Armistead Maupin

Infobox_Scientist
name = Armistead Maupin

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image_size = 200px
caption = Armistead Maupin (left) and his husband Christopher Turner at the Sundance Film Festival, 2006
birth_date = birth date and age|1944|5|13
birth_place = Washington, D.C., USA
death_date =
death_place =
residence = San Francisco, California, USA
citizenship = American
occupation = Author
spouse = Christopher Turner
parents =
children =

Armistead Jones Maupin Jr. [Pronounced 'Mawpin' as read in English rather than rhyming with the French 'Gauguin'. 'Armistead Maupin' happens to be an anagram of 'Is a Man I Dreamt Up' ( [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0321291/ Armistead Maupin Is a Man I Dreamt Up] was the title of a 1990 BBC documentary on him), though neither the name nor Maupin himself was invented. He recalls: 'One person even wrote: "I know for a fact that you don't exist. You're really a lesbian collective in Marin County." (Sometimes I feel like a lesbian collective in Marin County, but I'm not.)' See: [http://web.archive.org/web/20060213145457/www.literarybent.com/oftasked_01.html Oft Asked Questions] .] (born Birth date and age|1944|5|13) is an American writer best known for his "Tales of the City" series of novels based in San Francisco.

Biography

Maupin, a descendent of American Revolutionary War general Gabriel Maupin, [cite web |url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0560945/bio |title=Armistead Maupin |accessdate=2007-10-10 |work=imdb] was born to a conservative, Christian family in Washington, D.C., but moved early on to North Carolina where he was raised. [http://web.archive.org/web/20050306070814/www.literarybent.com/am_04_also_by_ggir_01.html 'Growing up Gay in old Raleigh] -- in "The Independent" of Raleigh, North Carolina, June 1988 - autobiographical memoir] He says he has had storytelling instincts since he was eight years old. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he got into journalism through writing for "The Daily Tar Heel." [http://www.kuow.org/defaultProgram.asp?ID=12952 A Conversation with Author Armistead Maupin] - on KUOW-FM radio, 2007-06-19] After earning his undergraduate degree, Maupin enrolled in law school, but later dropped out. He worked at a television station in Raleigh managed by conservative television personality and later U.S. Senator Jesse Helms, who nominated him for a patriotic award, which he won. Maupin says he was a typical conservative and even a segregationist at this time and looked up to Helms, whom he knew and who was a family friend, as a sort of "hero figure." He later changed his views dramatically—"I've changed and he hasn't"—and condemned Helms at a gay pride parade on the steps of the North Carolina State Capitol.cite interview |subject=Armistead Maupin |interviewer=Bill Goldstein |url=http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/10/29/ra/maupin-audio.ram |format=.RAM |program=New York Times |date=24 October 2000 |accessdate=2007-06-18] He is a veteran of the United States Navy; he served several tours of duty including one in the Vietnam War.

Maupin's work on a Charleston newspaper was followed with an offer of a post at the San Francisco bureau of the Associated Press in 1971. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20050520074826/www.literarybent.com/am_04_also_by_glimpse_01.html My First Glimpse of The City] - in "Guest Informant", 1998-1999. Maupin recalls his first experiences of San Francisco.] [He has said of San Francisco that he had "no sense of it being a gay mecca" and has called it "this amazing city that embraced me, that had made me aware of my true self", and has said "what really floored me was that the straight folks in San Francisco were so civilised about homosexuality." (in the "New York Times" interview)] He says he knew he was gay since childhood, but didn't have sex until he was 26 and only decided to come out publicly in 1974. [ [http://www.bradlands.com/words/post/maupin-writethru.html For Armistead Maupin, There Are Still Tales to Tell] - Interview in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He agreed to be identified as a homosexual in a "Ten Most Eligible Bachelors" article in "San Francisco" magazine.] [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20050411183918/www.literarybent.com/am_04_also_by_lettertomama.html Letter to Mama] - Michael Tolliver's coming out letter, a response in the book to his parents' participation in Anita Bryant's real-life anti-gay Save Our Children campaign. Maupin used the letter to serve the same purpose for his own parents, who followed the "Tales" serial.] The same year, he began what would become the "Tales of the City" series as a serial in a local newspaper, "The Pacific Sun," moving to the San Francisco Chronicle after the former newspaper folded.

