The Hidden History of Pgh’s AIDS Epidemic

As a college student, poet and archivist Silas Maxwell Switzer realized he knew almost nothing about Pittsburgh’s queer history — even though he’d grown up here. And when he set out to fix that, he realized there were historical gaps.

Silas’ forthcoming poetry collection, "Nine Parts Water, One Part Bleach," focuses on the AIDS crisis in Pittsburgh and its erasure. He joins City Cast Producer Elizabeth Kauma to talk about digging into the archives and tracking down elders to create his new collection.