WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.500 align:middle line:90% [APPLAUSE] 00:00:00.500 --> 00:00:03.840 align:middle line:84% I think we're going to do a Q&A. If anyone has Qs I have As-- 00:00:03.840 --> 00:00:07.950 align:middle line:84% to really wave your hand in the air, because I'm blind. 00:00:07.950 --> 00:00:10.313 align:middle line:84% I do a reading series in San Francisco 00:00:10.313 --> 00:00:11.730 align:middle line:84% called "The Radar" reading series. 00:00:11.730 --> 00:00:14.340 align:middle line:84% It happens once a month, up until now, at the library. 00:00:14.340 --> 00:00:18.330 align:middle line:84% And half of it is readings, and then half of it is a Q&A. 00:00:18.330 --> 00:00:20.580 align:middle line:84% And I'm always worried that it will be just like this. 00:00:20.580 --> 00:00:22.288 align:middle line:84% Everyone will just stand there like this. 00:00:22.288 --> 00:00:24.870 align:middle line:84% So I bake cookies, and then, if you ask a question, 00:00:24.870 --> 00:00:26.430 align:middle line:90% I give you a cookie. 00:00:26.430 --> 00:00:29.011 align:middle line:84% But I don't have any cookies, so yeah. 00:00:29.011 --> 00:00:29.511 align:middle line:90% [INAUDIBLE] 00:00:29.511 --> 00:00:32.011 align:middle line:84% So I'm really excited because I saw that [INAUDIBLE] there's 00:00:32.011 --> 00:00:33.084 align:middle line:90% going to be shorts. 00:00:33.084 --> 00:00:34.020 align:middle line:90% Can you tell me more-- 00:00:34.020 --> 00:00:36.540 align:middle line:84% Yeah, I've embarked on a really insane project 00:00:36.540 --> 00:00:39.510 align:middle line:84% that I'm really overwhelmed by, and we just 00:00:39.510 --> 00:00:40.603 align:middle line:90% got a grant to do it. 00:00:40.603 --> 00:00:42.270 align:middle line:84% And if we didn't, I would just cancel it 00:00:42.270 --> 00:00:43.690 align:middle line:84% because I feel like I've gotten in over my head. 00:00:43.690 --> 00:00:44.530 align:middle line:90% But I had this idea. 00:00:44.530 --> 00:00:46.920 align:middle line:84% It's a great idea I don't know if I can see it through. 00:00:46.920 --> 00:00:49.980 align:middle line:84% But it's to invite 21 filmmakers, 00:00:49.980 --> 00:00:52.350 align:middle line:84% to each make a short film out of one 00:00:52.350 --> 00:00:54.600 align:middle line:90% chapter of my book, Valencia. 00:00:54.600 --> 00:00:56.340 align:middle line:84% And so, then, all of the 21 movies 00:00:56.340 --> 00:00:58.560 align:middle line:84% would be screened together as some sort 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:01.200 align:middle line:84% of sprawling, art-monster, queer film. 00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:05.099 align:middle line:84% And so it would be probably live, mostly on the internet, 00:01:05.099 --> 00:01:06.840 align:middle line:84% but maybe we would do a tour with it. 00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:09.820 align:middle line:84% It could certainly screen in a movie theater. 00:01:09.820 --> 00:01:12.820 align:middle line:84% But I've got 21 filmmakers signed up to do it. 00:01:12.820 --> 00:01:16.770 align:middle line:84% And I've got some of really cool, big, 90s filmmakers, 00:01:16.770 --> 00:01:19.860 align:middle line:84% like Rose Troche and Cheryl Dunye and Jamie Babbit. 00:01:19.860 --> 00:01:22.470 align:middle line:84% And Margaret Cho's going to do one. 00:01:22.470 --> 00:01:24.210 align:middle line:84% And then all my weirdo friends who 00:01:24.210 --> 00:01:26.775 align:middle line:84% just make videos of themselves doing hand 00:01:26.775 --> 00:01:27.900 align:middle line:90% puppets in their bathrooms. 00:01:27.900 --> 00:01:29.940 align:middle line:84% So it's a really good mix of people 00:01:29.940 --> 00:01:31.740 align:middle line:84% who are video installation artists and then 00:01:31.740 --> 00:01:34.530 align:middle line:84% people who've done feature films and stuff like that. 00:01:34.530 --> 00:01:36.690 align:middle line:84% And we're looking for a producer. 00:01:36.690 --> 00:01:37.990 align:middle line:90% It's a lot of work. 00:01:37.990 --> 00:01:40.890 align:middle line:84% I mean, I've never even made one movie, let alone 21. 00:01:40.890 --> 00:01:42.190 align:middle line:90% So I'm really over my head. 00:01:42.190 --> 00:01:45.660 align:middle line:84% But Cheryl Dunye has, actually, super risen to the occasion. 00:01:45.660 --> 00:01:46.660 align:middle line:90% She's a great filmmaker. 