er’s house. At night he’d
translate “appropriate” pas-

‘sages into Spanish and read

them to her. ‘“You’re writ-
ing a beautiful book, my
son,’” she told him, accord-
ing to his account.
Although City of
Night made Rechy's reputa-

tion (some think he's coast-

led on it), he dislikes being

categorized and has gone on
to write a number of other
works, some with gay
themes, some not. The
Miraculous Day of Amalia
Gomez, for instance, fea-
tures a Mexican-American
female protagonist and is
taught in Chicano lit class-
es.

Rechy himself has
taught for many years at
USC and has received sev-
eral lifetime achievement
awards. He “voluntarily”
retired from hustling when
hewas in his mid-fifties ,,

IN THE LIFE

and has been with his part-
ner, Michael, for twenty
years. Believing that affir-
mation of the body is an
essential element of his sur-
vival, he continues — in his
late-sixties — to work out
fiercely. He feels worthy of
his “living-legend” status
and says he looks “terrific.”

Like City of Night,
apparently, he’s held up
pretty well. Recently, a CD-
Rom compilation of his life
and work, Memories and
Desire: The Worlds of John
Rechy, debuted at the L.A.
Museum of Modern Art to
overflow crowds. A peek at
his web site — wvvw.john-
rechy.com — confirms that
he’s still workin’ it, on and .
off the page. V

Ernie McLeod is a native
Vermonter currently workin’
it in Montreal. Reach him at
mcleod@middlebury. edu.

Vermont Public Television

Movers ’& Shakers

Check Local Listings for Dates and Times

St. Johnsbury WVTB Channel 20
Rutland WVER Channel 28
Burlington WETK Channel 33
Windsor WVTA Channel 41
Manchester W36AX Channel 36

Bennington W53AS Channel 53

In an encore presentation of ITL,
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis) is
profiled in Ms. Baldwin. Goes to
Washington as not only the first
woman to represent Wisconsin but
the first out lesbian elected to
Congress. In a Knight Out, ITL fea-
tures Oscar—nominated actor and
activist Sir Ian McKellen, the first
openly gay man to be kinghted.
Also, lTL spends A Day in the Life
of Virginia Apuzzo, focusing on
her former position of running the
Clinton White House as the
Assistant to the President for
Management and Administration,
and then interviews writer/activist
Keith Boykin, former Executive
Director of the National Black
Lesbianand Gay Leadership Forum
and Special Assistant to President
Clinton. In The Life, America's

Sir Ian McKellan is the first openly
gay man to be knighted. The actor
and activist is profiled in an encore
edition of In The Life, airing in
March.

award—winning monthly gay and

lesbian cultural newsmagazine, _
airs on 130 public television sta-
tions nationwide, and in Canada.

NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE
VT STATE HOUSE

Barre Channel 7 -
Wed 7pm; Thu 9am & 12pm

Burlington Channels 15 & 17
check local listings

Colchester channel 15
Mon 10:30 am; Wed 10pm;
Thu 7:30pm

Manchester Channel 15
check local listings

Middlebury Channel 15
Mon 11:30 am; Thu 11:30 am &
9:30 pm ‘ 1

Montpelier Channel 15
Wed 7pm; Thu 1pm

Newport Channel 14
Mon thru Fri, 2pm_& 7pm

Norwich
check local listings

Richmond Channel 3
Mon 8pm

Rutland Channel 15
check local listings

St. Albans Channel 10
checklocalhsfings ‘

St. Johnsbury Channel 7
check local listings

Waitsfield Channel 44
Mon thru Fri, 12pm & 5 pm

THE VERMONT
RAINBOW CONNECTION

_ Burlington Channel 15

Friday 9 pm Adelphia

Barre Channel 7
2nd and 4th Mondays of the month
at 8:30 pm Helicon

 

Bennington, Pownal, Svhaftsbury,
Woodford, Hoosick Falls, NY
Call 802-442-8868 for air
days/times CA-TV

Brattleboro Channel 8

Call 802-257-0888 for air days/
times BCTV

Enosburg, Berkshire, Richford
Channel15

1st and 3rd Sundays of the month _
at 8 pm WENO

Middlebury, East Middlebury,
Weybridge

Call 802-388-3062 for air daysl
times MCTV

Montpelier, Waterbury, Randolph
Channel15

2nd and 4th Friday of the month at
7:30 pm Adelphia

Richmond, Jericho, Underhill
Channel 3 '

Call 802- 434-2550 for air
days/times MMCTV

Woodstock,’Plymouth, Ludlow
Channel 13
Friday 9 pm Adelphia

17