Armistead Maupin was interviewed at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London on 26th May as part of The Conversation series, which has previously featured Ian McEwan, Gary Younge, Sarah Churchwell, Hallie Rubenhold, Carole Cadwalladr, Mya-Rose Craig, Kate Bowler and Daniel M. Davis.
The evening was hosted by Peter Florence, who guided the discussion before opening the floor to questions from both the audience and those attending online. The result was an engaging and highly informative evening, balancing humour, activism, autobiography, and literary history in equal measures.
Maupin spoke about growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina, as the child of conservative parents, while maintaining a particularly close emotional bond with his grandmother, who sympathised with the suffragette movement. At school he discovered a talent for creative writing, although his early adult life took a very different direction. He admitted to having “flunked out” of law school before embarking on a naval career that eventually took him to Italy. During this period, he encountered the “creepy” Richard Nixon and even found himself appearing on the infamous Oval Office tapes that later contributed to Nixon’s downfall. Maupin also reflected on his involvement in the eventual public outing of Rock Hudson.
After moving to San Francisco in the mid-1970s, Maupin found work at the San Francisco Chronicle, where he began writing a daily serial inspired by life in the city. From this emerged Tales of the City and its much-loved cast of characters, including Anna Madrigal — whose name, we learned, is an anagram of “A Man and a Girl”. Peter Florence also pointed out that “Armistead Maupin” itself can be rearranged into “A Man I Dreamt Up”. Maupin described himself, with characteristic self-deprecation, as a “seat-of-the-pants” writer, often working right up to tight deadlines.
Although Barbary Lane does not actually exist, it was inspired by the real Macondray Lane in the Russian Hill district of San Francisco, and several characters in the novels were based on people Maupin encountered in real life.
The conversation also touched on the hostile political climate faced by LGBTQ+ people in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s. Maupin discussed the anti-gay activism of Anita Bryant, whose 1977 “Save Our Children” campaign successfully repealed anti-discrimination protections in Miami-Dade County. It was a pyric victory and came at considerable personal and professional cost following the backlash that ensued. Another figure mentioned was Jesse Helms, a staunch opponent of LGBTQ+ rights who also fought against civil rights legislation and school integration.
Maupin also made clear that he is no admirer of J. K. Rowling, criticising her stance on trans issues, particularly regarding access to female spaces.
At 82 years old, Maupin remains intellectually sharp, warm, and immensely entertaining. Now a UK citizen, and having found love later in life, he reflected on a career and personal journey that has become deeply intertwined with the history of modern LGBTQ+.
Paul Schofield for Canal Street Online