00:01:46.660 --> 00:01:48.035 align:middle line:84% You guys probably know about her. 00:01:48.035 --> 00:01:49.860 align:middle line:84% If you don't, you should see her movie. 00:01:49.860 --> 00:01:51.810 align:middle line:84% She just made a new movie called, The Owls. 00:01:51.810 --> 00:01:56.920 align:middle line:84% It's this weird, lesbian, rustic, LA Canyon noire. 00:01:56.920 --> 00:01:57.480 align:middle line:90% It's weird. 00:01:57.480 --> 00:01:58.920 align:middle line:90% It's really good. 00:01:58.920 --> 00:02:01.200 align:middle line:84% But she's really helping me get it together. 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:05.857 align:middle line:84% So I realized that I hadn't really talked about it 00:02:05.857 --> 00:02:07.440 align:middle line:84% or promoted it at all, and we're going 00:02:07.440 --> 00:02:09.023 align:middle line:84% to do a big fundraiser campaign for it 00:02:09.023 --> 00:02:10.449 align:middle line:90% to raise the money to do it. 00:02:10.449 --> 00:02:12.510 align:middle line:84% And so I just threw it on Facebook the other day, 00:02:12.510 --> 00:02:13.650 align:middle line:90% and I got a huge response. 00:02:13.650 --> 00:02:15.025 align:middle line:84% It was really exciting, actually. 00:02:15.025 --> 00:02:17.730 align:middle line:84% It made me, definitely, feel like it's more possible that we 00:02:17.730 --> 00:02:21.100 align:middle line:84% can actually do it to get a swell of support like that. 00:02:21.100 --> 00:02:22.350 align:middle line:90% So thanks for asking about it. 00:02:22.350 --> 00:02:25.656 align:middle line:90% 00:02:25.656 --> 00:02:26.156 align:middle line:90% [INAUDIBLE] 00:02:26.156 --> 00:02:27.903 align:middle line:84% I'm not sure how to word my question. 00:02:27.903 --> 00:02:35.400 align:middle line:90% [INAUDIBLE] 00:02:35.400 --> 00:02:37.230 align:middle line:90% Yeah, totally. 00:02:37.230 --> 00:02:40.356 align:middle line:90% Well I feel like I don't-- 00:02:40.356 --> 00:02:41.980 align:middle line:84% hmm, what do I want to say about that. 00:02:41.980 --> 00:02:44.080 align:middle line:90% I come up with a lot of ideas. 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:47.800 align:middle line:84% I throw a lot of shit at the wall and just see what sticks. 00:02:47.800 --> 00:02:50.907 align:middle line:84% And I come up with a lot of ideas 00:02:50.907 --> 00:02:53.240 align:middle line:84% that don't actually go anywhere, and they're all a risk. 00:02:53.240 --> 00:02:55.282 align:middle line:84% Anytime you embark on something new, it's a risk. 00:02:55.282 --> 00:02:57.420 align:middle line:84% And some things are, I mean, in a way-- it's risky. 00:02:57.420 --> 00:03:00.080 align:middle line:84% It's a very risky project to take on a film project, 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:03.530 align:middle line:84% but, also, projects that come through 00:03:03.530 --> 00:03:05.760 align:middle line:84% can also be the projects that have a lot of support. 00:03:05.760 --> 00:03:08.690 align:middle line:84% So, on the one hand, it's insane to try to make 00:03:08.690 --> 00:03:10.100 align:middle line:90% a movie with 21 filmmakers. 00:03:10.100 --> 00:03:12.020 align:middle line:84% And on the other hand, how much support 00:03:12.020 --> 00:03:15.560 align:middle line:90% will 21 people get to generate? 00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:16.490 align:middle line:90% I don't know. 00:03:16.490 --> 00:03:21.080 align:middle line:84% I definitely think I feel very lucky in one way 00:03:21.080 --> 00:03:24.080 align:middle line:84% in that, growing up in a really broke, chaotic household, 00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:27.680 align:middle line:84% where nothing was expected of me, was a bonus. 00:03:27.680 --> 00:03:30.800 align:middle line:84% I never had that experience of feeling like, oh, no. 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:35.240 align:middle line:84% I've turned my back on a path of success and stability, 00:03:35.240 --> 00:03:37.640 align:middle line:84% and now I'm living this crazy, artist life. 00:03:37.640 --> 00:03:41.660 align:middle line:84% It's like my path was always one of stability. 00:03:41.660 --> 00:03:43.580 align:middle line:84% Really, I should be working at a Dunkin' 00:03:43.580 --> 00:03:45.260 align:middle line:84% Donuts with three kids right now, 00:03:45.260 --> 00:03:47.990 align:middle line:90% and no man or woman in sight. 