Post by Carl LaFong on Feb 24, 2024 9:37:36 GMT
on moving to London.
The Tales of the City author made his name as the bard of San Francisco, but now calls Clapham home. He talks about becoming a British citizen, his new novel set in the Cotswolds and missing California weed.
Armistead Maupin is just where he wants to be. But that’s not where you might expect. The writer who made his name as the bard of San Francisco – or at least an earlier incarnation of it, featuring gay jockey-short dance competitions, weed‑smoking landladies and, crucially, affordable housing – is now happily ensconced in south London. A 1930s terrace in Clapham feels so much like home that he looks at me wide-eyed when I say that my trip to see him in SW11 met with not a few gasps of surprise. “Oh, get over it,” he snaps, before a reassuring peal of laughter. “Get over your fucking self!”
We sit across from each other in his unfussy living room, the only suggestions of Americana being a large painting of redwoods along the Russian River and various mementoes from TV adaptations – including a street sign from Barbary Lane, focal point of his beloved Tales of the City series. Maupin, almost 80, still has a full head of creamy-silver hair, his trademark moustache, and looks relaxed in jeans and a dark green corduroy shirt.
In fact, he and husband Chris Turner – a photographer in his early 50s – have been living in England for nearly five years, after leaving the city he immortalised back in 2019. “I love San Francisco as much as anybody else, but I had sort of done it,” he says. “We wanted a new adventure. And we’ve had it here.” He’s mildly incredulous when I ask him what the appeal is: “Look at your country! It’s amazing.”…
www.theguardian.com/books/2024/feb/24/look-at-your-country-its-amazing-armistead-maupin-on-moving-to-london
The Tales of the City author made his name as the bard of San Francisco, but now calls Clapham home. He talks about becoming a British citizen, his new novel set in the Cotswolds and missing California weed.
Armistead Maupin is just where he wants to be. But that’s not where you might expect. The writer who made his name as the bard of San Francisco – or at least an earlier incarnation of it, featuring gay jockey-short dance competitions, weed‑smoking landladies and, crucially, affordable housing – is now happily ensconced in south London. A 1930s terrace in Clapham feels so much like home that he looks at me wide-eyed when I say that my trip to see him in SW11 met with not a few gasps of surprise. “Oh, get over it,” he snaps, before a reassuring peal of laughter. “Get over your fucking self!”
We sit across from each other in his unfussy living room, the only suggestions of Americana being a large painting of redwoods along the Russian River and various mementoes from TV adaptations – including a street sign from Barbary Lane, focal point of his beloved Tales of the City series. Maupin, almost 80, still has a full head of creamy-silver hair, his trademark moustache, and looks relaxed in jeans and a dark green corduroy shirt.
In fact, he and husband Chris Turner – a photographer in his early 50s – have been living in England for nearly five years, after leaving the city he immortalised back in 2019. “I love San Francisco as much as anybody else, but I had sort of done it,” he says. “We wanted a new adventure. And we’ve had it here.” He’s mildly incredulous when I ask him what the appeal is: “Look at your country! It’s amazing.”…
www.theguardian.com/books/2024/feb/24/look-at-your-country-its-amazing-armistead-maupin-on-moving-to-london