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Monette, Paul

(1945-1995) US poet and author, winner of the National Book Award for his memoir Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story (1992), though an earlier nonfiction text, Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir (1988) has remained more prominent. He is best remembered as an effective and eloquent delineator of gay life in America, and as an activist for gay rights, mostly in the context of AIDS. He is of modest sf interest for some Ties, beginning with Nosferatu the Vampire (1979), tied to the film Nosferatu the Vampire (1979) directed by Werner Herzog. The posthumously published Sanctuary: A Tale of Life in the Woods (1997 chap) is an Animal Fantasy [see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy under links below] in which tolerance for all forms of love is married to Ecological respect for the last forest on Earth. [JC]

Paul Landry Monette

born Lawrence, Massachusetts: 16 October 1945

died West Hollywood, California: 10 February 1995

works (selected)

• Nosferatu the Vampire (New York: Avon, 1979) [tie to the film Nosferatu the Vampire (1979) directed by Werner Herzog: pb/detail of movie poster]
• Lightfall (New York: Avon, 1983) [pb/Wayne Barlowe]
• Predator (New York: Jove Books, 1987) [tie to the film Predator: pb/still from the film]
• Sanctuary: A Tale of Life in the Woods (New York: Scribner, 1997) [chap: illus/hb/Vivienne Flesher]

nonfiction

• Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988) [nonfiction: hb/]
• Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992) [nonfiction: hb/]

links

• Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• The Encyclopedia of Fantasy: Animal Fantasy
• Picture Gallery

Entry from The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2011-current) edited by John Clute and David Langford.
Accessed 07:42 am on 13 December 2025.
<https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/monette_paul>