00:03:47.990 --> 00:03:51.510 align:middle line:84% That's what people grow up to-- that's 00:03:51.510 --> 00:03:52.760 align:middle line:90% the lives people tend to have. 00:03:52.760 --> 00:03:55.230 align:middle line:84% So it's a miracle that that's not my life. 00:03:55.230 --> 00:03:57.625 align:middle line:84% And I think it's really made it so that it didn't-- 00:03:57.625 --> 00:03:59.000 align:middle line:84% everything just felt like a risk. 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:03.807 align:middle line:84% And so I feel really grateful that this has panned out. 00:04:03.807 --> 00:04:05.390 align:middle line:84% And I've got a lot of energy, and I've 00:04:05.390 --> 00:04:08.660 align:middle line:84% been very lucky in being able to make most things 00:04:08.660 --> 00:04:10.160 align:middle line:90% that I want to happen happen. 00:04:10.160 --> 00:04:12.230 align:middle line:84% And again, I think the reason for that I think 00:04:12.230 --> 00:04:14.660 align:middle line:84% is that I've got a lot of energy to start things. 00:04:14.660 --> 00:04:18.320 align:middle line:84% But the things I tend to get excited about doing end up 00:04:18.320 --> 00:04:20.160 align:middle line:90% being community stuff. 00:04:20.160 --> 00:04:21.589 align:middle line:90% And so I get a lot of support. 00:04:21.589 --> 00:04:26.220 align:middle line:84% Like I started the "Sister Spit" tours in 1997. 00:04:26.220 --> 00:04:29.600 align:middle line:84% And I started it really because I'd been 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:31.680 align:middle line:90% in a punk band that sucked. 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:32.540 align:middle line:90% We were really bad. 00:04:32.540 --> 00:04:34.032 align:middle line:84% But we got to go on a little tour 00:04:34.032 --> 00:04:35.240 align:middle line:90% even though we were terrible. 00:04:35.240 --> 00:04:36.950 align:middle line:84% And I really liked going on the tour. 00:04:36.950 --> 00:04:39.120 align:middle line:84% I really romanticized going on road trips, 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:40.620 align:middle line:84% but I don't have a driver's license. 00:04:40.620 --> 00:04:42.860 align:middle line:84% So I was like, I need to be able to go on tours 00:04:42.860 --> 00:04:44.520 align:middle line:84% or else I'll never get to go on these road trips. 00:04:44.520 --> 00:04:46.103 align:middle line:84% But I never want to be in a band again 00:04:46.103 --> 00:04:47.930 align:middle line:90% because music people are crazy. 00:04:47.930 --> 00:04:50.960 align:middle line:84% But all these writers that I'm hanging out with are so great. 00:04:50.960 --> 00:04:53.030 align:middle line:90% Maybe we can do a writers tour. 00:04:53.030 --> 00:04:55.910 align:middle line:84% And it didn't, I mean, I guess I never 00:04:55.910 --> 00:04:58.580 align:middle line:84% I didn't really see it like a risk. 00:04:58.580 --> 00:05:01.910 align:middle line:84% What's interesting is that, now that all of this work I've done 00:05:01.910 --> 00:05:05.308 align:middle line:84% for so long is under the auspices of a nonprofit-- 00:05:05.308 --> 00:05:06.350 align:middle line:90% like we are an official-- 00:05:06.350 --> 00:05:08.690 align:middle line:84% Radar Productions is a 501(c)(3). 00:05:08.690 --> 00:05:13.250 align:middle line:84% We get funding from the NEA down to Rainbow Grocery in San 00:05:13.250 --> 00:05:13.860 align:middle line:90% Francisco. 00:05:13.860 --> 00:05:15.748 align:middle line:84% So we hit up every funding source, 00:05:15.748 --> 00:05:17.540 align:middle line:84% and we are actually doing really cool work. 00:05:17.540 --> 00:05:19.850 align:middle line:84% And so we get a lot of the funds that we ask for. 00:05:19.850 --> 00:05:23.270 align:middle line:84% And suddenly, there are risk stakes a little bit 00:05:23.270 --> 00:05:23.960 align:middle line:90% around that. 00:05:23.960 --> 00:05:27.320 align:middle line:90% Because it's one thing to-- 00:05:27.320 --> 00:05:28.760 align:middle line:84% I feel I'm pretty resilient, and I 00:05:28.760 --> 00:05:32.180 align:middle line:84% can like deal with a lot or deal with having a little, whatever. 00:05:32.180 --> 00:05:35.060 align:middle line:84% So if I put myself in a risky situation, I can roll with it. 00:05:35.060 --> 00:05:37.610 align:middle line:84% But now, a lot of times, if I'm going 00:05:37.610 --> 00:05:41.160 align:middle line:84% to take on a risky project, it's possible 00:05:41.160 --> 00:05:42.500 align:middle line:90% that it's putting Radar at risk. 00:05:42.500 --> 00:05:44.645 align:middle line:84% And now this feels like it's bigger than just me. 00:05:44.645 --> 00:05:47.900 align:middle line:84% I have a managing director, and we pay her salary. 