their mentors from Fashion Institute of Technology, New York School of Interior Design and Pratt Institute through DIFFA’s Student Design Initiative presented

by Benjamin Moore with support from Angelo Donghia Foundation presented thoughtful and powerful designs as well.

Students Tumay Gunaydin and Mee Tran of Pratt delivered a “noir” envelope, which gave viewers pause about the darkness of A&U • MAY 2014

A&U Gallery

Clockwise from top left: a flower-power table design by Architectural Digest; Susan Blond, Secretary of the Board of DIFFA; Cindy Allen, Chairman of the Board of DIFFA and Interior Design’s editor in chief; and Johanna Osburn, DIFFA’s executive director; 2DPlacemat with AIDS Ribbon from 3M Architectural Markets, designed by Rottet Studio

MAY 2014 • A&U

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Arteriors

Kravet, designed by Diane von Furstenberg

Knoll with HOK

Marc Blackwell New York

This page: A table setting designed by Barneys New York featured Bruce Weber’s “Brothers, Sisters, Sons & Daughters” series of photographs shot for one of the retailer’s ad campaigns and starring seventeen transgender models. Weber’s film based on the series played nearby.

Benjamin Moore splashed sound bites in bright colors.

Opposite page: Gensler + Herman Miller offered a hugs-and-kisses theme; the “Memory Wall” offered attendees the chance to leave their mark

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A&U • MAY 2014

A&U Gallery

social stigma and comforted with an endless illusion of place settings representing limitless hope.

Design diva Elaine Griffin, competing on NBC’s American Dream Builders, was in attendance along with the show’s host Nate Berkus. As a design professional lending her talents to several DIFFA galas over the years, Griffin said, ”Supporting DIFFA means taking care of our own. At its onset, the

AIDS epidemic decimated some of the brightest lights in our industry. It ran through our ranks like the Black Plague, and as creative talents, it is in our best interest to do all we can to help eradicate the disease and also support those who succumb. They are our family.”

The recent Episode 5 winner continues, “I’ve designed three tables for DIFFA’s Dining by Design, two for the New York Design

Center and one for Elle Decor, and I loved doing them. They’re among my most creatively over the top moments, great collaborations with genius talents, in a warm and festive atmosphere that belied the chaos of breakneck-speed installations. Good fun for a great cause.”

Pairing equally with the good fun of the evening was a focal fixture commemorating DIFFA’s thirty-year mission in the fight against AIDS. The “Memory Wall” invited attendees to reflect on lives lost to the disease and to share sentiments in writing of their hopes for future generations. One of the touching inscriptions read, “Didn’t get a chance to meet you, but I sill love and miss you—your niece, Gabriela.”

Whether hand-penned in Sharpie or brushed in brightly colored Benjamin Moore premium paint, for AIDS, the writing’s on the walls. For the design world, Dining By Design is an opportunity to decorate the lives of those we’ve lost to AIDS and to unite with each other around the table of life.

For more information about DIFFA log on to: www.diffa.org.

Sean Black is an A&U Editor at Large.

MAY 2014 • A&U

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TESTS Courage of

A New Film by Chris Mason Johnson Doesn’t Dance Around the Issue of HIV

by V. Anderson

really afraid that people would reject it…. It’s been really heartening to go through that experience and have it be validated; it sort of restores my faith in the old idea of making personal art.”

V. Anderson: Frankie’s sense of isolation is so palpable throughout, even though he is a member of a dance company, he lives with a roommate, and he is almost always around other people.

Chris Mason Johnson: The culture we were in was very closeted, and the older men—thirty and up—started getting sick first. They quickly formed communities of support…and that has been really well represented in movies, for example, Love! Valour!

Compassion!, but what I hadn’t seen represented was this group of people, and in particular my protagonist, who goes through this crisis without the support of communication. The fact that it was a closeted culture complicated it, because to talk about it was maybe to out yourself.

Pas de deux: Scott Marlowe as Frankie and Matthew Risch as Todd in Test, a film by Chris Mason Johnson

38

Putting Frankie’s isolation in the context of this very tight community of dancers complicates it. Even the women dancers are marginalizing; one female dancer asks Todd to wipe his face after his sweat drips on her during a rehearsal. This really speaks to the time, because people didn’t really know how HIV was transmitted and what the risks were. …Here you have dancers who by profession are mute, and in general it can be a very infantilizing culture. They’re treated as children, and sometimes they act in very young ways, so that was an ideal setting for the lack of communication, the isolation within the group. And, I knew that world very well, so I was A&U • MAY 2014

film photos by courtesy Serious Productions

W

ith his first feature film since The New Twenty, writer/director Chris Mason Johnson has created a powerful story grounded in his own experiences in ballet and modern dance. Set in 1985, Test follows Frankie, a young member of a San Francisco dance company, as he meanders alone in search of love amid the panic and fear that the unknown of AIDS incited. The definition of “test” in this film is nuanced, and we’re with Frankie through a series of them. Off the heels of a European premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, where the film was sold in various markets, I spoke to Johnson about filmmaking, music, dance, and monogamy.

Says Chris Mason Johnson: “Because this story is so personal, I had to make myself vulnerable to get it out there at all, and I was

ballet solo photos courtesy Serious Productions couple photo by Bryan Davis/courtesy LEVYdance

drawing on my sense of that world. And in terms of the girl and the sweat, yeah, there was definitely a crazy period during the early epidemic where there was panic.”

One of the challenges the male dancers face in the film is the pressure to maintain a heterosexual aesthetic in their movement. Is this particular to the time, or have things changed?

I don’t think it’s changed as much as you’d think it should have….People like to see people, and people are men and women.

It’s like storytelling.

Storytelling doesn’t involve eunuchs; it involves people who are gendered….In some companies, it’s not an issue, but in other companies that tend to be more conservative, you still have young men being told to ‘act less gay.’

On the one hand it’s awful and offensive and ignorant, and on the other hand you can understand it. Because when you see a man and woman dance together in a duet, if the fiction is that there’s erotic chemistry, it’s just like good acting, you want to see it. But where the terrible, ignorant part comes in is that in these communities, some of the authority figures aren’t able to separate out gender of representation and your own sexuality.

So, they’re punishing the young men for being gay, instead of saying, “I don’t care who you fuck, but this is how you have to move to make this story work.”

Scott Marlowe, as Frankie, has an incredibly sympathetic and endearing quality to him, probably natural to him as a person, and you utilized it well for the character.

The role seems like a difficult one to cast.

The problem was, I had to cast dancers who could act and not actors who could dance, because this kind of dancing is a little bit more like opera in terms of singing than it is like carrying a tune or singing a pop song—you can’t fake it. So I knew I had to get dancer dancers….Once I found Scott—because he really does have a natural instinct for it, and he really is a sweet and great and MAY 2014 • A&U

very smart guy—we workshopped for like six months before there was any shooting or pre-production. During that period, I taught him some acting techniques, which he picked up very quickly, and then I also reshaped some of the scenes with him, sort of around his rhythms.

He was a real collaborator on the project.

Scott and Matthew Risch, who plays Todd, had great chemistry. Did they know each other as dancers, or did the chemistry emerge in the audition/rehearsal process?

I did chemistry reads on Skype with Scott and various actors auditioning for Todd so I could gauge the chemistry before I cast it….When you’re working on a four week shoot on a microbudget—we had under $200,000 for production, to do [a period film]—if you have chemistry between your actors, it saves a lot of time [Laughs].

In the final scene, Frankie and Todd’s conversation about monogamy speaks to a larger community. How have people reacted to that scene?

It’s funny because when I was screening rough cuts of the movie, that was, from the beginning, a real sticking point. There was even some talk early on that it should be cut out, and I’m really glad I didn’t because everyone asks about it and audiences always talk about it. And it’s just a line of dialogue, but I think it really strikes a chord for people making the connection between these two eras. You know, an era where it wasn’t taken for granted that gay couples were monogamous and would even get married eventually, and an era where that is taken for granted. I think that the AIDS epidemic was a causal factor, among continued on page 62

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INDELIBLE

MARK Discussing His New Film, The Normal Heart, Which Captures the Onset of the AIDS Crisis, Mark Ruffalo Reflects Back on the Shock of Those Days & How Apathy Left a Shameful Dent in American History

t beats.

The Normal Heart, the compelling hard-hitting play by the fiery activist Larry Kramer, will finally be released on celluloid after thirty years of setbacks and delays. First produced at New York’s Public Theater in 1985, it has reemerged as an HBO film helmed by the Glee and Nip/Tuck creator, Ryan Murphy.

“I feel very proud of The Normal Heart.

