Kevin Killian

A pioneer of queer literature, KEVIN KILLIAN (December 24, 1952—June 15, 2019) was a champion of the creative and an omnivorous explorer of genre and form. His 1989 novel Shy has become a cult object, along with the scattered photocopies of Mirage/#4 Period(ical) edited with his wife, Dodie Bellamy. Mirage was just the tip of Killian's indefatigable buttressing of peers, compiling and chronicling the work of Jack Spicer, and anthologizing the New Narrative, not to mention scads of literary criticism. To edit the young and old, organize and perform readings and lectures, and deliver opinions on art and life for a bevy of periodicals was all in a day’s work for Killian. However, his irrepressible spirit is most vividly present in the over fifty plays he wrote for San Francisco Poets Theatre and the 2,639 product reviews he genially published on Amazon.com.