WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.270 align:middle line:90% 00:00:02.270 --> 00:00:05.180 align:middle line:84% I was really glad that my publisher 00:00:05.180 --> 00:00:12.350 align:middle line:84% allowed me to publish this book without page numbers. 00:00:12.350 --> 00:00:15.422 align:middle line:84% It really upset a couple of my friends. 00:00:15.422 --> 00:00:17.730 align:middle line:84% They read the book and liked the book later, 00:00:17.730 --> 00:00:20.510 align:middle line:84% but they were really mad at first. 00:00:20.510 --> 00:00:22.440 align:middle line:90% I gave Eileen Myles a copy. 00:00:22.440 --> 00:00:25.100 align:middle line:84% It was like a great friend of mine since I was a teenager 00:00:25.100 --> 00:00:26.908 align:middle line:84% and Eileen was like, there's no pages. 00:00:26.908 --> 00:00:28.700 align:middle line:84% How the hell am I going to know where I am? 00:00:28.700 --> 00:00:30.117 align:middle line:84% It became this whole conversation. 00:00:30.117 --> 00:00:33.050 align:middle line:84% I was like, would you just please 00:00:33.050 --> 00:00:36.470 align:middle line:90% read it and get back to me? 00:00:36.470 --> 00:00:38.240 align:middle line:84% But it is kind of funny, because I'm 00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:40.100 align:middle line:84% used to putting a piece of paper here 00:00:40.100 --> 00:00:41.990 align:middle line:84% and I have the page numbers, so now I 00:00:41.990 --> 00:00:44.900 align:middle line:84% have to put book markers on each page. 00:00:44.900 --> 00:00:45.450 align:middle line:90% I don't know. 00:00:45.450 --> 00:00:47.120 align:middle line:90% I'm not complaining. 00:00:47.120 --> 00:00:50.840 align:middle line:84% So the thing is, this book begins in Seattle. 00:00:50.840 --> 00:00:54.000 align:middle line:84% I am spending the lockdown in Seattle. 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:58.320 align:middle line:84% And I don't know if you're familiar with Seattle, 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:01.240 align:middle line:90% but it is run by crows. 00:01:01.240 --> 00:01:04.140 align:middle line:84% There are so many-- it's one of the largest populations of crows 00:01:04.140 --> 00:01:05.050 align:middle line:90% on the planet. 00:01:05.050 --> 00:01:08.760 align:middle line:84% In fact, the Bothell campus on the edge of the city has 00:01:08.760 --> 00:01:10.840 align:middle line:84% an international crow research center, 00:01:10.840 --> 00:01:14.470 align:middle line:84% and there are 16,000 crows in that rookery alone. 00:01:14.470 --> 00:01:16.710 align:middle line:84% And when they cross the campus, they darken the sky 00:01:16.710 --> 00:01:19.660 align:middle line:84% and they shit and scream on everything just like crazy. 00:01:19.660 --> 00:01:23.940 align:middle line:84% But I've watched them terrorize humans who deserved it. 00:01:23.940 --> 00:01:27.160 align:middle line:84% There was a man on the balcony across from me. 00:01:27.160 --> 00:01:29.970 align:middle line:84% I was on this top floor overlooking Elliott Bay, 00:01:29.970 --> 00:01:35.430 align:middle line:84% and the crows would sit on his balcony to say hello 00:01:35.430 --> 00:01:36.772 align:middle line:90% in the morning to one another. 00:01:36.772 --> 00:01:38.230 align:middle line:84% And he would come out with a broom. 00:01:38.230 --> 00:01:40.690 align:middle line:84% And they started bringing more and more and more crows. 00:01:40.690 --> 00:01:42.580 align:middle line:84% And then they started dive bombing him 00:01:42.580 --> 00:01:43.990 align:middle line:84% when he came out with that broom. 00:01:43.990 --> 00:01:46.950 align:middle line:84% He'd be out here and they'd be like, on the back of his head. 00:01:46.950 --> 00:01:48.760 align:middle line:90% And he stopped. 00:01:48.760 --> 00:01:51.810 align:middle line:84% And then they would attack him going to his car. 00:01:51.810 --> 00:01:53.060 align:middle line:90% And then he moved. 