It’s a beautiful movie,” says Mark Ruffalo in his trademark raspy voice from his home in New York’s West Village. On leave for the weekend from the London set of Avengers: Age of Ultron to attend his daughter’s ninth birthday, Mark heads a stellar cast in the demanding role of Ned 40

Weeks, Larry Kramer’s alter ego. (Mark also served as co-executive producer.)

Two of his co-stars, Joe Mantello and Jim Parsons, were in the 2011 Broadway production, which garnered several Tonys, including Best Revival of a Play and Ellen Barkin’s win as Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play. “I did not see the Broadway production as I was shooting [another film] at that time, but The Normal Heart is a departure from the play in many ways,” he explains. “It’s not as agitated. It’s more of a reflection on the people and the time. The play was meant to be confrontational. The film is really more about the love for those men who were fighting on the frontlines at that time.”

A&U • MAY 2014

photos of Mark Ruffalo by Jeff Vespa / Contour by Getty Images

I

by Dann Dulin

Before the cameras rolled on The Norwas hope, but there was [still] a lot of hysteria through his friends, many of whom were mal Heart, Mark was fortunate enough to and misinformation. At that time I was grieving over the loss of loved ones. A lot of meet with Larry Kramer. “Spending time reading the LA Weekly, an alternative, fringe those people were friends and clients of his with Larry probably was the most importperiodical that was reporting honestly on younger brother, “Scotty,” who was a highly ant part of it for me. One of the first things what was happening on the AIDS frontlines. successful hairstylist at a Beverly Hills salon. he said to me was that I had to read his book, I was very aware, probably more than a lot of (Scott eventually became the mayor of Beverly Faggots, ‘so you really understand how we people,” he recounts. “Even then I was just Hills, and for years, pre-stardom, Mark was came into the AIDS era.’” (Published in 1978, baffled by the enormous amount of ignorance known as, “Scotty’s brother.” Tragically, in the novel’s gay protagonist longs for a meaningful relationship against a backdrop of anonymous sex, plentiful drugs, and all-night discos.

The novel foreshadowed the horrors to come in the next decade.) “Those times with him were treasured moments for me,” confides Ruffalo. “I really love that guy, really respect him, and I’m in awe of him. I’m grateful that I got to spend so much time with him.”

Last June, a pivotal scene, “April Showers,” was shot on The Normal Heart set: the first AIDS fundraiser held

by Kramer and his friends, which raised $50,000 and broke all records. The cast consisted of the New York Gay Men’s Choir plus 200 extras, half of whom were in sickly makeup to portray those struggling with AIDS. Larry Kramer happened to be visiting that day when outside news halted production: DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. More importantly, the right of same-sex couples to marry was upheld. Glee and exhilaration filled the set and everyone began to applaud.

“It was a remarkable day!” says Mark, in his easy swaying-in-a-hammock tone.

“Everyone in the cast [which Mark Ruffalo as Ned Weeks and Taylor Kitsch as Bruce Niles in included Matt Bomer and HBO’s The Normal Heart Taylor Kitsch], and everyone who was working on the movie, grips and electricians, they were all really moved. And though Larry and cruelty that people displayed in the face 2008, Scott was murdered at his home in was very ill, in true Larry fashion, he said, ‘This of this disease. It was strange to see this as Beverly Hills and the case is still unsolved.) is good but we still have a lot of work to do.’” a young person, because I was so idealistic, The two brothers had a deep bond, During the height of the AIDS crisis in thinking America’s this amazing place and and soon after Mark moved to L.A., the mid-eighties, Mark was in his late teens then I see the raw underbelly of it, all the Scott shortly followed. In order to make and had just moved to Los Angeles from San hypocrisy. It was eye-opening to say the least.” ends meet they shared a bed together in Diego. “I knew people were sick and dying.

Although Mark did not lose anyone close their apartment near MacArthur Park, a AZT was starting to hit the streets, so there to him, he felt the atrociousness of the crisis somewhat edgier section of the city. In the

42

A&U • MAY 2014

eighties when crack was endemic in the neighborhood, Mark would daily see doped-out druggies lying in the park and one day his neighbor was murdered on his front porch.

During those early years Mark was studying at the Stella Adler Conservatory (Salma Hayek and Benicio Del Toro

scape helper, house painter, handyman, light construction, busboy, computer ribbon salesman, and telemarketer.”)

After nearly 1,000 auditions over a dozen years, Ruffalo came close to giving up his dream. Then he met a playwright who cast him in an off-Broadway production and, in turn, that landed him the role of Laura

Island, We Don’t Live Here Anymore, Now You See Me, and, of course, The Kids Are All Right, for which he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Role. He made his directorial debut in 2011 with Sympathy for Delicious, which garnered him the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

His searing, heart-wrenching perfor-

Check Mark Ruffalo reacts with one word to these people who have made a mark on his life.

Annette Bening: Supreme.

Julia Roberts: Outlandish.

Tom Cruise: Nice.

Sean Penn: Inspirational.

Heath Ledger: Lost.

Matt Damon: Clever.

Laura Linney: Divine.

Julianne Moore: Exceptional.

Martin Scorsese: Historical.

Leonardo DiCaprio: Fantastic.

Anjelica Huston: Regal.

Josh Hutcherson: Serious.

Larry Kramer: Lion.

Morgan Freeman: Great.

Ang Lee: Insightful.

Gwyneth Paltrow: Gifted.

Keir Dullea: Extraordinary.

Kate Winslet: Fierce.

Anthony Hopkins: Majestic.

When asked to name one word for himself, Mark enthusiastically laughs and asserts, “OH NO!” After a pause of a second or two, he answers, “Eclectic.” were classmates), performing plays in small theaters, and bartending at various venues including the renowned Château Marmont hotel, where he was frustratingly serving drinks to industry folk such as Nicholas Cage and Johnny Depp and trying to get his foot in the acting door. (Additional stints included “landMAY 2014 • A&U

Linney’s drifter brother in the film, You Can Count On Me. A dynamic character actor, Mark has a face that is unforgettable. The handsome looks, scruffy-sexy appearance, tousled, ruffled chestnut hair, distinctive plump lips, and those awesome penetrating browns all add to his gifted performances in Shutter

mance in The Normal Heart will undoubtedly be remembered at awards season. In one scene, Ned, as played by Mark, pleads uproariously, “Nobody gives a shit that we’re dying…!” This gripping and disturbing film, highlighted by this aching call-forhelp moment, will likely bring AIDS back to public awareness.

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The Heart of Mark When you look back at your early days before making enough money to support yourself from acting, what pops into your head?

That it was really tough, but really magical. During that time I was cursing it and then later I realized that it was a great time in my life. I miss some of it.

Where do you go to recharge your batteries?

Upstate New York [Mark has a home in the tiny town of Callicoon, New York] or near the ocean.

Are you still a vegetarian?

No, I’m not actually. I try to eat as much vegetarian as I can though. I do juice and I’m drinking green juice right now.

You were so slender in The Normal Heart; how do you stay in shape?

Playing with my kids. I like to skateboard, I like to surf, and I like to swim. I just stay active by doing physical things that I like to do. If I have to go to the gym, then I’ll do that.

But that’s the last place I want to be.

What do you believe happens after we die?

I don’t know. I really have no idea.

What do you do when you get depressed?

I make breakfast for the kids.

When was the last time you cried?

Ah…I don’t know. I cry a lot.

Out of the many people you’ve met, is there one in particular who stands out the most?

My acting teacher Joanne Linzille, one of the founders of the Stella Adler Conservatory in Los Angeles. She had a profound impact on my life.

Who would you like to meet that you haven’t met yet?

I would love to have met Nelson Mandela. He’s a hero of mine. I would like to meet the Dalai Lama. I think that would be quite an auspicious thing to do.

What is the hardest lesson you’ve ever had to learn?

To be gentle on myself.

44

Ned Weeks (Mark Ruffalo) resists the forces that keep AIDS in the margins.

“This film will bring up conversation…,” Mark offers spiritedly, halting abruptly. “I was interviewed by a young gay man a couple of weeks ago who really didn’t even know that it [AIDS] happened.”

Mark gasps, and, after we exchange a few “Oh-my-god’s” and some “I can’t believe it’s,” he continues. “I asked him, ‘Is that what it’s like? I mean, do people not know this? Really?!’ The guy replied, ‘Yeah, most of my friends [have no idea].’ I’m like, ‘That just blows my mind.’” Mark pauses. “And you know what? That [lack of awareness is] as much on our culture as it is on those young men. They don’t know because we haven’t done a good enough job telling the story.”

For those who do not know the details of the early crisis, The Normal Heart is a a good introduction: the chilling effects of government negligence and Reagan’s silence, a lack of basic knowledge about AIDS, even that it was caused by a transmissible virus, zero treatment, threat of quarantine, shame and blame heaped on gay men, doors closed—by nurses, doctors, loved ones—on those suffering the effects of opportunistic infections.

