Controversial surgeon J. Marion Sims, sometimes called the father of gynecology, experimented on enslaved women in the South during the 19th century. Aspen Words’ current writer-in-residence wants to tell the story of one of those women for the very first time.
J.C. Hallman dug into the life of a young woman named Anarcha, searching in libraries and archives all over the world.
With his new book, “The Anarcha Quest,” he says he wants to recognize the contributions Sims' subjects made to women’s health.
“Bringing her back to life is a way of bringing justice back to history," he said.
His research took him to Uganda ahead of his visit to Aspen this month. He contracted malaria, and went directly from the Aspen airport to the hospital.
"Within ten minutes of hitting that bed, I had this chill attack that was pretty convulsive, and no one was under any doubt that I was pretty ill at that moment," he laughed.
Hallman is on the mend. He’ll read from “The Anarcha Quest” and share some of the historical documents he’s found in his research at Hooch Craft Cocktail Bar Tuesday evening.
