Steven Reigns Talks To The Dead - Sort Of
Poet Steven Reigns TALKTALKTALKS Anais Nin, his poetic-investigation into the life of David Acer and his zine, 'For The Love of Peter Hujar'
I first met Steven Reigns at The Broad, where he was reading from his book, A Quilt For David. I ordered it immediately and read it in one sitting. Which is impressive because I hate most poetry. It's a sentiment I don’t usually share but now feel safe expressing because Steven said he doesn’t like poetry that reads like a riddle. And he’s a poet.
A Quilt For David is a poetic-investigation into the early 90s story of dentist Dr David Acer, a gay man who becomes the center of brutal homophobia and a media frenzy when eight of his patients accuse him of infecting them with HIV. Steven worked over a decade researching the book, including multiple trips to Florida, where he combed through courthouse records, University libraries and other archives. He sought out and interviewed David’s friends and patients. The result is a collection of poems that’s both heartbreaking and validating. I’ve never read anything like it.
The following interview and accompanying podcast get into some of that. We also touch on his life’s love affair with Anais Nin and his latest work, ‘For The Love of Peter Hujar,’ a zine dedicated to the photographer, Peter Hujar, published by Mattazine Society, as issue #9 of their ‘For The Love Of’ series.
Vivi Henriette: When you meet people at parties, how do you introduce yourself?
Steven Reigns: I usually say I write and teach writing workshops. I rarely mention therapist. I wouldn’t take on a client in or near my friendship circle so I’m never socially recruiting. There’s also something about being a therapist that makes people uncomfortable. They fear they are being scrutinized or examined. I’m more interested in hearing about people’s literary loves and pursuits.
Vh: You're 15 years old and your friend hands you a copy of Delta of Venus and says, “This is the best smut you’ll ever read.” Was it? What about that book spoke to teenage Steven?
SR: It might still be the best smut I’ve ever read. Anaïs Nin is a skilled writer and when she focused her talent to write about sex, it was great work. The preface to Delta of Venus is what spoke to me more. It was an excerpt from her diary and it talked of her frustration with the pornography collector’s insistence that she “leave out the poetry.” She also talks of finding her voice and recognizing its uniqueness. I loved poetry even at that young age, and I was just finding my voice.
Vh: What were you like in high school?
SR: I wasn’t particularly popular at the start of high school. I had a fake ID at 16, and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I started going to gay bars and met more of my tribe. This also meant I was sleeping with and befriending older men. This gave me an exposure to the devastation of AIDS at an early age.
Vh: Do you remember when you first knew you were a writer? What was that like?
SR: The first night I had sex with a guy at 16, I came home and wrote about it in my journal. The next day I read the entry to my friend Stephanie Recht, the same friend who loaned me Delta of Venus. She told me I should be a writer, and it was the most fitting encouragement I had ever heard. That time was truly a moment of spontaneous combustion.
Vh: You’ve spent your career writing about the deceased. Do you ever feel it’s easier to talk about the dead than the living?
SR: People are complex and hard to fully capture in writing. In some ways, it might be easier to write about the dead because it’s harder for them to break the narrative. Though, inevitably, it will happen when a memory surfaces that doesn’t easily fit into the narrative we’ve created. The real challenge is to keep expanding the narrative to where we see the entire person and love them even with their flaws.
Vh: I read your book A Quit For David in one sitting (because it's perfect). For those who haven’t encountered this work, will you describe it in a few sentences?
SR: It’s an exploration about what happened in a small Florida town in the early 90s when a self-avowed virgin claimed her HIV infection was due to her gay, dying dentist.
Vh: You recently released a zine on the late photographer, Peter Hujar — ‘For The Love of Peter Hujar.’ Can you share some of the things you love about Peter?
SR: Peter Hujar created these beautiful images. Most of them have a sense of calm. He could easily make sitters feel at ease, and it shows in the portraits he took of them. His work ranges from portraiture, landscapes, and animals. He did all of it extremely well.
Vh: What are you currently reading?
SR: I read the poem 'When My Daughter Tells Me I Was Never Punk' by Jessica L. Walsh and went straight to her website and bought four of her books. It was such an alive poem that I knew I wanted to read more. So, I’m currently working my way through those collections.
Vh: What’s next?
SR: My next collection, Outliving Michael, will be out in a year or so. I’m still writing and exploring interests that may or may not feed my writings. When I have an interest, I follow it and know that cognition will come later.
Vh: How can people keep up with you?
SR: My website is StevenReigns.com. I’m also on FB and IG under my name.
MORE ABOUT STEVEN
Steven Reigns is a Los Angeles poet and educator and was appointed the first Poet Laureate of West Hollywood. Alongside over a dozen chapbooks, he has published the collections Inheritance and Your Dead Body is My Welcome Mat. Reigns holds a BA in Creative Writing, a Master of Clinical Psychology, and is a sixteen-time recipient of The Los Angeles County’s Department of Cultural Affairs’ Artist in Residency Grant. He edited My Life is Poetry, showcasing his students’ work from the first-ever autobiographical poetry workshop for LGBT seniors. Reigns has lectured and taught writing workshops around the country to LGBT youth and people living with HIV. Currently he is touring The Gay Rub, an exhibition of rubbings from LGBT landmarks, and is board president of the Anais Nin Foundation. His newest collection A Quilt for David was published by City Lights and is the product of over ten years of research regarding dentist David Acer’s life.
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