Often lauded as one of the most famous people to have lived in Madison, syndicated sex columnist and author Dan Savage enjoyed a hero's welcome when he returned to read at the Madison Book Festival Saturday.
To be truthful, Savage is not actually a Madison native. In fact, he only lived here for about a year and-a-half while his boyfriend at the time attended UW.
While Savage lived in Madison, he worked at Four Star Video, 315 N. Henry St., and was very involved with AIDS activism and ACT UP, a support group raising awareness of gay issues.
\I don't miss working at Four Star,"" he said, ""Although it would be nice if my current job had tons of good-looking boys parading past my desk all day. That was always a thrill.""
Savage said he did not really remember whether he wrote for either student publication while living in the Madison, but thinks it is a possibility.
""I may have written a letter about something we were stomping about back then,"" he said.
But in a school paper at the University of Illinois, Savage wrote a response to a woman who was complaining about gay bars, and the response was both ambiguous and overwhelming. That letter sent him off on the path that brought him to where he is today.
When Savage lived in Madison, he met up with the people who started The Onion, and quickly signed on as their sex columnist. And as they say, a star was born.
It is becoming harder and harder for Savage to step out without being noticed, what with the success of his books and an almost cult-like following of readers that lunge for his column the second The Onion hits the stands each week. Add his sporadic appearances on VH1 and the occasional political furor he creates (like being prosecuted for vote fraud in Iowa), and it is not hard to see why he is so popular.
In fact, he said he occasionaly has to deal with stalkers.
""You can't have a column on 'savage love' without exciting some big, dumb assholes,"" he said. ""My column is kind of like having an intimate conversation with strangers for years and years-they develop this feeling of intimacy toward me.""
Sometimes, Savage said he meets fans in unexpected places.
""People come up to me in airports and stuff,"" he said. ""It's kind of unnerving.""
Especially, Savage said, when strangers try to hug him.
""That's too intimate,"" he said. ""I don't like to be hugged.""
In spite of his popularity, Savage is adamant that he is not famous.
""I'm just sort of like a local TV man on weekends,"" Savage said.
Overall, Savage said he thinks writing his sex column is the best job in the world, although he said the column has occasionally wreaked havoc on his love life.
""When you're single, it's very hard to date guys. They all read my column and they expect me to have a swingset over the bed, a goat under it and Boy Scouts in the closet. But that's not really me. I'm adventurous, but not a psycho.""
Savage was very modest about his accomplishments, and refused to say which piece he had written that he was most proud of.
""I hate myself too much to answer that,"" he said. ""All gay people bring self-hatred to the art. It's a wonderful character trait.""
But Savage admitted the reaction to his last book, ""Skipping Towards Gomorrah,"" received reviews that were often surprisingly good.
""I've been surprised by the praise from some of the people on the right,"" Savage said. ""They were pleased by my takes on [things like] patriotism, divorce, personal responsibility and at the same time, some of the people on the left were unhappy with some things. It was terrific.""
When sounding off on politics, Savage again showed his more liberal side.
In regards to Rush Limbaugh's recent admission of an addiction to painkillers, Savage said, ""I hope they throw him in jail. He should be treated like Al Franken was treated. If this was a person who was [leaning more to the] left, they would have thrown the book at him.""
Savage also laughed when the ""O'Reilly's Dance Mix"" was brought up. A few years ago, Bill O'Reilly allegedly made some off-color remarks while speaking to Savage, who suggested they be put to music and turned into a dance mix. But he reiterated that he did not say he wanted to do it.
""But if someone else does, I want a copy,"" he said.
And in regards to a certain doorknob-licking incident in 2000, Savage remains mum.
According to rumor, during the Gary Bauer campaign in 2000, the politician made a comment comparing gay marriage to terrorism on the family. As the story goes, Savage decided to fight ridiculous with ridiculous, and licked the doorknob to Bauer's room while fighting a cold.
""I can neither confirm nor deny,"" Savage grinned. ""My lawyers have advised me not to.""
Savage said he and his boyfriend are contemplating moving out of the Seattle area at some point, possibly returning to the Midwest or going to New York City or even Amsterdam. Madison, he said, was one very good possibility, especially because of the local scenery.
""Enjoy the college boys while they last,"" he said. ""When you move to a different city, the number of good-looking people drops. I really enjoyed walking down State Street today. There are so many earnest, good-looking boys-politically aware, depressed, socialist boys. I have a soft spot for them... uh, and a hard spot,"" he laughed.
The last question posed to Savage was about the person who is really responsible for making Dan Savage-his mother. Past columns have dealt with some interesting sexual issues. How does the mother of such a controverial columnist feel?
""My mom is weird in that my sense of humor is totally [hers]. My enjoyment of profanity, of dirty jokes is from her.
""In private she curses like a truck driver and tells jokes like a bartender, but in public she feels like she has to cluck her tongue and shake her head [about my column]. She enjoys the columns a great deal.\