“It’s amazing because my kids know about AIDS and knew the kind of film I was making,” Ruffalo notes, who’s been married for fourteen years. Besides his daughter who’s ninth birthday he flew home for, Mark has two other kids, one son, who will be thirteen this summer, and another daughter, who is six.

“It was surprising for me to hear about this young reporter saying he doesn’t know about AIDS, but it’s also a natural progression of normalization, a normalization of homosexuality. This is a really good thing. There still is a portion of the culture that is stigmatized

by AIDS but there’s a much bigger, I think, and growing section A&U • MAY 2014

Heart photos by JoJo Whilden/HBO

What is your technique of memorization? Do you have a set routine for learning a script?

Repetition is the best way to learn it. I run the lines over and over again. That works the best for me. I know some people who like to write them [out]. Some people only need to look at it [the script] once and they never forget it. I, unfortunately, am not one of those people.

that isn’t really like that,” he says.

“There are young people that do not get it [the bigotry and prejudice]. They don’t see it. It’s foreign to them to be a homophobe, as it is for people to be racist against black people or to think that Jews had horns. My kids have grown up with friends who have two men for parents and have two women for parents. My kids don’t bat an eye [at that]. I think the younger generation is like that. They’re not embattled and persecuted, and traumatized the same way my generation was. They don’t identify with the struggle.”

He clears his throat. “It’s amazing what the gay culture has done. It’s probably the fastest move to equality of any oppressed people in the history of mankind. Wow!” Mark cheers. “What ACT UP [AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, a take-it-to-the-streets protest advocacy group founded by Larry Kramer] was doing, no one had done before. There’d been certain little permutations of it, but as a whole and the way they did it was profound. And their format, I see it being used in every organization today.”

Mark is involved with causes, as well, including human rights, the environment (he co-founded Water Defense, an anti-fracking advocacy group), and health issues such as acoustic neuroma (brain tumor). In 2002 he was diagnosed with the condition and, after surgery, his face was left partially paralyzed.

It healed, though, after many months of rehabilitation. Ruffalo also supports Oxfam and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. “I have a feeling that I will be doing more in the HIV/AIDS community,” he mentions, “and it will be an honor….”

The Tony-nominated actor (for 2006’s Awake & Sing!) gets his drive from his upbringing. “Oddly enough, though I don’t identify as a Christian, I was raised with the teachings of Christ. Take away all of the dogma and all of the noise that we hear surrounding religion, and those teachings, by themselves—being loving, kind, tolerant, and considerate—every prophet lectured about,” he rhapsodizes. “I was an outsider, an introvert, and could relate to people who were struggling and I just had a sensitivity to people who were not being treated well.”

During the shooting of a crucial scene in The Normal Heart at a low-income New York hospital, one of the crewmembers came up to Mark and some of the cast and said, “My cousin died in this hospital from AIDS.” Mark takes a beat. “All of a sudden I had a lot of outrage. I understood the politics. I MAY 2014 • A&U

understood the struggle. I understood the alienation. And I….I…just started, started doing that scene and am struck with this deeeeep grief. I start to sob, you know, and I can’t stop. I’m trying to pull myself together to do the scene again as they’re changing lights and all that,” expounds Mark. “Then I look over at Matt [Bomer] and he’s sobbing too. I look at Julia (Roberts) and she’s trying to hold it together. What really hit me was just this long....,” Mark hiccups a modest laugh, “…long line of dead. Just…just…just this massive group of people who lost their lives and probably a great number of them didn’t have to. Being there, being in that hospital, it just dawned on me—the enormity of it all.

Ruffalo sputters in wobbly diction, “I’ll never forget that day and it shook me to such a deep level.”

He takes a moment to recompose. “It’s a shame. It’s a shame the way it was handled.

You just think…if somebody just had had the courage or the humanity to stand up in some leadership position and say, ‘No, we can’t turn our backs on this. We have to face it because for every one person who gets infected today, there could be a hundred people tomorrow, and a thousand new people in a week, and a million people in a….We just can’t do that!’”

Mark takes a weighty inhale then adds, “The way it was handled is…disgusting.” He erupts with venom. “It was just so saaaad. It’s such a stain on America.”

He goes on. “It’s like, Who Are We? Who were we? How could we?!” Ruffalo scolds with urgency.

“Larry was right. God bless Larry. He stands alone as a prophet. Even in Faggots he was writing about it. He was one of the truly prescient people and really present—and he got his ass kicked for it!

“To have it now on HBO, to have Larry’s words, his experience and his legacy upheld, and honored in this way

is significant. I even admire the people who didn’t agree with Larry. Their hearts were all in the right place. That’s the gift of this horrible tragedy. Many gifts came out of the AIDS crisis and yeah….I’d love to see it cease to exist in my time.

“Enough time has passed though since the crisis began that we as a culture can now pull it out and look at it. Yes, we can have our shame and outrage over it, but we can also start to integrate the

experience into us in a more wholesome way,” he points out. “It would not have been effective before this. A lot will spring out of this film; it will not pop in and pop out.” With a brief sigh, Mark concludes, “The Normal Heart is going to stir a lot of muck at the bottom that needs to be aired out.”

The Normal Heart premieres on HBO on May 25 at 9 p.m.

Dann Dulin is Senior Editor of A&U. He interviewed actor and chef David Burtka for the April issue.

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GOLD RUSH

Comedian, Actor & Writer Judy Gold Shoots for the Big Time!

by Dann Dulin

W

hether she’s playing a Rabbi on Showtime’s The Big C, dusting off her Emmy as writer and producer for The Rosie O’Donnell Show, co-hosting The View, or starring in the theater pieces, The Judy Gold My Life as a Sitcom and 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother, Judy Gold is a comic at heart.

I recently asked this self-described six-foot-three Jewish lesbian mom which celebrity she would like to have hot nasty sex with. Judy’s quick retort was, “Have you met my partner? I’d like to stay in a relationship with her.”

Her standup and monologues never veer from the truth, the comedy inherent in all of our lives.

It accomplishes what she hopes good comedy does—it makes you think.

On her family, she says: “We never talked to each other in my family. We communicated by putting Ann Landers articles on the refrigerator.”

Her mother read bedtime stories, like a pop-up version of The Diary of Anne Frank: “‘Pull the tab, Judith.

Dead! Alive!’”

As you can tell, nothing is sacred: “Prejudice is such a learned behavior. It’s amazing the things you can teach your kids.”

Outrageous and self-deprecating in her standup comedy, she’s a homebody at heart with a loving family.

Her partner, Elysa Halpern, whom she met through a

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singles ad, and their two sons, Henry (sixteen) and Ben (eleven) live on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

In show business, one never knows when the next job will appear. “The best and worst part of this business is that one never knows. That’s the magic question, isn’t it?” begs Judy. However, the Jersey-bred girl most recently starred in the Off-Broadway show, Disaster! The Musical, a spoof of all those disaster movies from the 1970s. Judy also maintains a rigorous standup performance schedule appearing around the country, and she occasionally pops up on ABC Family’s Melissa & Joey. Like much of her aspirational material, as in the hysteri-

cally hilarious The Judy Show (“Even the project in Good Times was better than Clark, N.J.”), she hopes to one day have her own sitcom.

Between gigs, Judy continues to lend her energy to the HIV/AIDS community.

Having lost numerous friends to the disease over the years, she has volunteered for such organizations as GMHC and AIDS Service Center NYC (ASCNYC).

Judy even worked the first AIDS Walk in New York….

Dann Dulin: What did you do?

Judy Gold: I would sign people in and collect the money. It was nice to be able to thank them personally.

All in the family: Elysa, Ben, Henry and Judy Opposite page: Judy Gold proves that preparedness is a pantsuit in Disaster!

The Musical.

A&U • MAY 2014

family photo courtesy J. Gold; portrait by Lesley Bohm; Disaster photos by Drew Geraci

Tell me more about your volunteer adventures.

In the eighties and nineties, I volunteered at God’s Love We Deliver. I’ve also worked with the Hetrick-Martin Institute, among many other organizations, oh, and also Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Speaking of the Great White Way, what was the first Broadway show you ever saw?

Well, the first one I remember seeing was Annie.

A classic show about optimism during some of our darkest days. When you think about the epidemic what comes to mind?

I remember all of my friends who died—it was a terrible time—and then I think about all of my friends who have survived. It also brings to mind how this disease really unified our community.

If you were at a podium, speaking about HIV/AIDS, with cameras all around you broadcasting to the nation, and you only had fifteen seconds left, what would you say?

It is preventable. Use your head.

When did you first hear about the epidemic?

In the early to mid eighties while I was in college [Rutgers University].

MAY 2014 • A&U

Who inspires you? Whom do you look up to?

