CENTRE FOR NEWFOUNDLAND S'l

"The rublrctof ~deola@" kn AlDS pactry IS usually ,"formed by gaynghlr. AlDS
actlrvrm and ~dentnty pl~t~cr. not nclsm or homophob~a The poetry rercrts the says
that AlDS has been constructed by the mainstream medta. the mcdleal establtrhment. and
the menutic commun~ty Whllc Edelmon seems to be leantng towards an rxplanatlon of
the "rubjcctof tdcolog$' as an cntlrely ncgat~re realtr). the tnrcnpt!on of AlDS In partr!
dcmonaratrr that the rebrnr tr perhaps marc preclsr Port? about AlDS resists the
nrgat~vr fomr of I~~OIOLR. pevtuated by more popular mrdla. such as clr\~non and
lilm
I*? to 1497 funct~ans ass rpeetfic period I" the hlrrop of AlDS posp hwausc
11 mark the begnnn~ng of the publtcat~on ofthc prnodlcal An& 1992-1
, I,
and the publtcatlon of- M u P- . .,.
AlDS ~andrmlrn 1997 Arr IS !mpnant to the hlstoq of AlDS
poetry because 11 maker 11 posr~blc lo read rhr prttc rrpresmtattons of AlDS on a
monthly basts. crratjng the ~mprrrston that one could read the dlrnre as a conunuour
and evol\ingrub~eet Thln.r~haoeds darslnptdrd b) Mlehael Kleln as the
"cornpanton antholo@' i ~vlll to 198%
Vnrwng both as companlon texts makes 11 porrlble to Inwstgatr rhechangs that
ctght years hare made to AlDS as a rub~ret for ply -1s ~mpponant
becaw of Its potentla1 to present AlDS as an on@!ngcultwal event. while the portp In
-8s ~arlne mamure pemnent source rlmply becnurc~t purparefully
attempts to show a kanety of penpect~ves
Porlry about AlDS eonttnuer to be confsrr~onal m many ways ldent~ty lrruer
eontlnue la play an Imponant mle In AlDS paetry That the pwtn confess or proclalm
then ndenttficat~an wth ~pectfic soups canttnually emerges as one of the man pre3ang
themes tn the paem How docs AlDS affect the mdtvtdual as a member of a speclfic