FROM A BURNING HOUSE THE AIDS PROJECT LOS ANGELES: The Aids Project Los Angeles Writers Workshop Collection [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Irene Borger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1996 | Series: Los Angeles Writers Workshop Collection

As the AIDS epidemic continues unabated, people living with AIDS are in danger of being overshadowed by AIDS "the issue"-- a topic for movies, political wrangling, and opinion polls. This powerful collection gives voice to the people-- those with HIV, as well as their caregivers-- who do battle at the front line of the epidemic. It is an intense celebration of life led at the precipice. The themes explored in "From a Burning House are simple and universal: love, fear, friendship, loss. But these works possess a unique quality, as they describe a world on fire, a world where lives are quickened by the reality of AIDS. For the writers in the workshop, the creative process can be healing. For the listener, the result is profoundly moving; a tapestry of writings that is at once witty, wise and a painfully vibrant connection to the way we live now. All royalties from the sale of this work will be donated to AIDS Project Los Angeles. Read by: David Hyde Pierce, Steven Weber, Richard Thomas, B.D. Wong, Joel Grey, Ron Rifkin, Dan Butler, Robert Foxworth, Megan Gallagher, Gordon Thomson, Kenneth Bartmess, Phil Curtis, John D'Amico, David Gardner, Christopher Gorman, John Mulkeen, Steve Smith, and Irene Borger.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This anthology of writing by people with AIDS has the sad distinction of having the most wrenching Contributors' Notes imaginable. Since the workshop began in 1990, 44 members have died. The writing here ranges from the extremely professional to short fragments that carry very little weight, but most of it settles in the middle, with specific and personal autobiography. There is a sense, however, that showing off skills is not the point. Alan Erenberg recalls how his father arranged a "secret signal" (humming loudly) to warn his young son when the boy was engaging in what his father saw as girlish behavior. Frank Wang recalls sending home the body parts of a lover and fellow soldier from Vietnam. Much of the value here lies in the insiders' view of daily life with HIV and AIDS. "I want to rest/No/I want to eat/No/I want a Cola," is the opening of Dave Knight's edgy poem. Doug Bender describes how he insists on wearing a Hickman catheter (through which medications are infused) to the gym, even in the shower. In one of several stories about friends arranging their own deaths, Steve Smith details the painful complications of carrying out such a pact. John D'Amico provides a dry list of the things a friend has left behind, followed by footnotes that reveal the personal history of even the smallest object. Tony Kushner contributes a thoughtful introduction, and Borger both tracks the history of the group and provides instructions for starting other workshops.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

This collection of brief vignettes by AIDS victims and those closest to them is performed live in front of an audience by a remarkable cast, some of them the authors themselves. Here are descriptions of illness and death, anguished and baffled cries of despair and razor-sharp resentment. Most intriguing of all, though, is the frequent presence of humor amid all this suffering. AIDS humor defies analogy; how does one describe a literary form where heartbreak finds its most vivid and noble expression in raucous laughter? Women and heterosexuals with the syndrome are missing from this collection, and their absence is sorely felt. Still, much of the writing is superb and grandly performed, especially by actor David Hyde Pierce. As one might expect, there are graphic depictions of illness here, as well as profanity and explicit sexuality, so public libraries may want to use discretion when displaying the material. Recommended.?John Owen, Advanced Micro Devices Technical Lib., Sunnyvale, Cal.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Audioworks; Abridged edition (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671573837
• ISBN-13: 978-0671573836
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,989,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars extraordinarily moving and informative., September 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: From A Burning House: The Aids Project Los Angeles Writers Workshop Collection (Paperback)

This collection is funny, smart, full of grief and wit and wisdom. It also contains a smart essay by Pulitzer Prize-winning Tony Kushner and a great appendix on how to start a writing workshop in community.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Each LIfe Has A Voice, October 2, 2008

By 

M. Holley "radiantbirdlives" (Negrokota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: FROM A BURNING HOUSE THE AIDS PROJECT LOS ANGELES: The Aids Project Los Angeles Writers Workshop Collection (Audio Cassette)

A book with men and women who may never have a chance to tell this story again forever live through this compilation of stories and testimony. One of the best ideas to explaine the death and lost of so many of these men.