GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

OCTOBER 10, 1997

Evenings Out

Still a front runner

Patricia Nell Warren talks about her 1974 classic, censorship, and gay youth today

by Callaghan Zunt

Author, publisher, educator, and gay activist Patricia Nell Warren is best known for her novel The Front Runner, one of the bestselling gay novels of all time. First published in 1974, the story of a gay Olympic runner's relationship with his coach has sold over 10 million copies in eight languages, and has never been out of print.

Her publishing house, Wildcat Press, was one of the principal plaintiffs to challenge the federal Communications Decency Act, enacted last year. The act attempted to censor communication on the Internet. It was found to be unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court this spring.

A long-time advocate of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender rights, especially concerning youth, Warren is currently serving her second term as a commissioner of gay and lesbian education for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Billy's Boy, the third book in the Front Runner trilogy, will be released by Wildcat this fall. I spoke to Warren from her home last week in anticipation of her visit to Cleveland later this month.

Callaghan Zunt: How does your upcoming book, Billy's Boy, fit into your body of work-and with your most famous work, The Front Runner?

Patricia Nell Warren: It is the third book in the series that The Front Runner has become. I like to think [that] a series is not a straight

Schools do not have a right to demand that gay kids have lessened expectations to an education just because they're gay.

line, but a circle. The first couple of books were written from the viewpoint of [coach] Harlan Brown. Billy's Boy shifts from the viewpoint of the older man to the teenagers. The upcoming novels will be from the viewpoint of the women.

You have writing about the gay experience in America for almost 30 years now. Does the topic still intrigue you?

Absolutely. The gay experience in America is so diverse. There is still much to say. What do you aim for when telling a story?

A story really has to engage a reader emotionally. People really have to feel like a book is a doorway that enables them to experience another world.

You were a distance runner for many years and finished fourth in the women's division in the 1969 Boston Marathon. There are now about 70 gay running groups around the country, including Cleveland and Columbus, named after The Front

Runner. Is distance running still of interest to you?

Well, I am still very interested in athletics. And whenever I am book touring, if there is a Front Runners group there, I try to connect with them and support their local events. I don't run anymore. I damaged my knees pretty badly when I was running. I bicycle, garden, and do what I can do. I am 61 now, but I still definitely have the interest.

Let's talk now about your publishing house, Wildcat Press, which you formed in 1994.

We are the book publishing version of the independent record labels or the independent film producers. I now publish my own works instead of [publishing] with trade publishers.

Wildcat Press was also one of the primary plaintiffs to challenge the Communications Decency Act. Why did you decide to get involved with this issue?

First, Wildcat is very active on the Internet.

It is a wonderful tool in its ability to reach people, nationally and internationally. Second, I am very concerned about censorship and have been for many years.

From 1962 to 1972 I lived in Spain. During that time anything that was published had to have the approval of the Spanish Censorship Office and of the Catholic Church. I saw how destructive censorship is to a country. Also, it is easier to get something changed before it becomes law. Once a law is on the books, you have the police and you have jail... it is easier in the long run to nip these things in the bud.

The Supreme Court agreed [that the law was unconstitutional]. We won. But the people who want to censor are not giving up. This battle is not over.

PATRICIA NELL WARREN

Billy's Boy

A NOVEL

Hurlin's Ruce & The Front Runner

You have also been quite involved with efforts to support GLBT youth in the Los Angeles area. How did you get involved in this?

Well, if you look at my books altogether, there has always been a concern there for young people. In the 1990s seeing the growing effort by the radical right to get a control over the country, I was moved to get involved with the Los Angeles school system.

We have a very large system. We are responsible for 70,000 GLBT youth in the district. I am now serving my second term as a commissioner of education. What youth issues are important to you?

Kids have a right to equal access to education. Schools do not have a right to demand that [gay kids] have lessened expectations to an education just because they're gay. They

also have a right to be safe at school. These issues affect straight kids too. If parents, administrators, and schools do not protect and encourage gay kids, then the straight kids think that this kind of behavior is acceptable. This why I think that P-FLAG is so important. People who get involved on the local level can have a tremendous impact.

All of your life's work rings with the vibrancy of a self-assured, self-confident woman. What do you see as your greatest accomplishment to date?

Well, when I was a kid, I was actually very shy and timid!

You got over that eventually! [laughs] You can't do anything if you don't have some courage. I think that my own lifetime journey toward courage. I mean, had only known me as a kid! It has been a huge struggle for me to get over that shyness

if you

Patricia Nell Warren

and timidity. But you have to speak out. You just can't let yourself be walked on.

♡

Patricia Nell Warren will speak in Cleveland at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law on Thursday, October 23, 7:00 p.m. The event is sponsored by the ACLU of Ohio. Call 216-781-6277 for more information.

She will also be speaking and autographing copies of Billy's Boy at the Carnegie West branch of the Cleveland Public Library on Saturday, October 25, 1997 at 3:00pm. Carnegie West is located at 1900 Fulton Ave. (at Bridge Ave.) in Ohio City. Admission is free. For information call 216623-6927.

Warren will also be in Akron at the Gay and Lesbian Reading Group, 4 pm Sunday, October 26 at Borders Books in Fairlawn, 3737 West Market St., and will meet with Akron P-FLAG; call 330-869-0531.

Wildcat Press' homepage is http:// www.gaywired.com/wildcat. Warren can be reached via email at: pnelwarrena aol.com.

Callaghan Zunt is a librarian with Cleveland Public Library. She is the newsletter editor for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Task Force of the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association.