WASHINGTON, DC – “Hope: Living and Loving with HIV in Jamaica” brings together poetry, essays, documentaries, short video interviews, music, photography and the interactive website LiveHopeLove.com.
This project builds on the travels of poet and writer Kwame Dawes who returned to the country of his youth to speak with Jamaicans about the impact HIV has had on them and their country. It is by far the most unique blending of Pulitzer Center coverage of a pressing underreported international issue – this one on America’s doorstep – and diverse media through which they hope to reach the American public.
In all, “Hope: Living and Loving with HIV in Jamaica” — found at http://www.pulitzercenter.org/showproject.cfm?id=61 includes:
• an extended essay by Kwame for The Virginia Quarterly Review (spring 2008);
• two Pulitzer Center-produced documentaries for public-television’s Foreign Exchange. “Talking HIV in Jamaica” finishes airing today and is available for viewing at http://www.pulitzercenter.org/openitem.cfm?id=808 “Positive Outlook” began airing on Friday, April 4. (To see a list of local stations, click Foreign Exchange with Daljit Dhaliwal | Show Listings;)
• a collection of poems by Kwame inspired by his reporting;
• an array of website resources, from related links and articles to organizations mentioned in the reporting;
• original music composed by Kevin Simmonds that builds on the poetry and opens the door to spoken word/musical performances; and
• LiveHopeLove.com, the interactive web presentation that synthesizes audio and text versions of Kwame’s poems, the Foreign Exchange documentaries, the music, photography by Joshua Cogan and “Vital Voices,” additional video interviews with the people who inspired this work.
The education outreach on HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean, is based also on Pulitzer Center reporting from Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Florida, begins this month.
