The Days of Anna Madrigal

I made the following post at the end of January, as Armistead Maupin’s ninth and final Tales of the City book was published. The Days of Anna Madrigal sat on my nightstand for the past six months; I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Michael, Mary Ann, Brian – and certainly not to Anna.

I finally opened it last week. And I can report that this is a very fond farewell to the ‘logical family’ of Tales. Wickedly funny. Poignant. Wistful. Triumphant. If you are reluctant, as I was, to dive in, do: the waters are as warm and inviting as ever. If you are unfamiliar with Armistead Maupin and his series of novels spanning the last 40 years, check your library or bookstore for the first book, Tales of the City. Most anyone who will see this post is likely to fall in love with these tales. And in that happy event, you’ve got eight more books ahead of you!

The End

They say you should never meet your heroes.

Armistead Maupin

Well, I don’t know who “they” are, or who they choose as their heroes… but I can tell you that they are wrong. I met one of mine tonight, and he did not disappoint.

I wonder how many people who will see this even recognize the name: Armistead Maupin. In 1976, The San Francisco Chronicle started running a daily serial by Maupin – and so began an extraordinary adventure called Tales of the City.

The City is San Francisco, and the Tales center on three main characters: Mary Ann Singleton is a naive young woman from Ohio who takes a vacation in San Francisco and decides to stay. She finds a room in a boarding house at 28 Barbary Lane (Macondray Lane steps, in our world) on Russian Hill, presided over by a mysterious woman called Mrs Madrigal. Michael…

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[041] The Art of the Interview

Last month, I wrote about a terrific evening at the LA Central Library with Armistead Maupin, author of the Tales of the City novels. This morning, I started clicking around the internets and lucked upon an interview with A.M. whilst in London on the book tour for the last of the Tales series: The Days of Anna Madrigal.

I have to say, this is the most satisfying interview with A.M. that I’ve ever read, heard or seen. Christopher Bryant – editor of Polari Magazine – honored the author, and the audience, with a warm appreciation of and familiarity with Maupin’s creation: the characters, settings, stories and the 40-year sweep of history that is the backdrop to these Tales. All the while avoiding the temptation to make the conversation self-referential, in any way. If you’re ever tempted to interview an author, a quick review of Mr Bryant’s insightful methods and style will serve you well.

And I’m so glad to have discovered Polari Magazine, whose mission is “Exploring art & culture from a uniquely queer perspective”. (I give it 500 bonus points, right off the bat, just for using the word queer instead of the clinical and ubiquitous lgbt. I know, I know. It’s inclusive and that’s important, but… God save the queens from being boiled in that alphabet soup!)

So, here’s the link to Christopher Bryant’s brilliant Polari interview with Armistead Maupin. Enjoy! 

And while you’re there, look around. You never know what you’ll find. Ferinstance… Just as I was about to click on to the next bright, shiny object… something caught my eye over in the Polari sidebar. Oh look! – there’s Chris Freeman from Pansy Division. Chris is now a-rockin’ and a-rollin’ in LA with my friend Gizmo (née Brian Welch) in bands paying tribute to the GO-GOs (the Gay-Gays) and AC/DC (GayC/DC). When I saw Polari spotlighting Pansy Division as part of LGBT History Month, I almost broke a nail forwarding the link on to Gizmo for Chris. We queers can be mean. 🙂  To quote Martha Bach, the scary old matriarch in the film Arthur: Don’t fuck with us. We’re ruthless people! (And yes, I’m talking to you, GOP.)

[024] Armistead Maupin

They say you should never meet your heroes.

Armistead Maupin

Well, I don’t know who “they” are, or who they choose as their heroes… but I can tell you that they are wrong. I met one of mine tonight, and he did not disappoint.

I wonder how many people who will see this even recognize the name: Armistead Maupin. In 1976, The San Francisco Chronicle started running a daily serial by Maupin – and so began an extraordinary adventure called Tales of the City.

