Paul Reed | |
|---|---|
| Born | Paul Richard Hustoft May 28, 1956 San Diego, California |
| Died | January 28, 2002 (aged 45) San Francisco, California |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Genre | fiction, memoir |
| Notable works | Facing It, Longing |
Paul Reed (May 28, 1956 – January 28, 2002) was an American writer, best known as one of the first major writers of HIV/AIDS-themed literature in the United States.[1]
Early life
Born Paul Hustoft in San Diego, California, his father died when he was a child and he later adopted his stepfather's surname Reed after his mother remarried.[2] He was educated at California State University, Chico and the University of California, Davis.[2]
Career
He worked for Ten Speed Press in the 1980s, eventually becoming editor-in-chief of its Celestial Arts subsidiary.[2] Diagnosed with ARC in 1987, he left the company in 1991.[2]
Reed's 1984 novel Facing It was credited as the first major AIDS-themed novel.[1] He also later published the novels Longing (1988) and Vertical Intercourse (2000), and the memoirs The Q Journal (1991), The Savage Garden (1994) and The Redwood Diary (2001).[1] He cowrote the HIV treatment and prevention guide How to Persuade Your Lover to Use a Condom and Why You Should (1987),[1] and published a collection of spiritual self-help essays for people with HIV, Serenity: Challenging the Fear of AIDS, from Despair to Hope (1987).[1] He also wrote several works of safer sex erotica under the pen name Max Evander,[1] including Safestud: The Safesex Chronicles of Max Evander (1985), Lovesex: The Horny Relationship Chronicles of Max Evander (1986), Leathersex: Cruel Affections (1994) and Deeds of the Night (1995).[1]
Death and legacy
Reed died on January 28, 2002, of AIDS-related complications.[1] His final work, a compilation of his Max Evander writings titled Swollen, was published later the same year.[1]
Longing was the subject of an essay by Bill Brent in the 2010 book The Lost Library: Gay Fiction Rediscovered.[3]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Emmanuel S. Nelson, Encyclopedia of Contemporary LGBTQ Literature of the United States. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2009. ISBN 978-0-313-34859-4. pp. 525-526.
- 1 2 3 4 "Paul Reed Papers". San Francisco Public Library.
- ↑ "The Lost Library: Gay Fiction Rediscovered Edited by Tom Cardamone". The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide, May 4, 2013.