The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin.
First published March 26, 2018 (Booklist Online)
In the 1970s, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a column called “Tales of the City,” a fictionalized account of a young woman arriving in the city and drawn into the counterculture scene. The author was Armistead Maupin, raised in the conservative South and coming to terms with his sexuality. Using excerpts from the columns and clips from the PBS television series of the same name, this documentary tracks Maupin’s evolution from his younger years to his role as a major player in the literary and gay-rights scenes. Extensive interview footage with Maupin (both current and archival) as well as commentary from Laurie Linney, who starred in the PBS dramas, and recollections and thoughtful comments from Sir Ian McKellen, Neil Gaiman, Amy Tan, and others add depth to the coverage. This entertaining program is a good fit in literary collections in public libraries and colleges.