The City is San Francisco, and the Tales center on three main characters: Mary Ann Singleton is a naive young woman from Ohio who takes a vacation in San Francisco and decides to stay. She finds a room in a boarding house at 28 Barbary Lane (Macondray Lane steps, in our world) on Russian Hill, presided over by a mysterious woman called Mrs Madrigal. Michael “Mouse” Tolliver is the gay neighbor who becomes Mary Ann’s first – and best – friend there. Tales is a love letter to San Francisco – which is the fourth main character. And along the way, we are introduced to a close-knit extended family and dozens of other characters. Friends are the family we choose; Anna Madrigal calls this her “logical” (not biological) family.

Maupin with Dukakis

In 1993, the first of three miniseries (covering the first three books) was produced in the UK and shown in the US on PBS; the next two installments were shown here on cable on Showtime. These films were extremely satisfying to fans of the books, as they were faithful to the letter and the spirit of Maupin’s text. Laura Linney played Mary Ann Singleton, and Olympia Dukakis inhabited the role of Anna Madrigal. (We’re all hoping for the remainder of the Tales books to be filmed. Pleeeeeeeeeeeease!)

Linney as MaryAnn

Armistead Maupin started spinning his Tales nearly 40 years ago, culminating in the new (ninth and he says final) novel in the series: The Days of Anna Madrigal. The stories and the characters ring true as they are based on the real people and situations – the Zeitgeist – of Armistead’s world, every step along the timeline. In fact, he is likely the first writer of fiction to incorporate the story of AIDS, as that disaster unfolded – from the beginning.

So, what started out as a bit of a lark in a SF newspaper column became a hugely entertaining and poignant series of novels – plus the films and even a theatrical musical production. But Tales of the City also functions as an important historical document covering the trajectory of AIDS, of the gay civil rights movement, and how life in the City by the Bay has changed over four decades. Armistead Maupin’s characters live in the same world we do, and his novelist’s voice is pitch perfect.

My friend Jenn and I discovered Tales of the City one summer in the early 80s in Connecticut. Little did I know then that just a few years hence I’d be moving to San Francisco for my own grand adventure. Having read the first few books, SF felt like home to me before I even got there. Armistead Maupin is a great tour guide, having introduced me to new places in the world, and in the heart. I sent Armistead a note on Facebook a few years ago, just to say thank you for Tales, what a touchstone his work was for me as a gay man without too many role models. He rewarded me by ‘friending’ me on FB, which was wonderful. Now that I’ve pulled the plug on FB, that lovely connection has been cut. I shall have to find a new way to stalk him keep in touch.

I don’t know if tonight counted as “meeting” my hero; this is as close as I got in the cozy Mark Taper Auditorium at the Central Library in downtown LA. When they opened it up to questions from the audience, there weren’t many takers, so I raised my hand, grabbled the mic, and asked him if he was aware of anyone writing a 21st century version of Tales. He started talking about a woman married to a vicar in Lynchsomethingorothershire in England… But I wasn’t really following. I was a little lost in the moment of having this brief chitchat with Armistead bloody Maupin!

I had purchased the book in advance, and planned to have him inscribe it… but by the time I got out to the lobby, the book-signing line looked like a literary Black Friday. I decided to give it a miss. So I walked out into the cool, drizzly night (yes, it almost rained in LA today) and snapped some downtowny pics for a future post.

Now comes the bittersweet choice that faces every fan of Armistead Maupin every time he publishes a new Tales book: Do I devour it in one sitting? or savor each chapter like a course in a 3-Michelin-starred meal? or do I put it away to draw out the anticipation… just a little… while… longer? Ugh. (I’m pretty sure this dilemma won’t persist beyond this weekend.)

And then, it may be time to revisit the series from book the first. My favorite stretch of Memory Lane is where it intersects with Barbary Lane in Maupin’s Tales of the City.

Armistead Maupin and his Tales of the City make me happy.
Day 024 #100happydays