Mike Hippler
b. 1952 – d. 1991 · 1 book
Biography
A native of Bethesda, Md., Hippler grew up in Atlanta and was graduated magna cum laude from Duke University in 1974 with a degree in English. He later earned a master’s degree in education from San Francisco State University.
After teaching for two years in Covington, Va., and one year in Los Angeles, he studied dance on a scholarship from the Joffrey Ballet in New York before moving to San Francisco in 1979.
His writing in San Francisco captured perhaps the most significant decade in the lives of gay men in modern times. But between the social triumphs and the tragedies of AIDS, Hippler’s focus in his writing — and in his life — was on the personal and his style was laced with humor.
In the foreword to *So Little Time*, Hippler wrote:
“In assembling these essays, I’ve attempted to do what I do in my column: to strike a balance not only between the public and the private, but also between the educational and the entertaining, the sublime and the ridiculous. If I err, it is on the side of frivolity. To me, nothing is sacred, including myself. Try as I might, I can never be serious for long. This doesn’t mean, of course, that I don’t care passionately about things. Like my more somber friends, naturally I get frustrated and angry at times. But it’s easy to shout and depressing to cry. If at all possible, I’d rather laugh.”
After teaching for two years in Covington, Va., and one year in Los Angeles, he studied dance on a scholarship from the Joffrey Ballet in New York before moving to San Francisco in 1979.
His writing in San Francisco captured perhaps the most significant decade in the lives of gay men in modern times. But between the social triumphs and the tragedies of AIDS, Hippler’s focus in his writing — and in his life — was on the personal and his style was laced with humor.
In the foreword to *So Little Time*, Hippler wrote:
“In assembling these essays, I’ve attempted to do what I do in my column: to strike a balance not only between the public and the private, but also between the educational and the entertaining, the sublime and the ridiculous. If I err, it is on the side of frivolity. To me, nothing is sacred, including myself. Try as I might, I can never be serious for long. This doesn’t mean, of course, that I don’t care passionately about things. Like my more somber friends, naturally I get frustrated and angry at times. But it’s easy to shout and depressing to cry. If at all possible, I’d rather laugh.”
