Join HumanitiesDC and guest curators Kim Roberts and Regie Cabico for Culture Series: Vital Signs - DC and the Poetry of AIDS, a powerful exploration of three groundbreaking poets: Essex Hemphill, Tim Dlugos, and Reinaldo Arenas—each of whom shaped the city's literary landscape before their lives were cut short by AIDS.
This evening of remembrance features a panel discussion with those who knew them best or were deeply influenced by their work: Christopher Prince on Essex Hemphill, Terence Winch on Tim Dlugos, and Dan Vera on Reinaldo Arenas.
Interwoven throughout the program will be short readings of poems by other DC-based writers lost to AIDS, including Garth Tate, Mary Bowman, Chasen Gaver, and Jim Everhard—bringing more of these powerful voices back into the room.
As we face new challenges in public health, social justice, and cultural memory, this event asks the bold question: what can DC residents learn from their legacy to help ignite our resistance to the challenges of our own time?
A handout of selected poems will be available to all attendees.
More About the Curators: Kim Roberts is the author of Q&A for the End of the World, a collaboration with Michael Gushue (WordTech Editions, 2025), her seventh book of poems; and the forthcoming Buried Stories: Walking Tours of Washington, DC-Area Cemeteries (Rivanna Books, 2025), her second guidebook. She has edited two anthologies of poems by Washington, DC authors, and co-curates DC Pride Poem-a-Day each June. Roberts has been the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Humanities DC, and the DC Commission on the Arts, and has been a writer-in-residence at 20 artist colonies and nonprofits. http://www.kimroberts.org
Regie Cabico is the first Asian American and openly queer poet to win the Nuyorican Poetry Cafe’s Grand Slam. Television credits include MTV, HPB’s Def Poetry Jam, TEDx Talk, and two episodes of The Poet Speaks (Heritage Channel, 2024-25). He is the author of A Rabbit in Seach of a Rolex (Day Eight, 2023). He is the Executive Director of A Gathering of the Tribes in New York. http://www.tribes.org
Please note: RSVPs are not required for entry, and entry is based on a first-come, first-serve basis. We appreciate your donations, but please note that if the event reaches capacity, donations will not be refundable.
For reasonable accommodation requests regarding access and inclusion, including ASL interpretation, please contact Jimmy Watkins (jwatkins@humanitiesdc.org) no later than five business days before the start of this event.
