Arthur Wooten
In
his debut novel, American writer Arthur Wooten gives voice to an invisible
minority in gay fiction; the middle-aged HIV positive man
Words David G Taylor
Photo Sam Faulkner
Were you determined to steer clear of the usual gay stereotypes when writing
On Picking Fruit?
Yes. If I read one more book or watched one more film or TV show depicting
a 20-something hunk trying to figure out his sexuality I was going to go straight.
Although the characters and situations in the book are heightened, they are
real people dealing with real challenges with a huge dose of humour. And no
one is telling the story of the gay, HIV positive, middle-aged man. There
are a gazillion of us out there.
The novel centres on Curtis Jenkins, a middle-aged, HIV positive writer
searching unsuccessfully to find Mr Right. How much of the character is based
on your own experience?
I call On Picking Fruit autobiofictional. All the characters are parts of
me. That said, I’ve been HIV positive for over 20 years, I’m single,
and I’m a writer. For the past several years I’ve been available
and out on the dating scene as a middle-aged man. All of that is in common
with Curtis, the main character. But unlike him, I’ve been in three
long-term relationships, the last one being 10 years. I hope I’m not
as neurotic or prudish as Curtis; I pray that I’m as funny.
Curtis has a remarkable ability to remain upbeat despite being unlucky
in love and living with HIV.
So many times people with HIV are depicted as broken and destroyed. I wanted
to show that a person living with HIV could carry on with a vital, creative,
dynamic life that was contributing to society. Curtis Jenkins has HIV but
he is not defined by it. He barely even thinks about it. His being unlucky
in love is another story. He doesn’t trust himself or his instincts,
but he’s getting better. He’s learning and, thank God, he’s
laughing.
A lot of the ‘dates’ Curtis encounters seem pretty clueless
about safer sex and HIV.
I’m shocked at the number of gay men my age and older that are uneducated
in regard to HIV and how it’s spread. I can’t stand that phrase
that guys use: “I’m HIV negative and I plan on staying that way.”
Then they go on to say, “…but if you’re negative we can
bareback.” Either these people are stupid or have a death wish.
I think all HIV positive men should write, “I’m HIV positive and
I plan on staying that way!” in their online and magazine personal ads,
I actually did that on a site and 99 per cent of the responses I got, which
were from supposedly HIV negative men, wrote, “I don’t think you
have a choice.” I hate wasting good material.
Is the safer sex message not being heeded by young gay New Yorkers?
I fear there is complacency among the young. They didn’t live through
the horrors of the early years. So many have told me that they didn’t
even fear becoming infected because there are pills you can take. My doctor
is very concerned. He says that here in New York City, the number of very
young people coming into his office immune to drugs is staggering. He’s
certain they must have been infected by multiple strains to be resistant so
early during infection. Which brings up another topic, reinfection. So many
say the jury is out. I choose to side with my doctor who says there is scientific
proof that there are multiple strains and that being bombarded by so many
can weaken your immune system. I always choose safe sex.
Although this is your debut novel, haven’t you already had many plays
produced?
Three of my plays were produced here in NYC, off-Broadway. Two were produced
in Los Angeles and the one that premiered at the Key West Theatre Festival
was Birthday Pie. That play was a love letter to my crazy family. The story
centres on a 34-year-old gay man who comes home to his southern family to
be with his father who is dying of cancer. Little does the family know that
the son has just found out he’s HIV positive and in those days, it was
a death sentence. His struggle is whether to tell the family or not. It’s
a comedy. Actually, very funny. Phylicia Rashad, an actress from The Cosby
Show, optioned it as a TV series and a movie but, as you hear so many times
in Hollywood, it never got produced. Although I did make a fortune in option
payments.
• On Picking Fruit is available at Amazon.co.uk, priced £6.79.
For further details check out
www.onpickingfruit.com
