Reed (Paul) Papers, 1958-2002, bulk 1984-2002

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Summary

Title:
Paul Reed Papers
Dates:
1958-2002, bulk 1984-2002
Creators:
Reed, Paul, 1956-2002
Abstract:
Paul Reed was an author from San Francisco, California. Greatly influenced by the AIDS epidemic, his fiction focuses on the gay community from the 1980s through the 1990s. His published journals and other works of non-fiction record his fight with AIDS for more than twelve years.
Extent:
4 cartons (4.0 cubic feet)
Language:
Collection materials are in English, Dutch and French.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Paul Reed Papers (GLC 57), Gay and Lesbian Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains correspondence, drafts, publications, clippings and personal records. The material matter is about the affect of AIDS on the gay culture in San Francisco in the 1980s and 1990s. The correspondence series is comprised of personal and professional correspondence arranged by the name of the correspondent. The essay, fiction, and poetry draft series includes handwritten and typed drafts of Reed's work arranged by title. The publication series contains publications and records of Reed's work arranged by the publication date. These are followed by publications of materials relevant to Reed's work. The newspaper and magazine clippings series are arranged by subject of Reed’s reviews, work, and interests. The personal records and miscellaneous ephemera series includes CDs, photographs, slides, and cassette tapes relating to Reed’s work as well as personal items.

Biographical / historical:

Paul Richard Hustoft was born on May 28, 1956, in San Diego, California to Sigurd William and Melva (Moffat) Hustoft. After his father's death, his mother married Floyd Reed, a Baptist minister in Delano. He took his stepfather's name in 1969.

He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History at California State University, Chico in 1978 and another degree in Anthropology the following year. In 1981 he graduated with his Master of Arts degree in Social Anthropology from the University of California, Davis. Reed moved to San Francisco and worked as a file clerk at Ten Speed Press/Celestial Arts Publishing in Berkeley. By 1989 Reed had worked his way to being an Editor-in-Chief. Reed left Celestial Arts Publishing in 1991 because of his disability due to AIDS.

Reed started writing full time. His articles appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Bay Area Reporter, The Advocate, and Blueboy. Reed wrote gay erotica in the early 1980s, and published subsequent collections of his work under the name Max Exander. Even before Reed was diagnosed with ARC in 1987, he felt the need to write about the AIDS epidemic. In 1984 he published his first novel, Facing It, which is proclaimed the first novel about AIDS. His other novels Longing (1988) and Vertical Intercourse (2000) also deal with the effect of AIDS on the gay community in San Francisco. Reed chronicled his fight with AIDS in three treatment journals, The Q Journal (1991), The Savage Garden (1994), and The Redwood Diary (2001).

Reed died on January 28, 2002, at the age of 45. His last novel, Swollen, a collection of erotic short stories, was published in June of 2002.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Paul Reed, 1995. Second accretion, gift of Matt Flynn, 2004. Third and fourth accretions, gifts of Bill Brent, 2011-2012.
Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into five series: Series 1. Correspondence; Series 2. Essay, Fiction, and Poetry Drafts; Series 3. Publications; Series 4. Newspaper and Magazine Clippings; and Series 5. Personal Records and Miscellaneous Ephemera.

Physical / technical requirements:

Collection includes CD-ROMs, audiocassette tapes, and slides.

Physical location:
Open for research. The collection is offsite and advance notice is required for retrieval. Material must be requested at least 4 business days in advance of visit.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth McGarvey
Date Prepared:
2008
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2012-05-04T15:51-0700

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research and available for use during San Francisco History Center hours. Photographs are available during Photo Desk hours. This collection must be requested at least 4 business days in advance of visit.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Paul Reed Papers (GLC 57), Gay and Lesbian Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Location of this collection:
San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102, US
Contact:
(415) 557-4567
sfhistory@sfpl.org
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