00:01:53.060 --> 00:01:55.280 align:middle line:90% [LAUGHTER] 00:01:55.280 --> 00:01:56.280 align:middle line:90% What an asshole. 00:01:56.280 --> 00:01:57.030 align:middle line:90% He deserved it. 00:01:57.030 --> 00:01:59.210 align:middle line:90% But the thing is-- 00:01:59.210 --> 00:02:01.910 align:middle line:90% and the cats. 00:02:01.910 --> 00:02:03.150 align:middle line:90% Bad city to be a cat. 00:02:03.150 --> 00:02:05.270 align:middle line:84% The cats run from tree trunk to tree trunk 00:02:05.270 --> 00:02:06.387 align:middle line:90% with their backs hunched. 00:02:06.387 --> 00:02:07.470 align:middle line:90% They'll kind of like hide. 00:02:07.470 --> 00:02:09.840 align:middle line:84% And the crows follow them, just like, we see you, 00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:11.670 align:middle line:84% we're yelling to let everybody know. 00:02:11.670 --> 00:02:13.760 align:middle line:84% Scream, scream, scream, cat, cat, cat. 00:02:13.760 --> 00:02:15.890 align:middle line:90% That cats don't-- it's great. 00:02:15.890 --> 00:02:19.670 align:middle line:84% But the thing is, I started feeding the crows on the ledge. 00:02:19.670 --> 00:02:24.120 align:middle line:84% And all day long, crows would come. 00:02:24.120 --> 00:02:26.620 align:middle line:84% They came immediately, because they patrol the neighborhoods 00:02:26.620 --> 00:02:28.037 align:middle line:84% because they know what's going on. 00:02:28.037 --> 00:02:31.290 align:middle line:84% Had a little empty hummus container nailed down, 00:02:31.290 --> 00:02:37.970 align:middle line:84% and I would fill it with crackers and nuts and cherries 00:02:37.970 --> 00:02:39.210 align:middle line:90% and other fruit. 00:02:39.210 --> 00:02:40.080 align:middle line:90% But they loved it. 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:42.920 align:middle line:84% And one crow started hanging out with me to have lunch, 00:02:42.920 --> 00:02:46.760 align:middle line:84% and would-- and one day, the crow closed their eyes 00:02:46.760 --> 00:02:47.572 align:middle line:90% and leaned in. 00:02:47.572 --> 00:02:48.780 align:middle line:90% I don't know which was first. 00:02:48.780 --> 00:02:50.780 align:middle line:84% Maybe they leaned in and then closed their eyes. 00:02:50.780 --> 00:02:52.770 align:middle line:84% And I was like, is this an invitation? 00:02:52.770 --> 00:02:55.880 align:middle line:84% And I was allowed to pet their beak. 00:02:55.880 --> 00:02:57.570 align:middle line:90% And then ruffled this up here. 00:02:57.570 --> 00:02:58.070 align:middle line:90% Eventually. 00:02:58.070 --> 00:02:59.130 align:middle line:90% Those came later. 00:02:59.130 --> 00:03:00.773 align:middle line:90% But this was immediate. 00:03:00.773 --> 00:03:03.190 align:middle line:84% And then it looked at me like, all right, that was enough. 00:03:03.190 --> 00:03:04.660 align:middle line:90% And then they flew off. 00:03:04.660 --> 00:03:06.520 align:middle line:84% But they started bringing me gifts. 00:03:06.520 --> 00:03:08.790 align:middle line:84% And the gifts are in the back of the book. 00:03:08.790 --> 00:03:10.890 align:middle line:84% This is the hard cover, but there's-- 00:03:10.890 --> 00:03:13.403 align:middle line:84% they're beige over there, if you like beige. 00:03:13.403 --> 00:03:15.930 align:middle line:90% 00:03:15.930 --> 00:03:17.680 align:middle line:84% Well, you can't see them from here anyway. 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:19.890 align:middle line:84% But all the pictures of the crows, the crows gifts 00:03:19.890 --> 00:03:20.680 align:middle line:90% are there. 00:03:20.680 --> 00:03:23.520 align:middle line:84% And the first gift that I was given was a twig. 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:26.250 align:middle line:90% 00:03:26.250 --> 00:03:30.930 align:middle line:84% And I wasn't really certain it was for me at that moment, 00:03:30.930 --> 00:03:33.120 align:middle line:84% because I was up there a long time alone. 