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John Preston (1945 - 1994)
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 Hustling
: A Gentleman's Guide to the Fine Art of Homosexual Prostitution by
John Preston
The very first guide to the gay world's most
infamous profession. John Preston solicited the advice and
opinions of 'working boys" from across the country in his
effort to produce the ultimate guide to the hustler's world.
Hustling covers every practical aspect of the business, from
clientele and payment options to specialties, sidelines, and
drawbacks. No stone is left unturned and no wrong turn left
unadmonished in this guidebook to the ins and outs of this
much-mythologized trade.
"As an insight
into what life is like on the wrong side of the transaction,
Hustling is unrivaled. For any man even vaguely contemplating
going into business this tome has got to be the first port of
call. For the rest of us, this is a considered and expert expose
that calmly takes you through a life in the raw and shows how it's
all just a job." -- Divinity
Magazine
"Fun and highly
literary. What more could you expect form such an accomplished
activist, author and editor?" -- Drummer
Magazine
 Flesh
and the Word : An Anthology of Erotic Writing by
John Preston (Editor)
Every story in this anthology is a masterpiece
of arousing fiction about gay men. Featuring two original tales by
Anne Rice, it also includes the work of such literary luminaries
as Edmund White and Alan Hollinghurst, and such legendary cult
figures as Larry Townsend and Pat Califia.
"The late Preston, the gifted author of the
classic "Mr. Benson," began editing the "Flesh and
The Word" series with this classic compilation of
contemporary gay erotica. Each section begins with a thoughtful
summary of the stories therein. Fans of Anne Rice will find
especially valuable the two excised homoerotic chapters from
"Exit to Eden," but there are several classic stories as
well, including Aaron Travis's (AKA Steven Saylor) "Blue
Light," one of the most amazing short stories ever written in
any genre. Some of the best writers of gay erotica are
represented, including T. R. Witomski, John Wagenhauser, and
Samuel M. Steward. The book is as enlightening as it is arousing
for people of all genders, and a groundbreaker in terms of
promoting the acceptance of erotic writing as literature. A
must-have for collectors of erotica!" -- Deborah L. Alpi
(Amazon.com)
Also in the Series:
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Excerpt:
John Preston was born on December 11, 1945 in
Medfield, Massachusetts, and lived for many years in Portland,
Maine. He died of AIDS complications on April 28, 1994. A writer
of fiction and nonfiction, dealing mostly with issues in gay life,
he was a pioneer in the early gay rights movement. At different
times he founded and co-directed Gay House, Inc. (Minneapolis,
Minnesota); founded and co-directed Gay Community Services
(Minneapolis); worked as a sexual health therapist; and edited The
Advocate. He was the author or editor of more than twenty-five
acclaimed gay books, including such erotic landmarks as Mr. Benson
and I Once Had a Master and Other Tales of Erotic Love. Other
works include Franny, the Queen of Provincetown (first a novel,
then adapted for stage) and The Big Gay Book: a Man's Survival
Guide for the Nineties. He has used the pseudonyms Jack Hild, Mike
McCray, and Jack Prescott; and the joint-pseudonym "Preston
MacAdam and Mike McCray..."
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A Dialogue with John Preston on AIDS, Sex,
Death, and Illnesses of the Soul in the Gay Community by
Rich Grzesiak, © 1990
Excerpt:
Not to his surprise but to his complete dismay,
Preston learned of his HIV+ status some three years ago [2001
note: that would've been circa 1997]. It blocked his motivation to
write for a time, but eventually recharged his batteries. One way
he copes is to write. Utilizing the extensive network of friends
he has among other gay writers and activists, he has succeeded in
compiling Personal Dispatches: Writers Confront AIDS [St.
Martin's Press; $17.95/hardcover], the best anthology of writing
about AIDS ever produced. Novelists Edmund White and Andrew
Holleran, essayists Andy Kantrowitz and Michael Bronski, and
others all contribute some disturbing - some might claim superbly
discomforting - literary essays on how they've confronted the
maelstrom of AIDS in their ranks...
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By Jesse Monteagudo, Gay
Today
This essay originally appeared as "Visions
of Preston," in Looking for Mr. Preston: A Celebration of
the Writer's Life edited by Laura Antoniou, Richard Kasak
Book, 1995.
Excerpt:
A self-styled "pornographer", Preston
was proud of his erotic fiction. For John Preston "and for
many other gay men [myself included], pornographic writings were
how we learned the parameters of our sexual life. We could have
more than a simple ejaculation with a nameless partner, if we
wanted. Pornography was how we developed our fantasies, both
sexual and emotional." Much of "the dark lord's"
gayrotic fiction was the product of his final years, when he
defied the sexual negativity of AIDS with his own sex-positive
message...
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Augmenting and significantly enhancing the
Katzoff Collection are several archival collections that have been
given to the John Hay over the past five years. The largest of
these collections is the archive of John Preston...author of over
30 books, ranging from fiction and erotica to such important
non-fiction titles as Personal Dispatches: Writers
Confront AIDS and Hometowns: Gay Men Write About Where They
Belong. The Preston archive is especially important in that
it contains many thousands of letters between Preston and a vast
array of authors that comment upon matters both literary and
socio-historical. Among Preston's most prolific correspondents was
Ann Rice, author of the Vampire Chronicles, whose papers
provide insight into the link between straight/gay and
erotic/mainstream fiction...
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Names Index:
A B
C D
E F
G H
I J
K L
M N
O P
Q R
S T
U V
W X
Y Z
| Authors
Index | Scholars
Index |
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