00:05:47.900 --> 00:05:50.715 align:middle line:84% And it's been a hard transition to do-- is this boring? 00:05:50.715 --> 00:05:51.590 align:middle line:90% Am I boring you guys? 00:05:51.590 --> 00:05:52.423 align:middle line:90% I'm like, la, la la. 00:05:52.423 --> 00:05:54.950 align:middle line:84% I had an espresso, and I did it for you. 00:05:54.950 --> 00:05:55.880 align:middle line:90% [LAUGHTER] 00:05:55.880 --> 00:05:57.650 align:middle line:84% But I don't want it to turn against you. 00:05:57.650 --> 00:05:59.210 align:middle line:90% [LAUGHTER] 00:05:59.210 --> 00:06:01.430 align:middle line:84% I had this crazy idea, again, because I 00:06:01.430 --> 00:06:06.038 align:middle line:84% wanted to go to Europe because I'd gone to went to Paris. 00:06:06.038 --> 00:06:08.330 align:middle line:84% And I had this awesome time, and I met all these queers 00:06:08.330 --> 00:06:08.830 align:middle line:90% in Paris. 00:06:08.830 --> 00:06:11.210 align:middle line:84% And I wanted to go back to Europe again, basically, 00:06:11.210 --> 00:06:13.730 align:middle line:84% just to have affairs, love affairs with Europeans. 00:06:13.730 --> 00:06:16.130 align:middle line:84% And so I was like, well, how can I get over there? 00:06:16.130 --> 00:06:17.900 align:middle line:84% And I was like, I'll bring Sister Spit. 00:06:17.900 --> 00:06:19.775 align:middle line:84% And so I booked a Sister Spit tour of Europe, 00:06:19.775 --> 00:06:20.930 align:middle line:90% and it was horrible. 00:06:20.930 --> 00:06:23.450 align:middle line:90% I mean it was so bad. 00:06:23.450 --> 00:06:25.110 align:middle line:90% It was so expensive. 00:06:25.110 --> 00:06:29.150 align:middle line:84% We were performing in all these DIY spaces with anarchists 00:06:29.150 --> 00:06:31.055 align:middle line:84% who think that even though they're 00:06:31.055 --> 00:06:33.180 align:middle line:84% paying for their tobacco and beer, for some reason, 00:06:33.180 --> 00:06:34.610 align:middle line:90% art should be free. 00:06:34.610 --> 00:06:38.300 align:middle line:84% So everyone was pissed that we were charging for our show, 00:06:38.300 --> 00:06:42.463 align:middle line:84% and it'd be like spitting a euro at us with attitude 00:06:42.463 --> 00:06:43.880 align:middle line:84% and then going in to see the show. 00:06:43.880 --> 00:06:46.790 align:middle line:84% So we'd have these huge turnouts like this size. 00:06:46.790 --> 00:06:51.950 align:middle line:84% And all of the performers were-- it was really funny. 00:06:51.950 --> 00:06:54.740 align:middle line:84% I booked this really big tour with different performers, 00:06:54.740 --> 00:06:55.520 align:middle line:90% different ages. 00:06:55.520 --> 00:06:57.680 align:middle line:84% But as the tour got closer, and it became evident 00:06:57.680 --> 00:06:59.138 align:middle line:84% that we'd get no money for the tour 00:06:59.138 --> 00:07:02.150 align:middle line:84% and that we would be sleeping at squats, everyone in their 30s 00:07:02.150 --> 00:07:03.230 align:middle line:90% dropped out of the tour. 00:07:03.230 --> 00:07:05.540 align:middle line:84% And only people in their 20s stayed on it. 00:07:05.540 --> 00:07:06.830 align:middle line:90% And I'm almost 40. (LAUGHS) 00:07:06.830 --> 00:07:08.163 align:middle line:90% I don't know what my problem is. 00:07:08.163 --> 00:07:12.530 align:middle line:84% So we went on the tour, and the performers were really excited 00:07:12.530 --> 00:07:14.877 align:middle line:84% because they're just showing up to perform, 00:07:14.877 --> 00:07:16.460 align:middle line:84% and their needs are getting taken care 00:07:16.460 --> 00:07:18.030 align:middle line:90% of because I make sure of that. 00:07:18.030 --> 00:07:20.150 align:middle line:90% But I'm just seeing, oh, my God. 00:07:20.150 --> 00:07:21.380 align:middle line:90% Radar is paying for this. 00:07:21.380 --> 00:07:23.870 align:middle line:90% We didn't have funding for this. 00:07:23.870 --> 00:07:25.550 align:middle line:90% Where is this money coming from? 00:07:25.550 --> 00:07:29.810 align:middle line:84% I was just a wreck, and this crazy, bitchy monster. 00:07:29.810 --> 00:07:33.800 align:middle line:84% And we did this one show at a squat in Cologne, 00:07:33.800 --> 00:07:38.390 align:middle line:84% and they had given us a guarantee of 150 euros. 