Paul Monette (October 16, 1945, Lawrence, Massachusetts – February 10, 1995, Los Angeles, California) was an American author, poet, and activist best remembered for his essays about gay relationships and later, his battle with AIDS.
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Life and works
Monette graduated from Phillips Academy in 1963 and later Yale University in 1967. Conflicted about his sexual identity, he moved to Boston, where he taught writing and literature at Milton Academy for a number of years before moving to West Hollywood, a neighbourhood in Los Angeles which has a large population of gay men, in 1978 with his romantic partner, a lawyer named Roger Horwitz. Monette's most acclaimed book, Borrowed Time, chronicles Horwitz's fight against and eventual death from AIDS. His 1992 memoir, Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story, tells of his life in the closet before coming out, culminating with his meeting Horwitz in 1974 (Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review, Inc. Jul 31, 1998).[1] Becoming a Man won the 1992 National Book Award in the nonfiction category.[2] Monette's last years, before his own AIDS-related death, are chronicled in the film named after him, by Monte Bramer and Lesli Klainberg. "By the end of his life, Monette had healed most of his psychic wounds, but his rage persisted."[3]
Works
Monette's best-known works are:
- Taking Care of Mrs. Carroll ISBN 0-316-57821-5 (1978)
- The Long Shot ISBN 0380768283 (1981)
- Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir ISBN 0-15-113598-3 (1988)
- Love Alone: Eighteen Elegies for Rog (Poetry) ISBN 0-312-01472-4 (1989)
- Afterlife ISB0 380-711974 (1990)
- Halfway Home ISBD 051758329-1 (1991)
- Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story ISBN 0-15-111519-2 (1992), which won the National Book Award
- Last Watch of the Night (a collection of essays) ISBN 0-15-600202-7 (1994)
- West of Yesterday, East of Summer: New and Selected Poems, 1973-93 ISBN 0-312-13616-1 (1995) (published posthumously)
- Sanctuary, A Tale of Life in the Woods, ISBN 0-684-83286-0 (1997) (published posthumously)
He also wrote the novelizations of the 1988 film Midnight Run, the 1979 film , the 1987 film Predator and 1983 film Scarface.
References
- ^ Martinez, Gerard (2005-10-11). Becoming a Man looks at difficulties of gay lifestyle. The Daily Texan. Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
- ^ The National Book Awards: Winners & Finalists, Since 1950 (PDF). National Book Foundation (2007-09-10). Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (1998-02-06). 'Paul Monette': More Active and Angry on the Way to the End. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
External links
- Monette Horwitz Trust
- Monette Interviwed by Owen Keehnen
- 1990 and 1991 audio interviews of Paul Monette at Wired for Books.org with Don Swaim
- Visions of L.A. in the Age of AIDS: Paul Monette (kcet.org)
