Winter's Light

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Preston, who died of AIDS-related illness in 1994, was a prolific editor of the Advocate, novelist (Franny, the Queen of Provincetown) and essayist. His was a prominent and brave if unpolished voice in gay literature. The pieces collected here-autobiographical sketches, polemical essays and tributes to the acceptance gays have come to enjoy in his native New England-are blunt and courageous. There is a memorable essay about the patrician, nonagenarian AIDS activist Franny Peabody; affecting interviews with gay New Englanders that are part of an uncompleted oral history of people with AIDS; and several pieces about Portland, Maine's surprising hospitality to gays and lesbians. The last section, entitled ``Letters from Maine,'' a series of strident polemics against homophobia, is composed of less compelling forays into familiar territory. (Sept.)

[A] fine collection . . . its spare elegance, wry humor, and warm maturity make this volume valuable to everybody still grappling with the permanent mystery of how to fit in.

Library Journal

Preston, a prolific writer and editor of fiction, nonfiction, and erotica moved to Portland, Maine, in 1979, where he frequently wrote about the challenges of expressing his gay identity in his native New England community. Preston was working on this collection of personal essays when he died of AIDS in April 1994; of the 23 pieces, dating from 1982 to 1993, nine have been published previously. His self-aware and courageous voice finds expression in a variety of forms: character sketches, exploring the effect on the community of the murder of Charlie Howard in Bangor, and the challenge of living with AIDS. Preston's thoughtful and heartfelt approach to life, his sensitivity to places and people, and his sense of humor coalesce to make this final book a moving testament to the power of telling one's own story.-James E. Van Buskirk, San Francisco P.L.