00:07:38.390 --> 00:07:39.110 align:middle line:90% Thanks. 00:07:39.110 --> 00:07:40.100 align:middle line:90% It's nothing. 00:07:40.100 --> 00:07:40.850 align:middle line:90% It's like our gas. 00:07:40.850 --> 00:07:42.800 align:middle line:84% And then, as it turned out, they could only give us 100. 00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:44.000 align:middle line:84% And I was like, but a guarantee means 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:46.430 align:middle line:84% you just give us what you say you're going to give us. 00:07:46.430 --> 00:07:48.055 align:middle line:84% So they're giving us 100, and then they 00:07:48.055 --> 00:07:52.931 align:middle line:84% gave us the 100 euros wrapped in a fake 500-euro bill. 00:07:52.931 --> 00:07:55.550 align:middle line:84% And I got it, and my heart just lept 00:07:55.550 --> 00:07:57.710 align:middle line:84% and tears sprang to my eyes because we needed money 00:07:57.710 --> 00:07:59.060 align:middle line:90% so badly. 00:07:59.060 --> 00:08:00.770 align:middle line:84% And I was like, oh, my god, what? 00:08:00.770 --> 00:08:01.940 align:middle line:90% Did they do something crazy? 00:08:01.940 --> 00:08:04.490 align:middle line:84% They found some anarchist money fund in the yard, 00:08:04.490 --> 00:08:07.220 align:middle line:84% or they dug up a chest and gave because they 00:08:07.220 --> 00:08:08.180 align:middle line:90% want to support us? 00:08:08.180 --> 00:08:12.140 align:middle line:84% And then I see that it's a fake 500-euro bill, and on the back, 00:08:12.140 --> 00:08:14.420 align:middle line:84% there's this little like, (MOCKINGLY) capitalism 00:08:14.420 --> 00:08:17.210 align:middle line:90% turns people into monsters. 00:08:17.210 --> 00:08:20.660 align:middle line:84% I was just like, I fucking hate anarchists so much. 00:08:20.660 --> 00:08:21.620 align:middle line:90% I just wanted to kill-- 00:08:21.620 --> 00:08:22.640 align:middle line:90% I wanted to break their necks. 00:08:22.640 --> 00:08:24.320 align:middle line:84% I'm like, I'm glad you guys all liked our show. 00:08:24.320 --> 00:08:25.250 align:middle line:90% Nothing is free. 00:08:25.250 --> 00:08:28.260 align:middle line:84% I wish it were true that it was, but somebody's paying for it. 00:08:28.260 --> 00:08:30.020 align:middle line:84% And right now, it's my little struggling, 00:08:30.020 --> 00:08:31.370 align:middle line:90% non-profit organization. 00:08:31.370 --> 00:08:33.255 align:middle line:90% So that was a bad risk to take. 00:08:33.255 --> 00:08:34.880 align:middle line:84% And so, now, we're trying to find a way 00:08:34.880 --> 00:08:38.630 align:middle line:84% to go to Europe that's more the way that Sister Spit toured 00:08:38.630 --> 00:08:41.750 align:middle line:84% the United States, which is we go-- ideally, for us, 00:08:41.750 --> 00:08:44.210 align:middle line:84% we like to go places where the show is free, 00:08:44.210 --> 00:08:45.450 align:middle line:90% and the artists get paid. 00:08:45.450 --> 00:08:48.260 align:middle line:84% And so we try to go through institutions, whether they're 00:08:48.260 --> 00:08:52.160 align:middle line:84% art institutions to get funding through a grant, universities 00:08:52.160 --> 00:08:54.335 align:middle line:84% that have a funding source for events on campus. 00:08:54.335 --> 00:08:57.040 align:middle line:90% 00:08:57.040 --> 00:09:03.070 align:middle line:90% [INAUDIBLE] 00:09:03.070 --> 00:09:04.090 align:middle line:90% Sure. 00:09:04.090 --> 00:09:05.557 align:middle line:90% I think that-- 00:09:05.557 --> 00:09:06.890 align:middle line:90% I've worked in bookstores a lot. 00:09:06.890 --> 00:09:07.930 align:middle line:84% I've worked in a lot of bookstores. 00:09:07.930 --> 00:09:09.972 align:middle line:84% And I just think that the gay and lesbian shelves 00:09:09.972 --> 00:09:12.280 align:middle line:90% in a bookstore are problematic. 00:09:12.280 --> 00:09:14.680 align:middle line:84% And it's hard because I understand that there's ways 00:09:14.680 --> 00:09:16.600 align:middle line:90% in which they're good as well. 00:09:16.600 --> 00:09:19.150 align:middle line:84% But I think they're mostly, make sure 00:09:19.150 --> 00:09:22.630 align:middle line:84% that nobody is going to read your book except a gay person, 00:09:22.630 --> 00:09:23.170 align:middle line:90% maybe. 00:09:23.170 --> 00:09:25.587 align:middle line:84% And then a lot of gay people who are going into bookstores 00:09:25.587 --> 00:09:28.090 align:middle line:84% aren't going to the gay and lesbian shelves. 