Our Beloved richard kearns 1951 - 2012

i shoulda died
longtime ago so
everything troublewise
i conjur is pure
gravy

AIDSwise in dog years
(mad in the noonday)
that’s alotta sauce
even for me . . .

—rk

 

Richard Kearns, 60, of Los Angeles, long-time AIDS survivor, poet journalist and medical cannabis activist, passed peacefully, on January 12, 2012, with loved-ones at his side. 

Mr. Kearns, a native of Chicago, was born May 26, 1951.  He received his B.A. in Journalism from Roosevelt University in Chicago, IL, in 1972, and completed additional coursework at Michigan State University and Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa.  Richard worked as a writer, reporter, editor and graphic designer for many publications such as Chicago Today, Gallery Magazine and the Bulletin of the Science Fiction Writers of America.  He was also a consultant in professional desktop publishing and taught Journalism at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA.

A Nebula Award nominee and graduate of the  Clarion Writers’ Workshop, Richard Kearns published  numerous short stories including Grave Angels which placed in the 1987 Locus Poll Award for Best Novelette, nominated for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Short Story Award and appears in Terry Carr’s Best Science Fiction and  Fantasy of the Year.  He was also a certified group exercise instructor, personal trainer and Qigong teacher. 

Richard was diagnosed as HIV positive in 1987 and considered himself a long-term survivor.  His political cultural activism and medical cannabis advocacy were as much a part of his AIDS treatment as was big pharma.  Mr. Kearns was the founder and publisher of aids-write.org and AIDSoverSIXTY.org, both journals on HIV/AIDS positive living, LBGT political & cultural activism, art, poetry, and social justice.  He served as a founding director of Patient Advocacy Network, a charitable organization advocating for safe medical cannabis laws and patients’ rights.  His full bio is available at http://aidsoversixty.wordpress.com/about-rk/.

Richard Kearns is survived by activists, poets, and social justice advocates around the world.  A Memorial Event, Poetry Reading & Celebration of the Life of Richard Kearns will be held on Saturday, February 11, 2012, 12 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (rain or shine) at Kings Road Park at 1000 N. Kings Road, West Hollywood, CA 90069.  Attendees are asked to consider wearing red, Richard’s favorite color and, per Richard’s request, to participate in poetry reading and storytelling. 

Mr. Kearns requests memorial donations be made to The American Foundation for AIDS Research at http://www.amfar.org/donate/, Being Alive at http://www.beingalivela.org/ and Patient Advocacy Network at http://cannabissaveslives.org/. 

Special thanks to West Hollywood Councilmember Jeffrey Prang, the City of West Hollywood, Los Angeles City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl, 29^th Congressional District Candidate David Hernandez, Rev. Patrick Duff, Dr. Linda Bannister of Loyola Marymount University Department of English, Degé Coutee of Patient Advocacy Network, Tere Joyce of Hollywood Hemptress Hour, The Candy Factory of North Hollywood, Wellness Caregivers of Tarzana and La Brea Collective.