Renowned Author to Speak At Alliance Luncheon

Pearl Cleage, author of the best-selling novel What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day, will be the featured guest at the APA Alliance's 21st anniversary luncheon during APA's 2005 annual meeting in Atlanta.

The luncheon will take place on Tuesday, May 24, at the Capital City Club at 7 Harris Street NW. The club, at the corner of Peachtree and Harris, is within walking distance of the Georgia World Congress Center. The event will begin with a reception at 11 a.m. followed by lunch at noon. Cleage will speak after lunch.

Cleage's novel tells the story of Ava Johnson, a hairdresser in Atlanta who learns that she has contracted HIV. She closes her salon and moves back to her native Idlewood, Mich., where she reunites with her sister, Joyce, who is working to help pregnant and other troubled teenagers in town. It is there that she meets and falls in love with Eddie Jefferson, who, like Ava, bears a secret.

Cleage's newest novel, Babylon Sisters, will be released late next month. Both books will be available for purchase and signing at the luncheon.

Pearl Cleage was born in 1948 in Springfield, Mass., and grew up in Detroit. Her mother was an elementary school teacher, and her father was a minister who founded his own church. He later became a Black Nationalist and changed his name to Jaramogi Abebe Agyemen.

Cleage graduated from Spelman College in Atlanta in 1971 and is playwright in residence there. She is an essayist, poet, and journalist in addition to being a book author. Her playwriting career began in the 1980s with productions of “Puppetplay,” “Hospice,” and“ Good News and Essentials.” “Flying West” gained national attention in 1992 and was followed by “Blues for Alabama Sky” and “Bourbon at the Border.”

The APA Alliance is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization supporting the goals of APA. It is made up of men and women working together to increase mental health literacy and eradicate stigma associated with mental illness through communication, education, and support of legislation.

Those eligible for membership include APA members, spouses/partners and other family members of APA members, and individuals sponsored by an APA Alliance or APA member. Membership for members-in-training and their family members is free. Membership applications may be obtained by visiting the APA Alliance's Web site at<www.apaalliance.org> or e-mailing Angela Poblocki at [email protected].

The APA Alliance has introduced new pricing for this year's luncheon. The cost per ticket is $50, with a special price of $32 for members-in-training and their family members. Additional support can be given by attending at the silver ($75), gold ($100), or platinum ($150) level; a portion of the ticket price is tax deductible. Those not able to attend the luncheon are encouraged to give a tax-deductible gift to the APA Alliance. Participation at any of these levels will be acknowledged at the luncheon.

The deadline to purchase tickets is May 2; seating is limited. Tickets may be purchased by e-mail by sending credit card information to Poblocki at [email protected] or by sending a check to her at Executive Director, APA Alliance, P.O. Box 285, North Boston, N.Y. 14110. ▪