There are many people who inspire me, but the ones who inspire me to be the best person I can be are my children.

behalf of those who don’t have a voice.

I couldn’t live with myself if there was something I could have done and didn’t do it. I don’t have a lot of money, but I can give back by volunteering and

Speaking of your sons…Henry and Ben are coming of age, how do you handle HIV prevention with them?

We’ve had many talks and they have met tons of my friends with HIV. They will be using condoms.

What other charities are near and dear to your heart?

Project A.L.S. My very close friend, Bob Smith, has ALS and this particular organization does so much research and works every day to find a cure for this horrible disease [for more information, visit: www.projectals.org].

I also support arts in the schools, anti-bullying, and marriage equality.

What motivates you to volunteer?

I am lucky. I have a home, a great family, and I am healthy. I believe in the Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam—to repair or heal the world. It is my responsibility to do something—to act on

doing shows. Making people laugh is the greatest gift of all.

Tell me a secret, Judy.

I’m a comic. I have none!

For more information and upcoming appearances, log on to: www.judygold.com. Find her on Twitter @JewdyGold.

Dann Dulin is Senior Editor of A&U.

47

GettingReal Behind the

Wheel

Allen Sowelle & Josh Feinman Take Front Seat Roles in

Discussing HIV Seroconversion Along with Other Social Woes

F

ront Seat Chronicles is a Web-based programming series that skillfully navigates a myriad of tough conversations ranging in topic from death and incarceration to marriage equality and HIV infection. It is a collaboration of diverse writers and actors lending their talents as well as their own personal stories to direct and facilitate important conversations centered upon understanding.

With titles like “Welcome to the Gun Show,” “Love U, Mean It,” and “Is it True You Are Going to Die?” each episode takes place in the front seat of a car. “It is an environment that people are already very familiar with,” shares the show’s creator, writer and director Allen Sowelle. “People are physically close. It is an intimate space.”

Produced by veteran actor Josh Feinman (Transformers, Men of Honor), each Webisode drives home important life-lessons in four to eight-minute vignettes. Beyond offering comforting support and tactful tips to plausible conflict resolution, the show ultimately reminds us how to talk to one another with compassion and respect.

The series was inspired by a short story, “The Conversation,” written by Mohammed Bilal, a former co-worker of Sowelle’s at a nationwide non-profit that delivers “broadband advocacy” to poor people who were new to technology. The on-line series, which

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has episodes offered in both French, Mandarin, and Spanish, as well as in English, is now in preproduction for a fourth season and has been just given the green light by CBS affiliate KCNC4 Denver for market-testing and expansion into full, half-hour television shows.

In one of the sad and all-to-relatable episodes for a person just diagnosed with HIV, “If I Tell You” peers into the life of an anguished young woman who struggles to come to terms with her seroconversion and tries to muster the courage to tell her boyfriend, unknowingly positive himself and presumably the cause of her infection.

This episode, about “stirring up awareness about HIV,” was an important one for Feinman as well as for Sowelle who directed the piece.

Sowelle lost a cousin to

Sowelle photo courtesy A. Sowelle; Feinman photo by Theo & Juliette; Front Seat photo courtesy A. Sowelle

by Sean Black

Creator, writer, and director Allen Sowelle A&U • MAY 2014

AIDS complications in 1991 along with a close spiritual mentor several years later.

“When you take into consideration the digital divide and a lack of quality information around healthcare, especially that which is disseminated to the Black community, you can form a better understanding of the disproportionate prevalence HIV/AIDS has within this demographic.”

He adds, “I have many friends who are HIV-positive and doing well today because of treatment. Over the last thirty-plus years the world has advanced and become more educated, but there is still much more that needs to be done. People get distracted by technology and social media. They become complacent. They get lulled into thinking that HIV/AIDS is ‘that crisis’ that peaked in the nineties.”

Raised in Northern California by a single teenaged mom, who lost track of her baby’s father when he was drafted to fight in Vietnam, Sowelle shares a script that has yet to be cast. The story puts the high beams on his caring, real-life character.

“I didn’t know my father growing up,” begins Sowelle. “In fact, I didn’t know my father at all until I was well into my adulthood, around thirty-five.” Recalling his first introduction to his father on a Valentine’s Day, he shares that two months later his father and mother were married for the first time on Easter Sunday. “Finding out that I had a dad and that I had siblings—it was a trip,” Sowelle happily recalls.

Soon after, however, tragedy befell the

reunited family.

“Four years into it we found out that my father had prostate cancer and four months after that he passed. In the four years that they were together I had never seen my mom happier.

They were high school sweethearts.

It was like they picked up right Producer Josh Feinman where they left off—they didn’t skip a beat.”

Choked up, Sowelle presses on. “The experience taught me a lot about manhood, a lot about patience, and a lot about forgiveness. Watching him deal with it [cancer] in such a graceful and beautiful manner changed my life.”

Sowelle, giving his mother respite, was with his father as he took his final breath.

“My mom came shortly after my father passed and we sat in the car and talked about those previous four years and what my parents’ relationship meant and how grateful we were for having him in our lives—even for that short amount of time.”

Shortly after his father’s passing Sowelle met Feinman, a trained actor from New York who relocated to the City of Angels to pursue a career in television and film. Recently landing a role on a new

Actor and platinum-selling French hip hop artist Gilles Duarte (right), aka Stomy Bugsy, stars alongside Monia Ayachi in “Dis Mois,” the French version of “If I Tell You.” Duarte recently attended Desert AIDS Project’s 20th annual Steve Chase Humanitarian gala held in Palm Springs, California, with Feinman.

Duarte shared, “This episode will move people because we don’t know when this disease will be cured.

It can touch everybody. The Steve Chase event encouraged me to use my platform as a public figure in the entertainment world to speak even more on behalf of HIV awareness. I am even more inspired to spread the word for everybody to get checked, to protect yourself, to educate others to protect themselves too, and to help fight this disease by any means necessary.”

Amazon Prime series called Bosch, based on the Michael Connelly book series, Feinman, like Sowelle, is committed to fostering a better world outside of his professional aspirations.

For nearly twelve years, Feinman has worked as a public motivator for a non-profit organization called Enrichment Works, whose contracts include the Los Angeles Unified School District and the California Public Library System. Billed as “a little bit Iliad, a lot of Odyssey and a boatload of fun,” the performance is a one-man, forty-five minute interactive show where Feinman brings students up from the audience to help him tell the journey of Odysseus.

“Alongside Front Seat Chronicles it is one of the projects that I am most proud of because I am changing kids’ lives and perceptions and I am opening their eyes to not only classic literature but to the arts as well.”

Feinman believes in including HIV sensitivity training in a similar venue. “I think there is no greater time than now to educate kids about HIV/AIDS; how the virus is spread and how it can be stopped. I think it should be a part of every curriculum, but I do think, too, there is an age that may be too young to comprehend. But beyond kindergarten, first, or second grade, I think you can start to introduce kids in a general way to staying safe and caring for one another.”

Jumping in, Sowelle adds, “The highest order for Front Seat Chronicles is the highest order for any art form and that is to inform and inspire. As long as we are able to make connections and bring a little more understanding, a little more empathy, a little more compassion with each episode, no matter what story lines we choose, then that’s a good day for us.”

Together Sowelle and Feinman are changing the world one seat belt at a time.

To watch on-line episodes of Front Seat Chronicles, log on to: www.frontseatchronicles.com.

Sean Black is an Editor at Large at A&U.

MAY 2014 • A&U

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lifeguide

Better Days

a new study looks at changes in mood as they relate to risk & protection

50

es. So it’s not just about feeling depressed, but feeling worse; not just about feeling happy, but feeling better. Notes Wilson: “It’s not that when I’m more depressed I’m risky; it’s also when I’m happier I’m more likely to protect myself and my partners.” It’s not the mood, per se, but the change in mood that we might also attend to. Through this lens, the world is not so easily divided between those who are depressed and those who aren’t; or, those who are “safe” and those who are “risky.”

For this assessment, then, the researchers asked participants to complete a six-week Internet-based survey. (The 106 participants were HIV-positive MSM living in New York City. The sample was racially diverse: 51.9 percent of the participants African-American; 25.5 percent were Latino/ Hispanic. Almost seventy percent reported an income of $20,000/year or less. Eightyone percent reported multiple partners.

A little more than forty percent had undetectable viral loads.) For each week participants reported sexual activity, they were asked about sexual behaviors, and HIV status and gender of their partner(s).

During Weeks 1, 3 and 5, participants’ depression and well-being were measured according to well-established tools.