His former partner of twelve years, Terry Anderson, was once a gay rights activist (Maupin himself has done much work in this area), [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20051103114217/www.literarybent.com/am_04_also_by_gaygames_01.html Remarks for the Closing Ceremonies] of the Gay Games IV, Yankee Stadium, June 25 1994] [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20020816141302/www.aidsmemorial.org/news/wadjlam.htm Armistead Maupin] at the National AIDS Memorial Grove, located in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park] and co-authored the screenplay for "The Night Listener". He lived with Anderson in San Francisco and New Zealand. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20040803175738/http://savvytraveler.publicradio.org/audio/rafiles/2000/09.01/int000901.ram Audio interview about Maupin's New Zealand home] ] Ian McKellen is a friend and former lover [ [http://www.npr.org/ramfiles/waitwait/20001111.waitwait.04.rmm Audio interview with Armistead Maupin] on NPR, 2000-11-11] and Christopher Isherwood was a mentor, friend, and influence as a writer. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20060305020223/www.literarybent.com/am_04_also_by_ish_intrv_01.html "The First Couple: Don Bachardy and Christopher Isherwood"] - Armistead Maupin interviews Christopher Isherwood for The Village Voice, Volume 30, Number 16] [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20060305020217/www.literarybent.com/am_04_also_by_isherwd_01.html Foreword to 'The Isherwood Century'] ] Maupin is now married to Christopher Turner, a website producer and photographer who he came across on an internet dating website and then "chased him down Castro Street, saying, "Didn’t I see you on Daddyhunt.com?"" [http://www.timeoutny.com/newyork/Details.do?page=1&xyurl=xyl://TONYWebArticles1/566/hot_seat/armistead_maupin.xml Armistead Maupin: The quick-witted author mined his own experience for The Night Listener] - in Time Out New York.] [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/17/LVGKQQFA851.DTL Five Questions For Christopher Turner: Daddy-hunt site entrepreneur knows of which he posts] - Interview with Christopher Turner in the San Francisco Chronicle] Armistead and Christopher were married in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on February 18 2007, though he says that they had called each other "husband" for two years prior.cite web|title=Armistead Maupin’s Family Ties|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6435454.html|first=Kemble|last=Scott|date=2007-04-23|accessdate=2007-05-20|publisher=Publishers Weekly] He enjoys doing public readings of his own works and has recorded them all as audiobooks.

Works

Tales of the City

"Tales of the City" is a series of novels, the first portions of which were initially published as a newspaper serial starting on August 8 1974, in a Marin County newspaper, "The Pacific Sun", picked up in 1976 by the "San Francisco Chronicle", and later reworked into the series of books published by HarperCollins (then Harper and Row). The first of Maupin's novels, entitled "Tales of the City", was published in 1978. Five more followed in the 80s, ending with the last book, "Sure of You", in 1989. [http://web.archive.org/web/20060515202422/www.literarybent.com/totc_04_timeline_01.html "Tales of the City" graphic timeline] ] A seventh novel published in 2007, "Michael Tolliver Lives", continues the story of some of the characters. In "Babycakes", published in 1983, he was one of the first writers to address the subject of AIDS. Of the autobiographical nature of the characters, he says "I’ve always been all of the characters in one way or another".

The "Tales of the City" books have been translated into ten languages (French: "Les Chroniques de San Francisco"; German: "Stadtgeschichten") and there are more than six million copies in print.

Television miniseries

The first three books in the series have also been converted into three television miniseries starring Olympia Dukakis and Laura Linney, the first airing on the American television network PBS and the latter two on the American cable television channel Showtime. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20041228044112/www.literarybent.com/am_04_also_by_taleofthe70s.html A Tale of the Seventies] TV Guide, January 1994. Article by Maupin about the difficult process of getting the "Tales" series into TV production.]

Musical projects

He collaborated on "Anna Madrigal Remembers", a musical work written by Jake Heggie and performed by choir Chanticleer and mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade on 6 August 1999, for which Maupin provided a new libretto. He also participated in a concert series with Seattle Men's Chorus entitled "Tunes From Tales (Music for Mouse)", which included readings from his books and music from the era. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20031006120910/www.sgn.org/Archives/sgn.3.5.99/Arts/ Seattle Men's Chorus welcomes Armistead Maupin to Benaroya Hall] ]

"Maybe the Moon" and "The Night Listener"

Maupin has written two novels, "Maybe The Moon" and "The Night Listener", which are not part of the "Tales" series.

