Date:         Mon, 2 May 1994 08:40:18 -0400
From: "David B. O'Donnell" <atropos@aol.net>


        PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- John Preston, an author, co-founder of
one of the nation's first gay community centers and a former editor
of the Advocate, has died at age 48 after a long battle with AIDS.
        Preston, who died Wednesday at his Portland home, co-founded Gay
House Inc. in Minneapolis, and moved on to San Francisco to serve
in 1975 as editor of The Advocate, the nation's largest gay
magazine.
        In 1979, he moved to Portland, and said he found the local gay
scene a refreshing change because of the lack of affectation so
prevalent in the big cities.
        ``Being gay in Portland doesn't have much to do with the media
image of gay life,'' he wrote in his essay on Portland that
appeared in ``Hometowns: Gay Men Write About Where They Belong,''
one of his more than 40 books.
        ``Hometowns'' and ``The Big Gay Book: A Man's Survival Guide for
the 90s'' were Book of the Month Club selections, bringing his work
before mainstream audiences.
        Also among his books, some written under pseudonyms, are a
number of erotic novels that achieved cult status.
        After preaching safe sex through much of the 1980s, Preston was
devastated to learn in 1987 that he was infected with the virus
that causes AIDS. He said his sexual behavior reflected the safe
sex message contained in his writings and lectures.
        Preston is survived by his parents, Jack and Nancy of Medfield,
Mass., and by two brothers and two sisters. A funeral service was
planned for May 7 in Portland.


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