As assessments of emotions in flux

within the mental health field are often tied to major life-event triggers (illness, death, the end of a relationship), the dayto-day life stressors that may be just as impactful on mental health are often glossed over. Says Wilson, the study brings to light the fact that “just as we change environments, go in and out of different social contexts, there are different influences that can tug and pull our wellbeing and mental health such that we may be really happy one day and really sad another.”

Wilson and his team sought to assess these subtleties to create a more finetuned portrait of mental health, in this case among HIV-positive MSM, who may experience “higher levels of those stressors than other populations.” These stressors, in turn, may be compounded by the stressors that come with lower socioeconomic status and/or navigating life as an ethnic minority, says Wilson, who hypothesizes that these factors may help explain the observed fluctuations in mental health and mood.

“I would conjecture that many of those individuals who have means, or at a higher socioeconomic status than the guys we spoke to, may not experience much in terms of mood fluctuations. I think continued on page 58 A&U • MAY 2014

illustration by Timothy J. Haines

H

appy” is not just a number-one song by Pharrell Williams. Nurturing that emotion across its day-to-day changes may be an essential part of protecting your own and your partners’ sexual health if you are a sexually active gay, bi, or same-gender-loving HIV-positive man, according to a new study.

Led by Patrick A. Wilson, PhD, associate professor of Sociomedical Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, and recently published in the journal Health Psychology, the study shows that sexual risk, defined as unprotected anal intercourse, among participants was lower when participants felt greater well-being than usual (happier) and less depression than usual. Conversely, sexual risk was higher when depression was greater than usual (sadder) and well-being lower than usual.

Wilson and his team sought to assess the mental health of HIV-positive MSM in relation to sexual risk behavior in a more dynamic way than previous studies or interventions had. Previous studies have suggested a weak association between depression/emotional wellbeing and sexual risk-taking, with some even surmising that depression may even reduce risk. For the most part, says Wilson, “we haven’t looked at how mental health plays out over time, how it changes over time, and how it changes—in somewhat quick and rapid fashion—over time.”

That is, while a static assessment of individual mental health may provide accurate information, it is information locked into that particular moment in time. It’s like one of those photos they take of you on a rollercoaster. But, instead of a single snapshot of anguish or euphoria, what if you had streaming video of that adventurous ride of good days and bad days, better weeks and worse weeks, called Life?

With this methodology, researchers were no longer restricted to looking at the relationships between typical emotional states and risk in general; they were able to trace how fluctuations in moods relate to fluctuations in sexually protective practic-

TM

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NEW YORK MAY 18, 2014 Presented by

A fundraising walk starting and ending in Central Park Benefiting

and more than 40 other tri-state area AIDS service organizations.

Sign Up Today! aidswalk.net 212.807.WALK

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FEBRUARY 2014 • A&U

AIDSWalkNY

Created and produced by MZA Events.

AIDS Walk Founder/Senior Organizer: Craig R. Miller. © MZA Events, 2014

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lifeguide

By the Numbers

N

ew data on the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the U.S. shows that, with a “silent epidemic,” it’s hard to get accurate numbers. A disease that often has no symptoms, and that hits populations less likely to get tested hardest, makes data gathering on HCV prevalence and death challenging.

But even with the difficulties in reporting, new data suggest that the prevalence of HCV infections in the U.S. is decreasing, while morbidity among those with HCV may be increasing and under-reported.

Researchers from a new National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) concluded that an estimated 2.7 million people in the U.S. have chronic hepatitis C, substantially lower than the commonly used figure of 3.2 million, a number that was determined by NHANES more than ten years ago. NHANES is a periodic national survey that looks at a representative sample of U.S. households.

The results of the NHANES survey were published in the March 4 edition of Annals of Internal Medicine.

Maxine Denniston, Scott Holmberg, and colleagues from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the latest hepatitis C data from 5,000 NHANES participants surveyed between 2003 and 2010. Their data did not include groups such as active duty military, prisoners, homeless people, or people living in institutions or care facilities. Prisoners and homeless people are known to be at much higher risk for HCV infection.

“This analysis estimated that approximately 2.7 million U.S. residents in the population sampled by NHANES have chronic HCV infection, about 500,000 fewer than estimated in a similar analysis between 1999 and 2002,” the researchers concluded.

The researchers did not speculate on the reasons for the decline in the hepatitis C infection rate. However, Ruth Jiles, Epidemiologist in the Division of Viral Hepatitis at the CDC, tells A&U that “because of the increased number of deaths

52

and hospitalizations for individuals with hepatitis C, the decline may reflect an increase in the number of deaths among those with the disease.”

There are some statistics to back up the rising death number theory.

A CDC study published in the February 12, 2012, issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine analyzed a decade of death records and found an increase in death rates from hepatitis C. It also reported that three-fourths of the hepatitis deaths occurred in the middle-aged, people for-

ty-five to sixty-four. “Mortality will continue to grow for the next 10 to 15 years at least unless we do something different to find and treat the silent sufferers,” Dr. John Ward, hepatitis chief at the CDC told the San Francisco Chronicle upon release of that study.

HCV deaths under-reported?

Not only is the number of HCV-related deaths likely rising, that number may be far greater than anyone thought, according to a new study.

A report published in the February 12 edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases, concludes that hepatitis C is under-documented on death certificates of people who die with the disease. Reena Mahajan from the CDC and colleagues looked at disease-specific, liver-related, and non-liv-

er-related mortality among people with HCV in the observational Chronic Hepatitis Cohort Study (CHeCS) at four U.S. healthcare systems. They compared this to Multiple Cause of Death (MCOD) data from 12 million death certificates recorded in 2006–2010.

Mahajan and colleagues found that only about twenty percent of people with HCV-related chronic liver disease had this listed as a cause of death, even though a majority had evidence of moderate or advanced liver fibrosis.

HCV infection is greatly under-documented on death certificates, the authors summarized. “The 16,622 persons with HCV listed in 2010 may represent only one-fifth of about 80,000 HCV-infected persons dying that year, at least twothirds of whom (53,000 patients) would have pre-mortem indications of chronic liver disease.

“Data from this study suggests a much greater role of HCV on mortality in the United States than has been previously understood based on analyses of death certificate data,” they continued in their discussion. These data “contradict prevalent views that, perhaps because of its long incubation period (30 years), HCV infection is an indolent infection that is not of urgent concern.”

Among the 156 HCV-positive CHeCS patients who had liver transplants, only forty-six (twenty-nine percent) had HCV noted on their death certificate.

“Even if we exclude other diseases associated with HCV infection such as diabetes and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, it appears that most are dying not just with HCV but possibly from HCV,” the authors wrote.

Jiles tells A&U that the new data on HCV prevalence and HCV-related deaths suggest that testing is crucial for a personal and public health perspective.

“New therapies only work if people receive them. The potential of current and other advances depends on our ability to get more people screened and into care.”

Larry Buhl is a radio news reporter, screenwriter, and novelist living in Los Angeles. His young adult novel, The Genius of Little Things, debuted last year.

A&U • MAY 2014

illustration by Timothy J. Haines

while hcv prevalence is down, the rate of morbidity may be going up

FEBRUARY 2014 • A&U

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lifeguide

Four to Watch

THV01 THV01 (Theravectys) is a lentiviral vector, therapeutic vaccine being tested on people with HIV-1 clade B, the most common clade in North and South America, Europe, Japan, Australia, and Thailand. THVO1 stimulates the immune system by delivering DNA

54

2. Participants will discontinue HAART at month 5 and reinitiate HAART at month 7.

Eighty new HIV-positive patients will then participate in Phase IIb and will be divided into two groups. One group will receive the optimal dose of Tat Oyi and the second will receive placebo.

into dendritic cells directing them to kill HIV-infected T cells, generating a strong immune response.

THV01 is currently recruiting patients in Belgium and France to participate in a placebo-controlled, Phase I/II safety/efficacy and immunogenicity clinical trial of people on HAART with suppressed viral loads.

Thirty-six participants will be randomized to receive one of three doses of THV01 or placebo. Intramuscular injections of THV01 or placebo will be given at week 0 and week 8. HAART will be interrupted during the vaccination phase, resumed at week 9 and interrupted again at week 24.

Tat Oyi Tat Oyi is a nano vaccine (Biosantech) and its objective is to elicit an immune response to Tat (an HIV gene) in order to eliminate HIV-1 infected cells. A Phase I/II a and b double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial is currently enrolling in Marseille, France.

Participants must be on HAART, with undetectable viral loads and CD4 counts above 350 cells/mm3. In the Phase I/IIa portion of the trial, forty-eight participants will be randomized into four arms: one placebo arm and three different dose arms and will receive injections at months 0, 1 and

PENNVAX-B PENNVAX -B is a DNA therapeutic vaccine for HIV-1, Clade B. A DNA HIV therapeutic vaccine injects a section of DNA into cells which tells the immune system to produce specific cells to fight the virus.

