TALES of the UNEXPECTED
The runaway success
of its T-Cell Chronicles
anthology prompted a
Brighton HIV project to create an ambitious online sequel. Tim Benzie reports
Andrew
Hanuman wants you. Whether you’re a budding author or just
want to get something off your chest, www.tcellchronicles.org will be online
this summer and dedicated to your writing.
This mega-blog will be open to anyone from around the world wanting to share
their experience of HIV and Aids. Contributions can come as a story, poem,
essay, or even a simple declaration of your struggles and triumphs.
Andrew, health promotion
officer with the Brighton Open Door Project, set up a writing group three
years ago with the “loose aim” of seeing if writing could be a
therapeutic tool.
“People shared wonderful stories and experiences and there was also
a huge amount of talent,” says Andrew.
A further workshop yielded masses of written work, which the group felt had
to be preserved in a meaningful way. Eventually the
T-Cell Chronicles was collated; a book containing 46 works of prose and poetry.
With help from a local charity, a thousand copies were published at the cost
of just £2,000, which were all quickly snapped up.
An Xpressyourself workshop run by the Open Door team at the UK conference
of people living with HIV also proved a huge hit. Clearly, it was time for
a sequel, but an anthology far broader in scope.
“We want to reach out to
as many community members as possible, worldwide,” says Andrew. “We
want it to be easy to post an article, and hopefully make sure it’s
on the net within 24 hours.”
Work won’t be edited, but there are a few ground rules: no racist, sexist,
defamatory or excessively pornographic material, although Hanuman says contributions
can still be “pretty sexy”.
The site will be divided into 12 sections, with plenty of space for work by
women and gay men and stories about sex and drug use. Contributions can be
posted
anonymously and there is also a section for HIV negative people affected by
the virus.
Andrew’s confident the site will attract more contributions from black
African writers who proved hard to reach when the T-Cell Chronicles were first
compiled. Back then, he said, service providers were extremely over-protective
of the African HIV community and made access hard. But at the Leicester conference
many African participants voiced anger at not being asked.
Andrew says the site will be
different from other HIV arts
projects: “We’ve got a responsibility to create a historical archive
as well as being a creative outlet. We’re passionate about what’s
happening now. People newly diagnosed need to know what it's like living now.
And I want those that have been around since the beginning to write their
stories about the people we’ve lost, and those who’ve survived.”
Andrew is keen to keep it as raw and real as possible: fiction or non-fiction.
“It’s about humanising issues, and not losing the face
of things. For example, I want someone to tell the story about Terrence Higgins
having the time of his life on the dance floor, not the corporate image.”
l Check for the website launch
and how to contribute at www.opendoorbrighton.org
How it helped previous writers
Mercedes
“Sometimes it’s good to materialise feelings and emotions –
getting these out is therapeutic. Also, the reader might not feel alone with
their circumstances. Sharing
experience within the community will hopefully lead to change.”
Rob
“One of the worst feelings on first being diagnosed is the sense of
isolation. I have passed copies of
the T-Cell Chronicles to many newly-diagnosed guys and they have devoured
it. They no longer feel so alone. There is no better first step to dealing
with HIV than that.
“Every single story has some line that strikes a chord. No matter what
their age, sex, sexual orientation, race or creed, sensing there is something
in everyone’s story strengthens the feeling of friendship and mutual
support. “By opening the book to the web it reaches everyone in all
sorts of isolated places. It is too valuable a resource to be kept to gay-friendly
places like London and Brighton. Writing is very therapeutic. It doesn’t
even need to be read; the simple process of writing clarifies everything.”
Chris
“We hope people from Amsterdam to sub-Saharan Africa will contribute.
Hopefully we will be able to cope with the massive interest. Writing has helped
me to express myself, get things off my chest, to remember and not to forget.”
Cavin
“The name T-Cell Chronicles first made me feel a little paranoid,
perhaps a bit medical, but in reading the articles they said the things I
wanted to say in real, not medical, terms - so don’t be put off by the
name.”
Judith
“When diagnosed in 1998, the world seemed lonely and confusing.
Even as a health professional and mum of grown-up sons, I was totally innocent
about what HIV would mean to my life. It has been enlightening and cathartic
to be involved in the
writing project. To share experiences and hopefully move on, sometimes away
from the virus.”
Guy
Attending the writing workshops, and the actual process of writing
proved an emotional but positive experience for me. I would actively encourage
others from around the world to share their
stories too.”
