Loss Within Loss:
Artists in the Age of AIDS (2001)

"The essays in this book mark a void," writes noted novelist White in his introduction to this admirable volume, which commemorates the lives of dozens of artists who have died from AIDS. White, who edited the collection and commissioned most of the works, allows the 22 contributors to bear witness to their loss in their unique voices. Conventionality takes a backseat to searing honesty in Sarah Shulman's "Through the Looking Glass"—which praises the accomplishments of editor/writer Stan Leventhal even as it declares, "this guy could not really write"—and to the mix of barbs and accolades Craig Lucas brings to his evocation of lost lovers. Many of the authors blur the distinctions between memoir and biography; some rant, some gossip, some grieve. Many explore the transience of fame, the connections of outsider art to outlaw sexuality, the essence of a "gay aesthetic" and the meaning of friendship. In a stylistic manner, J.D. McClatchy limns his ambivalence about Paul Monette's public death (documented in the film Paul Monette: The Brink of Summer's End) and about James Merrill's secrecy about his illness. John Berendt interprets the artistry of Bruce Kelly, who designed New York City's Strawberry Fields, while Phillip Lopate gives a straight man's perspective on the life and work of avant-garde filmmaker Warren Sonbert. White, who knew many of the profiled artists, lucidly places these portraits and others into a broader context. With a selection of accompanying photographs, this book is an important contribution to the history of AIDS's effect on gay life and culture.