PENNVAX-B targets the HIV proteins gag, pol and env. This therapeutic vaccine is administered through a process called electroporation, which transfers the vaccine directly into the membrane of the targeted cells.

In March of 2012, an open label, Phase I clinical trial of PENNVAX-B in twelve HIV-positive adults was completed. Four doses of PENNVAX-B were administered to study participants. Results concluded that significant T-cell immune responses were generated, specifically antigen-specific CD8+ cell responses. CD8+ responses are thought to be an essential part of the immune response seen in elite responders whose immune systems are able to control HIV without the need for antiretrovirals.

GenePro Like PENNVAX-B, GenePro (IGXBio) is also a DNA therapeutic vaccine. In the case of GenePro, it instructs the body to produce killer T cells and memory cells specific to HIV. GenePro has not yet entered human trials but has shown promising results in in vitro and animal studies. It targets all strains of HIV which would make it viable for use in all HIV-positive individuals which, along with other factors, earns it a place on this list of promising HIV therapeutic vaccines.

Jeannie Wraight is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of HIV and HCV Haven (www.hivhaven.com) and a blogger and writer for TheBody.com. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Health People, a community-based organization in the South Bronx and an advisor to TRW (Teach me to Read and Write), a community-based organization in Kampala, Uganda. She lives with her husband in the Bronx, New York.

A&U • MAY 2014

illustration by Timothy J. Haines

A

s you may know, there are two types of “HIV cures.” One is what we call an eradication or sterilizing cure. An eradication cure would mean that all traces of HIV are removed from the body, including from the blood and HIV reservoirs. Presently, this would be very difficult, particularly because we don’t have, as of yet, the diagnostic assays needed to locate and peek into all possible reservoirs to check for signs of HIV and are not yet 100 percent clear on what HIV fragments that may be left in the body signify.

The second type of “cure” is a functional cure, or “HIV remission.” An HIV remission would enable an HIV-positive person to maintain a suppressed viral load, normal or near-normal CD4 count/immune function and the ability to remain free of opportunistic infections without the need for daily ARVs. One form of an HIV remission could be from an effective therapeutic vaccine. A therapeutic vaccine would allow a person to receive an injection, or likely numerous injections, which would allow them to remain healthy without the need for continual ARVs. New immune responses elicited by a therapeutic vaccine could control viral replication.

Optimally, a therapeutic vaccine, just as any functional cure, would need to be cheap and accessible enough for everyone, including people in resource-limited areas.

Simply put, an HIV therapeutic vaccine would help the immune system form a new response to HIV, enabling it to fight off the virus. Therapeutic vaccines have been researched in HIV since the mid-1990s but with slow and usually disappointing results.

As we learn more about which immune responses are needed to form an effective result, more progress is being made and new and/ or improved therapeutic vaccines are entering Phase I and II clinical trials. Below are some therapeutic vaccines to keep an eye on:

a growing research field, therapeutic vaccines may become a vital option for hiv remission

Acupuncture helps me manage my pain and tunes me up.

Miguel, D.A.P. client

D.A.P. treats and supports the whole person Those little needles give me such relief, the way they reduce stress and anxiety, not to mention pain. I believe they activate my body’s electrical grid in a way that helps keep my viral load suppressed. It may not be for everyone but acupuncture has worked for me for 25 years. I’m grateful D.A.P. offers it as a complement to the primary and HIV-specialty care I get at their clinic.

This and more...all under one roof Thanks to your generous support, Desert AIDS Project has been saving lives for 30 years.

Please continue to help by donating at desertAIDSproject.org, joining one of our annual giving programs, or by saving the date for one of our upcoming fundraising events.

Queen of the Desert | May 28, 2014 Summer Mixer & Dance Party | July 24, 2014 Desert AIDS Walk | October 18, 2014 Dancing With The Desert Stars | November 15, 2014 World AIDS Day | December 1, 2014

760.323.2118

desertAIDSproject.org

E R U CULT S THE

AID OF

by Terrence McNally Golden Theatre

You read the title. Skim over the brief summary. Think you know what Mothers and Sons, a recent play by four-time Tonywinner Terrence McNally, is all about.

And yet, nothing prepares you for what unfolds in front of your eyes, when sitting in the audience.

Mothers and Sons is more than a story about mothers and sons, as the title hints at, and it’s more than a story that touches on AIDS, as the brief summary suggests.

Rather, Mothers and Sons offers a new dimension to a complex, yet mundane universe we call family. It redefines the meaning of family in a timely, and also timeless, manner as a space where past and future collide, secrets spill out, allowing the truth to fill the emptiness left by loss.

We recognize ourselves in the characters—in their tears and smiles, in their pasts, fears, dreams and desires—in part, because of the story itself, and also because of a star-studded cast, comprised of Tyne Daly and Frederick Weller, also Bobby Steggert and Grayson Taylor (who makes his Broadway debut), that majestically brings it to life.

At its core, Mothers and Sons tells the story of a woman who comes to New York City to revisit a painful past—marked by losing her son to AIDS, haunted by ghosts and unspoken truths—only to discover the surprising possibility of a second chance at life and happiness, and a potential future sketched out by modern times and families, just like one of her son’s surviving partners, his much younger husband, and their young son. A common thread that comes alive throughout the play is love—love between a mother and her son, between parents and their children; love between lovers or spouses; and between generations, those defined not only in terms of family, but also by society, and the

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Playwright Terrence McNally (second from right) poses with the cast of Mothers and Sons (left to right): Bobby Steggert, Grayson Taylor, Frederick Weller, and Tyne Daly.

tragedy of AIDS. Love, underscored by a newly found sense of forgiveness and understanding, survives disease, death and time to hold relationships together and to allow the complicated dynamics of the family universe to make room for new beginnings, and also hope.

Mothers and Sons offers a powerful, life-changing experience. Its story will stay with you long after the curtains go down.

—Alina Oswald

BOOKS

Boystown 5: Murder Book Marshall Thornton MLR Press

Boystown 5: Murder Book, the fifth installment in Marshall Thornton’s hardboiled detective series, opens with a bombshell. Private investigator Nick Nowak’s lover, Bert Harker, has been murdered by a serial killer called the Bughouse Slasher.

Shattered, Nick has the presence of mind to copy Bert’s murder book before the police search his apartment, and it is this murder book that supplies him with the clues he needs to hunt down Bert’s killer.

Marshall Thornton’s protagonist, Nick Nowak, is a Polish-American ex-policeman who lives and works in Chicago’s Boystown neighborhood. Like other fictional private eyes,

Nick is the perennial outsider, an openly gay man in Chicago in the 1980s, estranged from his family, at loggerheads with the political and social elite, and a thorn in the side of the Chicago Police Department. The series is set in the early 1980s. Nick is tall and muscular with brown hair and a bushy mustache. He wears Frye boots, chain smokes Marlboros, drives a lime-green Chevy Nova, and exudes a sexual charisma that other men find irresistible. His toughguy demeanor belies a good heart and a dogged determination to pursue justice on behalf of those who are defenseless, downtrodden, disenfranchised, and dispossessed. In Boystown 4: A Time for Secrets, this means uncovering a decades-old crime that involves the persecution of gay men by the Chicago Police Department.

In Boystown 5: Murder Book, it means tracking down a cold-blooded killer who targets gay teenagers—street hustlers, runaways, and throwaways—slitting their throats and dumping their bodies in the river.

Murder Book opens in the fall of 1982. Seven Chicagoans die after taking extra-strength Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide. While these deaths derail the Chicago Police Department’s investigation into homicide detective Bert Harker’s murder, Nick is indefatigable in A&U • MAY 2014

photo by Joan Marcus

DRAMA

Mothers and Sons

his determination to track down the Bughouse Slasher. (Incidentally, the Slasher gets his nickname from Chicago’s storied Bughouse Square, a park where one of his teenage victims was known to have frequented. Bughouse Square is the popular name for Washington Square Park, which became famous during the twentieth century as an open-air forum for fiery soapbox orators. During the legendary park’s heyday, agitators, atheists, evangelists, political radicals, reformers, and other so-called cranks and crazies would mount soapboxes to rant and rave to the crowds that gathered there to hear them.) Bert continues investigating the Bughouse Slasher case even after becoming disabled. The murder book is his case file, a blue binder filled with crime scene reports, arrest reports, forensic reports, autopsies, photographs, computer printouts, and phone tips. After Bert is killed, Nick takes the binder to a copy shop and copies each of its 624 pages one by one while standing over an enormous, harvest-gold Xerox machine.

The copy machine is one of those prosaic details that make the Boystown series so enormously entertaining. Nick has no choice but to canvass neighborhoods on foot, make calls from payphones, comb

through reverse phone books, visit the county clerk’s office, and scroll through microfiche in the periodicals room at the library. These old-school methods jibe with Nick’s single-minded approach to sleuthing.