00:09:28.090 --> 00:09:30.280 align:middle line:84% Because what ends up happening is 00:09:30.280 --> 00:09:32.500 align:middle line:84% that the gay and lesbian shelves in a bookstore 00:09:32.500 --> 00:09:35.300 align:middle line:84% are often these little, small-press writers you'd never 00:09:35.300 --> 00:09:35.800 align:middle line:90% heard from. 00:09:35.800 --> 00:09:37.717 align:middle line:84% And then you get someone like Dorothy Allison, 00:09:37.717 --> 00:09:39.490 align:middle line:84% and she's in fiction, or whatever. 00:09:39.490 --> 00:09:43.390 align:middle line:84% And so it's it ends up being this weird like, well, 00:09:43.390 --> 00:09:44.260 align:middle line:90% if you cross over-- 00:09:44.260 --> 00:09:45.760 align:middle line:90% Jeanette Winterson's in fiction. 00:09:45.760 --> 00:09:49.660 align:middle line:84% And it ends up being this weird thing where it's like, 00:09:49.660 --> 00:09:51.360 align:middle line:90% so what does that mean. 00:09:51.360 --> 00:09:55.240 align:middle line:84% And I just think that fiction's just fiction, 00:09:55.240 --> 00:09:57.970 align:middle line:84% and it should just all be in the fiction places. 00:09:57.970 --> 00:10:01.480 align:middle line:84% And there can be other ways to have resources about what 00:10:01.480 --> 00:10:03.340 align:middle line:90% are great queer titles. 00:10:03.340 --> 00:10:05.163 align:middle line:84% And I feel that way about everything. 00:10:05.163 --> 00:10:06.580 align:middle line:84% Like African-American literature-- 00:10:06.580 --> 00:10:08.500 align:middle line:84% what are great African-American titles? 00:10:08.500 --> 00:10:10.840 align:middle line:84% Not to take it out and then it just-- 00:10:10.840 --> 00:10:12.940 align:middle line:84% ideally, people are reading literature 00:10:12.940 --> 00:10:15.910 align:middle line:84% because they want to have the experiences of other people 00:10:15.910 --> 00:10:17.380 align:middle line:90% who are not them. 00:10:17.380 --> 00:10:19.000 align:middle line:84% And they can pull a book off a shelf, 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:21.280 align:middle line:84% and it can be a queer person, and they'll read it. 00:10:21.280 --> 00:10:22.988 align:middle line:84% But people just don't go out of their way 00:10:22.988 --> 00:10:25.660 align:middle line:84% to go to those bookshelves because they feel subpar, 00:10:25.660 --> 00:10:28.870 align:middle line:84% like there's just something second-classy about it. 00:10:28.870 --> 00:10:30.400 align:middle line:90% And I really don't like it. 00:10:30.400 --> 00:10:33.260 align:middle line:84% I mean, it makes sense to have a non-fiction queer studies 00:10:33.260 --> 00:10:34.510 align:middle line:90% shelf, or something like that. 00:10:34.510 --> 00:10:35.600 align:middle line:90% That's totally different. 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:37.840 align:middle line:84% But I think for creative nonfiction, 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:41.322 align:middle line:84% and for fiction, it just should all be together there. 00:10:41.322 --> 00:10:43.780 align:middle line:84% That's what would happen in my bookstore that I don't have. 00:10:43.780 --> 00:10:59.410 align:middle line:90% [INAUDIBLE] 00:10:59.410 --> 00:11:03.042 align:middle line:84% Well, yeah, I mean, it's interesting. 00:11:03.042 --> 00:11:04.750 align:middle line:84% I try not to pay attention, too much, how 00:11:04.750 --> 00:11:06.790 align:middle line:84% I'm getting classified because it's so often wrong 00:11:06.790 --> 00:11:09.082 align:middle line:84% and it can make you a little crazy and stuff like that. 00:11:09.082 --> 00:11:11.735 align:middle line:84% But I do write about class a lot. 00:11:11.735 --> 00:11:14.110 align:middle line:84% And I love writing about class, and what I just read from 00:11:14.110 --> 00:11:17.380 align:middle line:90% is so much about that. 00:11:17.380 --> 00:11:21.070 align:middle line:84% And I think that, probably, causes confusion 00:11:21.070 --> 00:11:23.380 align:middle line:84% to a lot of people in our culture in a way 00:11:23.380 --> 00:11:27.160 align:middle line:84% that, maybe, sexuality isn't necessarily quite as confusing. 00:11:27.160 --> 00:11:29.410 align:middle line:84% I think that people come from mixed class backgrounds. 00:11:29.410 --> 00:11:32.020 align:middle line:84% I think people are often in denial about their class 00:11:32.020 --> 00:11:33.400 align:middle line:90% background. 