Armistead Maupin
Desert Island Discs: Archive 2005-2010
BBC
4.4 • 804 Ratings
🗓️ 25 November 2007
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the author Armistead Maupin. Regarded as one of the 'great social satirists of his era', he made his name with his Tales of the City novels, chronicling the shifting cultural landscape of San Francisco throughout the 1970s and 80s. He's written about the search for love and acceptance by a diverse cast of characters, but he was also one of the first novelists to portray the devastating impact of the newly emerging threat of HIV/Aids.
His iconic status as a gay writer and political activist couldn't be further from his background, growing up in the genteel American South, with a 'neo-fascist, arch-conservative' father. Armistead tells Kirsty about his transition to the other end of the political spectrum, and how his life has become inseparable from his work.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: The reprise of Wicked Little Town by Tommy Gnosis Book: The Cole Porter Songbook by Cole Porter Luxury: Vaporiser.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're about to listen to a BBC podcast, but this is about something else you might enjoy. |
| 0:05.4 | My name's Katie Lecky and I'm an assistant commissioner for on demand music on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:10.7 | The BBC has an incredible musical heritage and culture and as a music lover, I love being part of that. |
| 0:17.4 | With music on sounds, we offer collections and mixes for everything, from workouts to helping |
| 0:22.7 | you nod off, boogie in your kitchen, or even just a moment of calm. And they're all put together |
| 0:28.7 | by people who know their stuff. So if you want some expertly curated music in your life, |
| 0:34.9 | check out BBC Sounds. Hello, I'm Krista Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs Archive. |
| 0:41.8 | For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music. |
| 0:44.9 | The program was originally broadcast in 2007. |
| 1:07.8 | Music My castaway this week is the writer Armistad Maupin. |
| 1:13.1 | Regarded as one of the great social satirists of his era, he made his name with his Tales of the City novels, chronicling the shifting cultural landscape of San Francisco |
| 1:17.8 | throughout the 70s and 80s. He's achieved widespread acclaim for placing gay characters |
| 1:22.8 | within a large cross-section of humanity, bound together by the universal search for love and acceptance. |
| 1:28.8 | He was also one of the first novelists to portray the devastating impact of the newly emerging |
| 1:33.0 | threat of HIV-AIDS. His status as one of America's best-known gay writers and political |
| 1:38.7 | activists couldn't be further from his background. Brought up in the Gentile American South, |
| 1:43.5 | he describes his father as |
| 1:44.8 | the most hidebound, arch-conservative, |
| 1:47.4 | neo-fascist, southern gentleman you could imagine. |
| 1:50.1 | But he credits that same family background |
| 1:52.6 | with giving him the perfect tools to be a great storyteller. |
| 1:56.6 | The legacy then of your southern roots, |
... |
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