There are no Internet searches, smartphones, or digital recording devices for this private eye. Other blasts from the past include brand names, such as 501 jeans and Reese’s Pieces, and TV shows, including Dynasty, which featured one of the earliest gay characters on television. The books also feature Chicago landmarks and hangouts, especially ones in Nick’s East Lakeview neighborhood, the first officially recognized gay neighborhood in the United States.

Another hallmark of the Nick Nowak series is the sexual promiscuity among gay men that will be curtailed in the 1980s and 90s by the AIDS epidemic. In Boystown 4, Bert Harker is diagnosed with Gay-Related Immune Deficiency (GRID) or gay cancer, as AIDS was called before much was known about it. While Bert suspects that GRID is a sexually transmittable disease, Nick’s friends theorize that the illness is spread by fog machines at discotheques or that it originated in a bad batch of cocaine.

Boystown 5: Murder Book is lean and fast-paced. Written in the first person,

Marshall Thornton’s prose style mirrors Nick’s laconic voice and blunt tone. In Nick, Thornton has created a complex hero, sexy and headstrong yet sentimental and capable of falling in love. Nick’s investigations are characterized by perseverance, but they are also steeped in danger occasioned by his stubborn nature and reckless behavior. The Nick Nowak series is a fun and exciting addition to the crime fiction genre. Boystown 5: Murder Book has been nominated for a Lamba Literary Award in the Gay Mystery category. Winners will be announced at the 26th Annual Lambda Literary Awards Ceremony on June 2, 2014. The next book in Thornton’s mystery series is Little Boy Dead, a prequel that takes Nick Nowak back to the fall of 1979 when he is first embarking on his career as a private investigator.

—Sally Hessney

WELLNESS WATCH

risk and medication adherence, among other behaviors.

In terms of the bigger picture, the examinations of how fluctuations in mood may be related to risky and protective sexual practices will hopefully lead to better mental health and health outcomes for HIV-positive MSM. Considering the increasing and disproportionate rates of infection among African-American and Latino men, the urgency for finding strategies to help, and help individuals help themselves, is great.

“It sounds naive to say, ‘If we keep people happy, they won’t be risky,’ but, in some ways that is part of what we’re trying to say,” shares Wilson. Mental health interventions and treament could become more attuned to helping individuals as they experience stressors and changes in mood over time. Engagement with individuals need not only happen when they are at a peak of depression, say, but tailored to the unfolding landscape of their emotions. “Just because you see someone one day and they present with no symptoms—depression, euphoria, or they appear to be non-depressed—it doesn’t mean the following week they won’t have some experience,

whether it be subtle or more significant that can trigger changes in mood and mental health. And some of what I think interventionists and clinicians can do is help their patients cope with and respond to some of the stressors that they might experience in their day-to-day lives in a way that helps them [respond in such a way that] they won’t see such a negative impact on their wellbeing.

Another part of the mental health approach might be “helping individuals seek out support and engage in responses to stress and coping behaviors that can reduce the likelihood that they’ll ultimately feel depressed or that risk could be an option,” notes Wilson.

In closing, Wilson notes: “We need to promote happiness in people’s lives, really empower people with the tools they need to create happiness in their lives, but also to seek it out in the forms of support and the forms of friendship and other interpersonal connections that can really help when you’re experiencing times of distress and that can also prop you up....”

That’s something we can clap along about.

continued from page 50

all people have good days and bad days, right? and moments of ‘Oh I’m feeling super-stressed right now,’ but there are ways and sometimes tools that higher socioeconomic folks have to handle those that allow them to be [more even-keeled].

[There are resources] like social support or money that can help address or reduce or mitigate the impact of stressful circumstances whereas those without means are not going to be able to deploy the same kind of wide range of different tools to deal with both environmental and personal stressors that can influence and change mood and wellbeing.”

This theory needs more evidence, so Wilson and his team are planning another study that will look at the daily experiences of younger Black MSM who are HIV-positive, tracing fluctuations in mental health in ultra-nuanced contexts of acceptance and stigma, the smaller cues of support and rejection that may shape depression and well-being. Researchers will examine sexual

58

Alina Oswald is a writer, photographer, and the author of Journeys Through Darkness: A Biography of AIDS. Contact her at www.alinaoswald.com.

Sally Hessney is a program assistant at a nonprofit organization, where one of the educational missions is to educate teenagers about the dangers of binge drinking, prescription drug abuse, distracted driving, STDs, and other consequential issues.

Chael Needle wrote about a gene therapy-based cure candidate in last month’s Treatment Horizons.

A&U • MAY 2014

Imagine a world without AIDS JOIN US THIS JUNE FOR THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF AIDS EDUCATION MONTH! Since 1993, Philadelphia FIGHT has hosted AIDS Education Month (AEM), a series of FREE events throughout Philadelphia to increase awareness of AIDS and to bring people together to find strategies to combat the virus.

PHILADELPHIA, PA

Our goal is to end the AIDS epidemic within the lifetime of those currently living with HIV.

JUNE 2014 CALENDAR OF EVENTS TUES., JUNE 3 ALL EVENTS ARE FREE: Register online at www.aidseducationmonth.org or call 215.985.4448 x 200

SAT., JUNE 7

Faith Leaders & Community Summit

Opening Reception & Awards Ceremony

5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Independence Visitors Center 6th & Market Streets The official AEM 2014 Kickoff!

Renowned French virologist Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, will be honored with the Kiyoshi Kuromiya Award.

TUES., JUNE 10

Prison Health Care & Reentry Summit

THUR., JUNE 5

Step Up Against AIDS

HIV testing: 5 p.m.

Doors open: 6 p.m. • Show: 7 p.m.

Temple University Performing Arts Center 1837 N. Broad Street The first Philadelphia FIGHT Stepping Showcase to promote HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.

SAT., JUNE 14

The Legendary Crystal Ball

Invitation Only • 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Marriott Downtown Hotel 1201 Market Street

8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Pennsylvania Convention Center 12th & Arch Streets

7 p.m. – Midnight University of the Arts, Hamilton Hall 320 S. Broad Street

Local faith leaders convene to learn how to promote HIV prevention, education, and linkage to care within their congregations.

This summit explores health and reentry challenges facing people who are incarcerated or reentering our communities.

Philadelphia FIGHT and COLOURS host the region’s most recognized house/ballroom community event that integrates HIV prevention with electrified talent and artistry.

The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., Keynote Speaker, former pastor of President Barack Obama is a revered, theological scholar, author and historian.

WED., JUNE 18

Prevention & Outreach Summit

Michelle Alexander, Keynote Speaker, is a highly-acclaimed civil rights advocate, legal scholar and New York Times best-selling author.

TUES., JUNE 24

Movements for Change

8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Pennsylvania Convention Center 13th & Arch Streets

12 - 2:30 p.m.

Friends Center 1501 Cherry Street

Find out exciting strategies for preventing HIV and linking those who are positive to life-saving treatment, and learn how the AIDS epidemic intersects with related issues.

A unique event that addresses grassroots activism. This year, the focus is on immigration movements happening both locally and nationally.

OPENING PLENARY SPEAKERS

SAT., JUNE 28

Community Cookout

Farid Esack, a Professor in the Study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg, is an active member of Positive Muslims, an organization working with Muslims in South Africa who are HIV-positive.

11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Fairmount Park, Area #2 33rd Street & Cecil B. Moore Avenue

Paul Kawata, Executive Director of the National Minority AIDS Council, the premier organization dedicated to building leadership in communities of color to address the challenges of HIV/AIDS.

Relax, kick back, and enjoy the community that AEM brings together at our annual cookout.

FRI., JUNE 27

Hip Hop for Philly

Philadelphia FIGHT and CHOP present a FREE HIP HOP concert. Young people who receive an HIV test at one of our participating locations throughout the city get a free ticket.

Go to www.fight.org/hiphop for more information.

SUN., JUNE 29

Gospel Concert

5 - 8 p.m.

Mt. Airy Church of God in Christ 6401 Ogontz Avenue Join us for an inspirational night of gospel music. Together, we will lift our spirits through song.

Philadelphia FIGHT is a comprehensive AIDS service organization providing state-of-the art, culturally competent primary care to low income members of the community, HIV specialty care, consumer education, advocacy, social services, and outreach to people living with HIV and those who are at high risk, including family members, communities with high rates of HIV, formerly incarcerated persons, and young people at risk, along with access to the most advanced clinical research in HIV treatment and prevention.

T

A Calendar of Events

he Black AIDS Institute is celebrating fifteen years of engaging and mobilizing Black institutions, leaders, and individuals in an effort to stop the AIDS pandemic in Black communities across the country. Under the leadership of founder Phill Wilson [A&U, February 2014], the Los Angeles-based national nonprofit has become a vital force in AIDS education and advocacy.