00:11:33.400 --> 00:11:35.350 align:middle line:84% I know people have had experiences 00:11:35.350 --> 00:11:37.060 align:middle line:84% of just being raised, thinking they were middle class, 00:11:37.060 --> 00:11:38.830 align:middle line:84% but they were really poor, but their parents 00:11:38.830 --> 00:11:39.747 align:middle line:90% couldn't deal with it. 00:11:39.747 --> 00:11:43.390 align:middle line:84% And then I know a lot of people who think that they're poor, 00:11:43.390 --> 00:11:47.170 align:middle line:84% and I think they, actually, are not poor. 00:11:47.170 --> 00:11:48.070 align:middle line:90% And so it's-- 00:11:48.070 --> 00:11:48.670 align:middle line:90% I don't know. 00:11:48.670 --> 00:11:50.020 align:middle line:90% I think it's confusing. 00:11:50.020 --> 00:11:51.610 align:middle line:90% Maybe it's-- I don't know why. 00:11:51.610 --> 00:11:53.410 align:middle line:84% I mean, I did do a whole anthology 00:11:53.410 --> 00:11:56.620 align:middle line:84% that's about the experience of people who are brought up 00:11:56.620 --> 00:11:57.880 align:middle line:90% female and working class. 00:11:57.880 --> 00:12:00.670 align:middle line:84% So it is something that's important to me, 00:12:00.670 --> 00:12:03.052 align:middle line:90% but I don't know why. 00:12:03.052 --> 00:12:04.868 align:middle line:90% Why? 00:12:04.868 --> 00:12:05.780 align:middle line:90% Why? 00:12:05.780 --> 00:12:06.530 align:middle line:90% I don't know. 00:12:06.530 --> 00:12:08.060 align:middle line:90% [INAUDIBLE] 00:12:08.060 --> 00:12:08.970 align:middle line:90% Well, thank you. 00:12:08.970 --> 00:12:09.960 align:middle line:90% I'm also Polish. 00:12:09.960 --> 00:12:12.840 align:middle line:90% [LAUGHTER] 00:12:12.840 --> 00:12:16.200 align:middle line:90% 00:12:16.200 --> 00:12:17.108 align:middle line:90% Are we all done? 00:12:17.108 --> 00:12:19.150 align:middle line:84% Because that espresso's still running through me. 00:12:19.150 --> 00:12:19.690 align:middle line:90% OK, yes. 00:12:19.690 --> 00:12:20.190 align:middle line:90% [INAUDIBLE] 00:12:20.190 --> 00:12:21.868 align:middle line:84% What do you like to read on the airplane 00:12:21.868 --> 00:12:23.780 align:middle line:84% other than what you're reading right now? 00:12:23.780 --> 00:12:24.960 align:middle line:90% Oh, that's a great question. 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:26.630 align:middle line:84% I love to read magazines on an airplane. 00:12:26.630 --> 00:12:28.550 align:middle line:84% I love to read magazines on an airplane. 00:12:28.550 --> 00:12:31.640 align:middle line:84% There's this really great, new women's 00:12:31.640 --> 00:12:34.340 align:middle line:84% fashion magazine that's super intellectual and weird. 00:12:34.340 --> 00:12:38.510 align:middle line:84% It's called the Gentle Woman, and I think it's out of the UK. 00:12:38.510 --> 00:12:40.640 align:middle line:84% And I missed the first issue-- it's really hard 00:12:40.640 --> 00:12:42.182 align:middle line:84% to find-- but I got the second issue, 00:12:42.182 --> 00:12:43.840 align:middle line:90% and I read that on the plane. 00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:46.550 align:middle line:84% So yea, I love magazines so much. 00:12:46.550 --> 00:12:49.340 align:middle line:84% And I write a fashion blog now, so I feel like, now, 00:12:49.340 --> 00:12:52.160 align:middle line:84% I, somehow, have arranged my life so that reading Vogue is 00:12:52.160 --> 00:12:53.690 align:middle line:90% work. 00:12:53.690 --> 00:12:55.940 align:middle line:84% Because I always feel really bad about how much time I 00:12:55.940 --> 00:12:58.340 align:middle line:84% spend sitting on my butt reading Elle magazine. 00:12:58.340 --> 00:13:00.420 align:middle line:84% And I'm like, I'm researching for my blog. 00:13:00.420 --> 00:13:02.420 align:middle line:84% It's going to be an income stream at some point. 00:13:02.420 --> 00:13:04.430 align:middle line:90% I'm sure of it. 00:13:04.430 --> 00:13:06.410 align:middle line:84% And right now, I'm reading The Ticking 00:13:06.410 --> 00:13:09.880 align:middle line:90% is the Bomb by Nick Flynn. 00:13:09.880 --> 00:13:12.790 align:middle line:84% But I just read, before that, I read Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, 00:13:12.790 --> 00:13:14.155 align:middle line:90% and that book is amazing. 