GAY CITY NEWS: Honoring Activism, Humor, Sex, and Love

As darkens descended on the New York City AIDS Memorial in the West Village on December 1, 10 activists who, in the words of one, have long been “thriving” with HIV paid tribute to an equal number of writers, poets, and novelists who fell to the first of the pandemics we encountered in our lives.

In the hour prior to the 30th annual “Out of the Darkness Candlelight Vigil” marking World AIDS Day, the 10 — in a program of readings curated by novelist, journalist, and teacher Tim Murphy — restored to life the words of 10 remarkable artists whose work highlighted themes of activism and community, of humor, of the ecstatic joys of sex, and of love.