On October 14, 2005, the Monette-Horwitz Trust cosponsored with
the University of California, Los Angeles, a day-long celebration
of the life and work of Paul Monette. "One Person's Truth" began
in the early afternoon at the campus library with a conference
featuring various scholars, colleagues, and friends of the late
author. Editor David Groff, composer Roger Bourland, and writers
Betty Berzon, Eric Gutierrez, Terry Wolverton, Mark Thompson and
Malcolm Boyd were among the presenters. Scholar Chris Freeman,
Monette's authorized biographer and recipient of the Monette-Horwitz
Trust's annual award for distinguished work, began the symposium
with an overview of the writer-activist's many achievements.
A reception followed in the library's special collections department,
where an extensive exhibition honoring Monette's legacy was unveiled.
Dozens of admirers and students of his work viewed the impressive
display, curated by Trust member and UCLA librarian Dan Luckenbill.
Victoria Steele, head of the UCLA Charles E. Young Research Library,
Department of Special Collections, was one of several high-ranking
university officials on hand to greet the guests and praise the
exhibit.
Afterwards, at the nearby Faculty Center, 110 invited guests
were treated to an elegant testimonial dinner. Film clips and
a variety of speakers spoke movingly of Monette and Horwitz's
legacy. Monette's surviving lover Winston Wilde hosted the evening,
introducing New York Editor Michael Denneny, Trust member D. Lisa
Powell, Episcopal Bishop Otis Charles and his husband Felipe Sanchez-Paris,
and longtime friends Star Black, Sascha Bittner, and others. David
Cohen channeled and recited from Walt Whitman, and PFLAG (Parents
and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) was presented with the Trust's
first Ally Award. PFLAG was especially well regarded by Monette,
who would have been 60 years old October 16. He died February
10, 1995, due to complications of AIDS.
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