Cleve and Me

By Hank Trout–

In the summer of 2016, I read an advance copy of Cleve’s memoir When We Rise in order to review it for A&U (Art and Understanding) Magazine, and wrote a praise-heavy review, lauding the book as an invaluable addition to queer movement history.

When the time came to meet for an interview, I started getting really nervous. This was a major interview, and the story would be my first on the cover of the magazine. As if that weren’t enough, I could hardly believe that I was going to meet and interview a genuine icon, one of my heroes. I kept thinking, “He’s Cleve Freaking Jones and I’m … not.” No pressure, right?

We met at Café Flore for the interview, and Cleve arrived just a few minutes after I did. As soon as I stood up to greet him, we started talking. Before the waiter arrived to take our orders, we were completely at ease with each other, laughing and chatting like a couple of old school chums who hadn’t seen each other in ages.

We talked about his book, marriage equality, Barnie Frank, the queer movement, the upcoming election, living through the AIDS crisis, Harvey Milk, and seeing himself portrayed by Emile Hirsh in the film Milk. (“Emile was my first …” he said coquettishly.) Cleve’s enthusiasm and skill as a raconteur made this the easiest and most important interview I’ve ever conducted.

In December, when photographer Sean Black came to San Francisco to shoot photos of Cleve for the magazine, he invited me to come along. After snapping several potential cover portraits, the three of us walked around the Castro in the rain, with Sean taking casual shots of Cleve. We walked into Dog Eared Books, and to our delight, three different customers were buying Cleve’s book.

One of Sean’s best photos caught Cleve in the store, arms crossed, with a mischievous smile, glowing with pride. Another photo, of Cleve and me walking across the rainbow crosswalk at 18th and Castro with the rainbow stripes sparkling in the rain, remains one of my most prized possessions.
Meeting and befriending one of your heroes is a rare occurrence. But in the years since that January 2017 cover feature, Cleve and I have remained chatty friends—which makes me a very lucky, happy man.

Hank Trout, MA, is a longtime HIV/AIDS survivor and journalist who is the Senior Editor for “Art and Understanding Magazine” and has written for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and other nonprofits and publications. He is a six-time Pushcart Prize nominee.

Honoring Cleve Jones at 70
Published on October 3, 2024