"Maybe The Moon" is a story Maupin describes as 'partly autobiographical', despite the main character being a female heterosexual Jewish dwarf. The character was also based on his friend Tamara De Treaux, who was the actor for E.T. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20060304204018/www.literarybent.com/mtm_04_behind.html Behind the scenes: THE OUTSIDER] - "San Francisco Focus Magazine] ", October 1992. Interview with Maupin about his friendship with Tamara De Treaux.] [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20060304204013/www.literarybent.com/mtm_02_about.html Reviews of "Maybe the Moon" and synopsis] ]

"The Night Listener" is a roman à clef, inspired by Maupin's real-life experiences surrounding the Anthony Godby Johnson hoax. [ [http://www.planetout.com/pno/entertainment/books/interviews/2000/10/maupin.html Interview at planetout.com] ] [ [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1111947 Audio interview about "The Night Listener"] - on WHYY-FM, October 3 2000] [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20060213145829/www.literarybent.com/am_04_also_by_suddenly_01.html 'Suddenly Home'] - a story featuring the fictional characters in "Noone at Night"] He says that he aimed to create a solid psychological thriller, while being able to put autobiographical elements in it. The issues he addresses include his break-up with his long-term partner and his relationship with his father. The book very lightly references the "Tales" world via Gabriel Noone's assistant, who is one of DeDe Halcyon-Day's twins from "Tales". It was serialised on the internet, on salon.com, prior to its print publication. "The Night Listener" has been adapted into a movie that was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in late January 2006 and released by Miramax the following August.

"Michael Tolliver Lives": a continuation of "Tales"?

Maupin has stated on his website that another "Tales of the City" novel is unlikely. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20060213145457/www.literarybent.com/oftasked_01.html Literarybent.com - Oft Asked Questions] ] Though he has explicitly stated that "Michael Tolliver Lives" is "not a continuation of "Tales of the City"," the novel is written from the first-person perspective of "Tales" character Michael 'Mouse' Tolliver, now in his fifties and living as an HIV-positive man. [http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid35157.asp "Armistead Maupin talks!"] - Advocate.com]

It also features appearances by familiar "Tales" characters, such as Anna Madrigal. [ [http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0,,2098649,00.html "Sex and the city"] - Interview in "The Observer"] Maupin said: "I was interested in pursuing the life of an aging gay man, and Michael was the perfect vehicle ... However, as soon as I started writing, I found that, one by one, all the other characters stepped forward and asked to be present. It felt natural, so I went with it." [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20041807,00.html "Tolliver's Travels"] - "Entertainment Weekly", 7 June 2007] He calls it "a smaller, more personal novel than I've written in the past." The book was released on June 12 2007, declared 'Michael Tolliver Day' by the mayor of San Francisco. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2101187,00.html "Latest Maupin tale tells of 'closet of age'"] - "The Guardian"] [ [http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/generalfiction/0,,2104040,00.html "Reader, he married him"] - Review in "The Guardian"]

His next project is another "Tales" volume: "Whatever I have to offer seems to come through those characters ... And I see no reason to abandon them."

On being a 'gay writer'

cquote2|I've always been proud of the fact that I've been openly gay longer than just about anybody writing today [...] but I never intended for that declaration to mean that I was narrowing my focus in any way, or joining a niche [...] now publishing has decided there's money in this, or at least a market [...] now a formalised thing has sprung up which I think is extremely detrimental to anybody beginning to write today. [...] It's possible to write a novel now which has gay themes, which has any truth you want to speak, that can be sold to a mainstream publisher and sold in a mainstream bookstore, so the notion of people who've narrowed their focus to only write books for a gay audience for gay people about gay people is stifling to me; in some ways, it's another form of the closet, as far as I'm concerned. I think Jerry Falwell must be very happy with those little cubby-holes at the back of book stores that say 'gay and lesbian' - it's a warning sign, they can keep their kids away from that section. I'd like people to stumble on my works in the literature section of Barnes and Noble and have their lives changed because of it.

