About William
For over six decades, William T. Stewart cultivated interests in languages (his own native English and several others, actual and imagined), communications theory, editorship, literature, linguistics, writing systems, geography, cartography, cultural history (actual and imagined), social mores, environmental advocacy, consciousness-raising, heart circle practice, radical truth-telling, planetary collapse prognostication, and the deconstruction of inherited systems of resource extraction, concentration, and deployment in the context of late-stage capitalism.
William T. Stewart
May 25, 1951 — October 20, 2021
The last address of Qvillemina, Queen of the Faery Isles, to her people, on the occasion of the 70th birthday of William Stewart, May 2021. Poignantly, it was one month before he would lose his ability to speak the last words many of us would hear from him.
WILLIAM TOWNSEND STEWART, of Martha's Vineyard and San Francisco, died October 20, 2021, after receiving diagnosis of an aggressive cancer in July of that year. He was 70 years old.
William was born May 25, 1951, in Providence, Rhode Island, the only son of Frank Stewart and Caroline Townsend Stewart. He earned a B.A. in Russian from Reed College in 1973.
William was a professional calligrapher. His works include a logo for the long-running NPR series "Music from the Hearts of Space," the Kimono condom logo, and calligraphy for books by the poet James Broughton, as well as dozens of works of fine art calligraphy.
As "Sister Succuba," William was among the first Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. He created the Sisters' handwritten calligraphic logo, and is credited with proposing the phrase "Perpetual Indulgence" at the Sisters' founding meeting in his apartment in 1979. He and Gilbert Baker were first to be canonized Saints of the Order.
William lost several close friends and lovers to AIDS and volunteered with Shanti Project during the crisis. In 2014, he established Groundswell, a queer retreat center and intentional community in Mendocino. Though disease cut his life short, William laid plans for Groundswell's survival, intending the forested refuge to remain a place of ecological stewardship and service to queer and other marginalized peoples.
William is survived by a close circle of dear friends and a wide community of Radical Faeries, Sisters, and fellow travelers.
—Jesse Oliver Sanford
(Obituary courtesy of the Bay Area Reporter, Nov 3, 2021)
Writings on William’s Work
Click to view PDF
Calligraphy Review (Summer 1992)
Calligraphy Review (Summer 1988)
Alphabet (Spring 1986)
QUILLEMOT SITE CREDITS
This website was created by Seth Eisen/Eye Zen Archival Services and designed by Rhizomatic Arts.
Artwork Photography Credit: Deep thanks to Kegan Marling who photographed most of William’s most important works, his calligraphy tools and some wonderful shots at Groundswell.
Photos of Groundswell and William’s 70th birthday celebration in 2021 are by Devlin Shand.
Photos of William’s 60th birthday celebration and Evidence of Elsewhere by Michael Rauner.
Quillemot logo designed by William Stewart and finished by Michael Starkman.
Deep gratitude to Janaia Donaldson and Jason Patten for their endless devotion to William and his legacy to make this site possible. Thanks to Janaia for her most generous and patient guidance, contributions, stories and knowledge from their many decades of friendship.
And thanks to all of the many people who contributed to this site in words, photos and support on the Memories page.
And for the loving support of Laura (Nines) Perlin, Michael Starkman and Jesse Oliver Sanford. —Seth Eisen