The Institute will mark the occasion at one of its signature events: the Heroes in the Struggle (HITS) Gala Reception and Awards Presentation.

As Gerald Garth, a Los Angeles-based writer, actor and accountant who works for the Institute, explains, HITS “is a pictorial tribute to those who have made heroic contributions in the fight against HIV/ AIDS, encompassed in a night of extraordinary presentations and noted performances. Past photographers include Duane Cramer [A&U, May 2013] and Matthew Jordan Smith. The photographers have captured many of today’s most celebrated individuals for leading publications ranging from Essence to GQ.…By showcasing examples of heroism from within communities of African descent, Heroes in the Struggle, stirs up African Americans and others to refocus and recommit to overcoming the epidemic by generating critical conversation about HIV testing and treatment.”

New Heroes are added to the exhibit each year, joining past Heroes such as Coretta Scott King [A&U, November 2001] and former President Bill Clinton.

A Drive Out AIDS raffle drawing will be held for the 2014 Kia Forte, sponsored by Car Pros Kia of Carson, and a five-day/fournight Carnival Cruise.

Date: May 20; time: 7–10 p.m.; location: Directors Guild of America, 7920 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California.

To purchase tickets for Heroes in the Struggle and the Drive Out AIDS raffle or for more information on how to get involved, contact Gerald Garth, by phone at (213) 353-3610, ext. 100, or by e-mail at hits@BlackAIDS.org.

RUBY’S RAP continued from page 16

the actor could hear him, but he still had a soft voice. When he died, his company, Ritts/ Hayden, dissolved into another company.

It…was…very…sad. [He takes a sip of iced coffee and tenderly looks out the window.] It was a wonderful “family” while it lasted. ….Anyone else you know who died of AIDS-related causes?

My best friend’s father also passed away from complications of the disease.

Have you ever dated anyone who was HIV-positive?

No, not that I know of, but I have friends who have and some currently have HIV-positive partners.

I know you have a beau….

My fiancée’s name is Josh and we’ve been together for just over two years. I proposed to him on stage at that final [Priscilla] show in Seattle. It was very special. Currently I’m planning my wedding and a honeymoon in Mexico.

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Pura Vida! [I say with gusto.] By the way, when did you first get tested?

I took my first HIV test when I was eighteen or nineteen.

You’re setting a great example. Do you still get tested?

Though I’m now engaged to be married and have been in a monogamous relationship, I still take the test once a year with my physical.

Bright boy. As you probably know, HIV statistics are on the rise with gay teens and twenty-somethings. How can we best reach these guys?

I think the mobile testing [unit] I saw in Los Angeles is brilliant, especially around popular bars and clubs. If it’s free and easy, people will take the test.

audience can get full views of your athletic body. I must tell you, you have quite a little tush there. Ruby wants to know what you sleep in.

I sleep in my underwear. [He breaks into a wide grin, exposing flawless ivories.]

What’s your idea of a perfect day, honeybuns?

Sorry, I just had to say that [I’m a bit embarrassed, but not really].

My perfect day is tapas-hopping with Josh here in our Brooklyn neighborhood.

You get a glass of wine and share an appetizer at each place. It’s so much fun and there are so many amazing places here.

Yes, undeniably. I want to know your favorite film of all time.

I love Thelma & Louise, and anything by Woody Allen and Pedro Almodóvar.

I can see that. Brooklyn has really revamped since I was a Manhattanite in the early eighties. I know you have an audition, but before I let ya go, any other comments?

[He situates himself into an erect position, gazes at me with his sparkling baby blues, and firmly states:] Not to forget all the amazing people our community has lost [to AIDS], because if we’re not careful, history can repeat itself….

Oh, me too! Woody plays a pimp in Turturro’s newest sweet comedy, Fading Gigolo. He’s simply hilarious. And speaking of sex…playing Adam requires some skimpy outfits. The

Ruby Comer is an independent journalist from the Midwest who is happy to call Hollywood her home away from home. Reach her by e-mail at MsRubyComer@aol.com.

A&U • MAY 2014

4 1 0 2

AL É R T N O M 2 1 .

T C O Y A D M A I NT: SUN EVEN

IN ASSOCIATION WITH MANY THANKS TO

BBCM.ORG FACEBOOK.COM/FONDATIONBBCM

TEST continued from page 39

many others, in that shift. Of course, the big cultural factor is the evolution of equal rights, but I also don’t think it’s an accident that, in the face of the AIDS epidemic, monogamy suddenly looked very attractive.

The scene really speaks to an audience of today, as many people are beginning to question the idea of monogamy again.

I do think it’s in the zeitgeist.

After the film screened in Berlin, how did audiences respond?

I think one of the things that hapFrankie Say Relax: Scott Marlowe as Frankie in Test pens in Q&As with Test is that the film is so not what people are expecting.

They’re really expecting Philadelphia, You’ve said that you like to write women Dallas Buyers Club, Longtime Companion, characters and collaborate with women.

Parting Glances….Test is something very difWhat are you working on in relation to this? ferent and hopeful and lighter, even though I’m working with two collaborators, it has some darkness in it. And I think at and one of them is Jenni Olson, who the end they’re kind of stunned that they was an executive producer on Test. We’re feel good, and sometimes it leaves them a working on a story set in the 1970s—a little bit speechless. mother-daughter story. As an audience member, I connect to great actresses and The soundtrack, with artists like Klaus Nomi, great female roles, and looking back on my Bronski Beat, Laurie Anderson, creates a rich two movies, I have done all men. I also of layer that is part of Frankie’s environment and course don’t want to be so arrogant as to inner experience. How did you decide which say, “I’m now going to write women, as a artists and songs to include in the story? white male, I’m going to conquer all the I have a great music supervisor, Rick diversity angles” [laughs]. So obviously I’m Clark. I had written working with colsome of the songs laborators so that into the script, we get it right. like the Laurie Anderson. I had What kinds permission from of work do you her early on to see yourself doing use it….But what’s in the more disgreat about Rick tant future? is he knew that I’m trying era, and he found to figure out, as music that had all independent hidden meaning filmmakers try to as well as being do, I think, how really good music. to keep working Klaus Nomi… while you’re he happened to waiting for larger die of AIDS, so amounts of money to come together. I’m there’s an extra resonance there. Some of thinking about different processes. Like, I the other musicians were active in politics, have some friends who are great actors in or maybe they were in ACT UP, or they were Europe, and going there with a camera and actually groups based in San Francisco, stuff a skeletal crew and starting some improvs like that. So it’s a great soundtrack, but it’s and building a project out of that—that also music that has other levels of meaning kind of mode is very different than writing relative to the story.

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a script, getting it funded, hiring a crew, and moving all of that machinery into production.…It’s the question of, am I a screenwriter, and am I part of a culture in which I write spec screenplays and wait for someone else to greenlight them?

What happens there is you give away so much of your power as an artist, and you’re waiting, and it’s frustrating. Or, is it possible to make something now, and what does that mean for me?...I think as independent filmmakers—because unlike painters we can’t just pick up a canvas and start painting—or can we?

Can you pick up a camera and start making something? But, because we’re sort of acculturated to need, and because we realistically need, this whole infrastructure, it’s really easy in America, where we don’t have government financing for small films, to fall into this whole marketing-pitching-screenplay-threeact-Barnes-&-Noble kind of thinking and really as artists not look to ourselves for the solutions. I guess it’s the old empowerment story.

That’s hard to do, because it’s kind of the scariest path to go down.

But also I think one of the more rewarding ones.

Test will have its day-and-date North American theatrical and VOD release on June 6. For more information, go to: www.testthefilm.com.

V. Anderson holds an MFA in Film from New York University. She has worked in India, the Caribbean, and the U.S., and is currently based in New York City.

A&U • MAY 2014

MAY 2014 • A&U

63

Survival Guide

[a portrait by sean black]

[

Richard Renaldi New York, NY Renowned photographer and Visual AIDS artist photographed in the West Village, a neighborhood he embraces and calls home.

“It is important for me to celebrate our community and showcase its beauty.”

Sean Black is an Editor at Large of A&U.

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A&U •A&U DECEMBER 2013 • MAY 2014

WE KNOW

HIV/AIDS MEDICATION THERAPY But we also know you won’t skip your workout for anything.

Welcome to a pharmacy that gets to know you, not just your diagnosis. We’re not just treating HIV patients, we’re getting to know individuals. So no matter the level of support, guidance and confidentiality you prefer, we’re here for you.

To learn more, visit HIV.Walgreens.com.

©2014 Walgreen Co. All rights reserved.

13CS0059-0114