Joel Redon (November 15, 1961 – June 6, 1995) was an American author from

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

Early life and education

Redon was born Bruce Randolph Didzun in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

. Redon studied writing at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

and with

Paul Bowles Paul Frederic Bowles (; December 30, 1910November 18, 1999) was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator. He became associated with the Moroccan city of Tangier, where he settled in 1947 and lived for 52 years to the end of his ...

The American School of Tangier American School of Tangier (AST; ar, المدرسة الأمریکیة بطنجة) is an American international school in Tangier, Morocco, serving preschool through grade 12. In Morocco it is considered a non-profit organization, and AST is incorp ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

. While in New York, Redon wrote for the ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

''. Redon was befriended by M. F. K. Fisher, to whom he would send manuscripts. Her praise for Redon's ''The Road to Zena'' is printed on the book's jacket. They kept up a 6-year correspondence. Redon was photographed by

Robert Giard Robert Giard (July 22, 1939 - July 16, 2002) was an American portrait, landscape, and figure photographer. Life A native of Hartford, Connecticut, Giard majored in English literature and received a B.A. from Yale University in 1961, then an M.A. i ...

as part of his project of photographing hundreds of LGBT writers. Giard’s photo of Redon was published in the collection of Giard’s photos ''Particular Voices: Portraits of Gay and Lesbian Writers.''

Works

His first novel, ''Bloodstream'' (1989) is an

autobiographical novel An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction. Bec ...

about a young man with AIDS who returns to his family in Oregon. A chapter of the book was included in ''Confronting AIDS Through Literature: The Responsibilities of Representation'' edited by Judith Lawrence Pastore. His second and third novels, ''If Not on Earth, Then in Heaven'' (1991) and ''The Road to Zena'' (1992) were based on his family's history. ''Heaven'' tells the story of his ancestor Neoma Matthews. ''The Road to Zena'' is a fictionalized account of his great-grandparents who lived in

Zena, Oregon Zena, Oregon is a former community (now considered a ghost town) approximately northwest of Salem, Oregon, United States, in Polk County. The community was established in 1858, originally called "Spring Valley". It was renamed "Zena" by Daniel Ja ...

. A selection from ''Zena'' was included in ''Reading Portland'' edited by John Trombold and Peter Donahue. Redon planned to write a series of four novels about his ancestors.

Later life and death

Joel Redon was diagnosed with AIDS in 1986. He died at age 33 of complications of AIDS in Sonoma County, California. He has a square in the

AIDS Memorial Quilt The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, often abbreviated to AIDS Memorial Quilt or AIDS Quilt, is an enormous memorial to celebrate the lives of people who have died of AIDS-related causes. Weighing an estimated 54 tons, it is the largest piece ...

. He is buried in the cemetery of the Spring Valley Presbyterian Church (Zena Church) in Zena.

References

External links

by Robert Giard AIDS-related deaths in California Burials in Oregon American gay writers Writers from Portland, Oregon New York University alumni 1995 deaths 1961 births American LGBT novelists American male novelists 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Oregon 20th-century American LGBT people {{Oregon-bio-stub

Early life and education

Works

Later life and death

References

Further reading

External links