Brew (Kevin) Journals, 1970-1992

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Scope and content:: : Brew’s diaries – kept in six books and one folder of loose material – describe his relationships, as well as the great pleasure he took in film and hippie subculture. They also chronicle his struggle to reconcile himself with his difficulty with human connection, his disappointment in the gay community, and later his AIDS diagnosis. The diaries provide insight into an ordinary, if unusually articulate, man’s experience of living with a terminal illness. GSSO linked terms: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GSSO_000374; http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GSSO_000521; http://bioportal.bioontology.org/ontologies/MESH/D019497
Biographical / historical:: Kevin Brew (1950-1993) was a gay man from Queens, New York who moved to San Francisco in 1975 and was diagnosed with HIV in 1988, dying of AIDS complications five years later. His Bay Area Reporter obituary describes an intelligent, temperamental, sometimes difficult person with a passion for beauty and design, which he often expressed through the collages and decorated envelopes he created for his friends. The diaries and obituary do not indicate Brew’s job or how he supported himself.
Acquisition information:: The collection was donated to the GLBT Historical Society by Marie Grabec in 1993.

Collection Guide Author:: Finding aid created by GLBT Historical Society staff.
Date Prepared:: 1970-1992
Date Encoded:: This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:55 p.m.

Access and use

Restrictions:: Collection is open for research.
Terms of access:: Copyright to material has been transferred to the GLBT Historical Society. All requests for reproductions and/or permission to publish or quote from material must be submitted in writing to the GLBT Historical Society Archivist.

Location of this collection:: GLBT Historical Society

989 Market Street, Lower Level

San Francisco, CA 94103, US