It's complicated. I don't want to feel any less queer, but I think for us to march along in a dutiful little herd called 'gay and lesbian literature' and have little seminars that we hold together is pointless at this point, it makes no sense to me at all. [...] I cringe when I get 'gay writer' each time. Why the modifier? I'm a writer. It's like calling Amy Tan a Chinese-American writer every time you mention her name, or Alice Walker a black writer. We're all discussing the human condition. Some of us have revolutionised writing by bringing in subject-matter that nobody's heard about before. But we don't want that to narrow the definition of who we are as an artist. [...] I don't mind being cross-shelved. I'm very proud of being in the gay and lesbian section, but I don't want to be told that I can't sit up in the front of the book store with the straight, white writers.|Armistead Maupin

Bibliography

Tales of the City

*cite book |last=Maupin |first=Armistead |title=Tales of the City |location=New York |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1978|isbn=0060906545
*cite book |last=Maupin |first=Armistead |title=More Tales of the City |location=New York |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1980 |isbn=0060907266
*cite book |last=Maupin |first=Armistead |title=Further Tales of the City |location=New York |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1982 |isbn=0060149914
*cite book |last=Maupin |first=Armistead |title=Babycakes |location=New York |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1984 |isbn=0060152621
*cite book |last=Maupin |first=Armistead |title=Significant Others |location=New York |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1987 |isbn=0060964081 [ [http://wiredforbooks.org/armisteadmaupin/ Audio interview at the time of publication of "Significant Others"] with Don Swaim]
*cite book |last=Maupin |first=Armistead |title=Sure of You |location=New York |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1989 |isbn=0060161647

Other novels

*cite book |last=Maupin |first=Armistead |title=Maybe the Moon |location=New York |publisher=HarperCollins |year=1992 |isbn=0060165529
*cite book |last=Maupin |first=Armistead |title=The Night Listener |location=New York |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2000 |isbn=006017143X
*cite book |last=Maupin |first=Armistead |title=Michael Tolliver Lives |location=New York |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2007 |isbn=9780060761356

Awards

* 2007, Barbary Coast Award, presented by Litquake Literary Festival, San Francisco [ cite news |first=Sue |last=Gilmore |title=Maupin Up for Another Award |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/books/ci_6550321 |publisher=San Jose Mercury News |date=2007-08-05 |accessdate=2007-10-10]
* 2006, Best Gay Read Award, presented by the Big Gay Read Literature Festival, in the UK [cite news |first=David |last=Ward |title=Chronicler of San Francisco wins best gay read award |url=http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,1772003,00.html |publisher=Guardian |date=2006-05-11 |accessdate=2007-10-10]
* 2001, Gay, Lesbian, & Bisexual Book Award [cite web |url=http://www.dealtime.com/xPF-Book_The_Night_Listener_A_Novel_Armistead_Maupin |title=Armistead Maupin - The Night Listener: Product Features |accessdate=2007-10-10 |format= |work=dealtime.com]
* 1999, Capital Award, presented by GLADD Media Awards [cite web |url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0560945/awards |title=Armistead Maupin |accessdate=2007-10-10 |work=imdb]

Notes and references

Further reading

* Gale, Patrick. Armistead Maupin. Bath, Somerset, England: Absolute Press, 1999. ISBN 189979137X

External links

* [http://www.armisteadmaupin.com/ Armistead Maupin official website]
* [http://www.randomhouse.com.au/Authors/Default.aspx?Page=Author&ID=Maupin,%20Armistead Armistead Maupin at Random House Australia]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2008/2123439.htm] Transcript of interview with Ramona Koval on The Book Show, ABC Radio National, from Brisbane Writers' Festival, September 2007
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20060515202410/www.literarybent.com/litbent_home.cfm Literarybent.com] - Maupin's previous website, archived on the Wayback Machine; most material is not on the new website
*imdb|0560945|Armistead Maupin
* [http://www.glbtq.com/literature/maupin_a.html GLBTQ.com: Armistead Maupin biography - GLBTQ.com]
* [http://www.bigfib.com/lit/issue1/maupin-interview.html Armistead Maupin Interviewed]