00:13:14.155 --> 00:13:16.030 align:middle line:84% That book is a really good book, and I highly 00:13:16.030 --> 00:13:17.650 align:middle line:90% recommend people read it. 00:13:17.650 --> 00:13:19.990 align:middle line:84% In San Francisco, right now, it's the "One City, 00:13:19.990 --> 00:13:22.543 align:middle line:84% One Book" read where the library picks a book, 00:13:22.543 --> 00:13:23.710 align:middle line:90% and the whole city reads it. 00:13:23.710 --> 00:13:26.737 align:middle line:84% And if you've never done that before, not for any reason but, 00:13:26.737 --> 00:13:27.820 align:middle line:90% I really like Dave Eggers. 00:13:27.820 --> 00:13:31.090 align:middle line:84% And I went to hear him speak about the book at the library, 00:13:31.090 --> 00:13:32.870 align:middle line:84% and it made me really curious about it. 00:13:32.870 --> 00:13:35.218 align:middle line:84% And I think it's really great, and I highly reco-- 00:13:35.218 --> 00:13:36.760 align:middle line:84% I think it's a really important book. 00:13:36.760 --> 00:13:38.500 align:middle line:84% And all the proceeds from it are going 00:13:38.500 --> 00:13:40.935 align:middle line:84% to these really great nonprofits that 00:13:40.935 --> 00:13:43.060 align:middle line:84% are helping people who've been wrongly incarcerated 00:13:43.060 --> 00:13:44.380 align:middle line:90% or helping rebuild New Orleans. 00:13:44.380 --> 00:13:48.010 align:middle line:90% So buy it new, and enjoy it. 00:13:48.010 --> 00:13:51.593 align:middle line:90% 00:13:51.593 --> 00:13:53.760 align:middle line:84% I'm blind, so I don't think there's another hand up. 00:13:53.760 --> 00:13:58.900 align:middle line:84% But if there was, just yell, hey. 00:13:58.900 --> 00:14:00.800 align:middle line:90% OK, guess we can stop. 00:14:00.800 --> 00:14:03.257 align:middle line:84% Thank you, guys, very, very much for humoring me. 00:14:03.257 --> 00:14:05.090 align:middle line:84% Thank you again, Gail, for bringing me here. 00:14:05.090 --> 00:14:06.605 align:middle line:90% Thank you, Poetry Center. 00:14:06.605 --> 00:14:07.490 align:middle line:90% [APPLAUSE] 00:14:07.490 --> 00:14:10.010 align:middle line:90% You guys. 00:14:10.010 --> 00:14:11.720 align:middle line:84% The library's open to the public, right? 00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:13.670 align:middle line:84% The Poetry Library is open to the public. 00:14:13.670 --> 00:14:19.730 align:middle line:84% This is the most beautiful homage to poetry 00:14:19.730 --> 00:14:23.070 align:middle line:84% I've ever been in, like this whole Poetry Center here. 00:14:23.070 --> 00:14:25.700 align:middle line:84% So let's clap for the beautiful Poetry Center. 00:14:25.700 --> 00:14:29.780 align:middle line:84% The college is so amazing, and thank you, everybody, 00:14:29.780 --> 00:14:31.880 align:middle line:90% who helped make this possible. 00:14:31.880 --> 00:14:33.320 align:middle line:90% And you know something? 00:14:33.320 --> 00:14:35.733 align:middle line:90% I really, really want to-- 00:14:35.733 --> 00:14:38.150 align:middle line:84% I do a writer's retreat with the writers that I work with. 00:14:38.150 --> 00:14:40.610 align:middle line:84% I really want one to happen in Tucson. 00:14:40.610 --> 00:14:45.170 align:middle line:84% So if anyone has a friend who's got a big house that they'll 00:14:45.170 --> 00:14:47.670 align:middle line:84% let a bunch of writers hang out in it for a couple of weeks, 00:14:47.670 --> 00:14:50.190 align:middle line:84% and it'll be a great tax write off, come talk to me. 00:14:50.190 --> 00:14:51.140 align:middle line:90% I'm really serious. 00:14:51.140 --> 00:14:52.310 align:middle line:90% I really make things happen. 00:14:52.310 --> 00:14:55.040 align:middle line:84% It's risky, but I think it's a risk that 00:14:55.040 --> 00:14:56.450 align:middle line:90% would pay off for everyone. 00:14:56.450 --> 00:14:58.478 align:middle line:90% So all right, there. 00:14:58.478 --> 00:15:04.460 align:middle line:90% [APPLAUSE] 00:15:04.460 --> 00:15:05.900 align:middle line:90% OK. 00:15:05.900 --> 00:15:06.830 align:middle line:90% Thanks, Michelle. 00:15:06.830 --> 00:15:08.480 align:middle line:90% Thanks all of you for coming. 00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:10.320 align:middle line:90% Come back to Tucson anytime. 00:15:10.320 --> 00:15:10.820 align:middle line:90% OK. 00:15:10.820 --> 00:15:11.150 align:middle line:90% All right. 00:15:11.150 --> 00:15:11.650 align:middle line:90% I will. 00:15:11.650 --> 00:15:14.210 align:middle line:84% And let's go continue the conversation next door. 00:15:14.210 --> 00:15:16.570 align:middle line:90% OK, goodnight.