 |
Authors, Books, and Beyond: A Conversation with Ami Polonsky About Her New Novel, World Made of Glass
By Amina Chaudhri
Document: Column
Introductory Paragraph: It’s 1987. It’s spring. It’s Greenwich Village, New York City. Thirteen-year-old Iris Cohen’s father is dying of AIDS, and her world is falling apart. At school, Iris reads fear and judgment in how her friends and teachers interact with her. At home, a cloud of sadness surrounds the people who make up her unconventional, deeply loving family. On TV, Dr. Fauci faces a barrage of questions about the too-little-too-late approval of AZT and the lack of access to medical care for people with HIV and AIDS. Iris seethes with rage. With the guidance of caring adults, she finds an outlet in activism. Iris and her friends attend ACT UP meetings and demonstrations, and they eventually organize an AIDS awareness assembly at their school. In her novel, World Made of Glass, author Ami Polonsky invites readers into a world of complex human relationships, social justice, poetry, and more, encouraging us to think about who we judge and why, when it is important to turn outward and be active in the community rather than nurse one’s own wounds, why it is important to examine our own judgment even while we experience others’, how powerful emotions can be channeled into public good, and the importance of caring for our beautiful, fragile world. I spoke with Ami about writing this powerful book and what she hopes readers will take from it.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33600/IRCJ.52.2.2024.69
Page Numbers: 69-73
|
