Michael Lee, author of
"When The Band Played On,"
will join us for a brief talk/reading.
The Life of Randy Shilts, America's Trailblazing Gay Journalist.
Randy Shilts was the preeminent LGBTQ+ reporter of his generation.
He was the first openly gay reporter assigned to a gay beat at a mainstream paper and one of the nation's most influential chroniclers of gay history, politics, and culture. Shilts wrote three seminal works on the community: The Mayor of Castro Street, on the life, assassination, and legacy of Harvey Milk; And the Band Played On, detailing the failure of politics as usual during the early AIDS epidemic; and Conduct Unbecoming, a history of the US military's mistreatment of LGBTQ servicemembers.
Yet the intimate life story of Randy Shilts has been left unwritten. When the Band Played On tells that story, he recognizes his legacy as a trailblazing figure in gay activism, journalism, and public policy.
Author Michael G. Lee interviewed Shilts's family, friends, college professors, colleagues, informants, lovers, and critics. The resulting narrative tells the tale of a singularly gifted voice, a talented yet insecure young man whose coming of age became intricately linked to the historical peaks and devastating perils of modern gay liberation.
If you have his book, he will also autograph it. If you would like to get one for signing, it's available at most major book retailers, such as Magers and Quinn, Moon Palace, and Next Chapter Books, as well as online.
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