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:34.570 align:middle line:90% And I'm fine with that. 00:03:34.570 --> 00:03:35.320 align:middle line:90% I'm a Capricorn. 00:03:35.320 --> 00:03:36.100 align:middle line:90% I didn't care. 00:03:36.100 --> 00:03:37.440 align:middle line:90% I was busy. 00:03:37.440 --> 00:03:38.500 align:middle line:90% We wake up working. 00:03:38.500 --> 00:03:40.680 align:middle line:90% It's a curse. 00:03:40.680 --> 00:03:42.344 align:middle line:90% Right? 00:03:42.344 --> 00:03:43.674 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:03:43.674 --> 00:03:49.780 align:middle line:90% [LAUGHS] But we got a lot done. 00:03:49.780 --> 00:03:51.370 align:middle line:90% And everybody hates you for it. 00:03:51.370 --> 00:03:54.460 align:middle line:90% [LAUGHTER] 00:03:54.460 --> 00:03:57.220 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:03:57.220 --> 00:04:00.460 align:middle line:84% But the thing is, my Pisces friends were just 00:04:00.460 --> 00:04:02.870 align:middle line:84% on the edge of a knife the whole time during COVID, 00:04:02.870 --> 00:04:04.660 align:middle line:84% and I felt bad for them because they 00:04:04.660 --> 00:04:07.305 align:middle line:84% don't have my Capricorn-- whatever the hell I have. 00:04:07.305 --> 00:04:08.930 align:middle line:84% So I would be on the phone and be like, 00:04:08.930 --> 00:04:10.347 align:middle line:84% let's write a poem together, let's 00:04:10.347 --> 00:04:12.517 align:middle line:84% have these relationships with the refrigerators 00:04:12.517 --> 00:04:15.100 align:middle line:84% where we keep our bodies before they become our bodies-- we're 00:04:15.100 --> 00:04:18.310 align:middle line:84% doing all this stuff with them, but then I 00:04:18.310 --> 00:04:19.670 align:middle line:90% wanted to be alone longer. 00:04:19.670 --> 00:04:20.690 align:middle line:84% I don't know what's wrong with me. 00:04:20.690 --> 00:04:21.760 align:middle line:84% So I went down the Mojave Desert. 00:04:21.760 --> 00:04:23.302 align:middle line:84% Because nobody wanted to do an artist 00:04:23.302 --> 00:04:24.980 align:middle line:90% residency when lockdown ended. 00:04:24.980 --> 00:04:26.312 align:middle line:90% They were like, no. 00:04:26.312 --> 00:04:28.270 align:middle line:84% I'm going to Bermuda or whatever they're doing. 00:04:28.270 --> 00:04:29.680 align:middle line:90% I was like, I'll go. 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:32.680 align:middle line:84% And I got to live in the desert feeding coyotes and working 00:04:32.680 --> 00:04:33.890 align:middle line:90% with the kangaroo rats. 00:04:33.890 --> 00:04:38.230 align:middle line:84% And then, I talk my way into the MACRO in Rome, Italy, 00:04:38.230 --> 00:04:39.560 align:middle line:90% to be in an exhibit. 00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:42.565 align:middle line:90% And they were like, no. 00:04:42.565 --> 00:04:43.690 align:middle line:90% And I was like, no, really. 00:04:43.690 --> 00:04:45.250 align:middle line:84% I mean, you have to be a little assertive, 00:04:45.250 --> 00:04:47.680 align:middle line:84% because we're the ugly cousins of the art world, mostly. 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:49.816 align:middle line:90% Not here in Tucson, we're not. 00:04:49.816 --> 00:04:51.600 align:middle line:90% [CHEERING] 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:54.510 align:middle line:90% [CLAPS] 00:04:54.510 --> 00:04:58.700 align:middle line:84% And finally, they said, all right, but just 11 days, 00:04:58.700 --> 00:04:59.450 align:middle line:90% not a whole month. 00:04:59.450 --> 00:05:00.590 align:middle line:90% I was like, great. 00:05:00.590 --> 00:05:03.430 align:middle line:84% And then I would run down to the fountain. 00:05:03.430 --> 00:05:09.260 align:middle line:84% There was this statue of Artemis that just blew my mind. 00:05:09.260 --> 00:05:12.800 align:middle line:84% And she's this giant goddess, as she should be. 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:14.080 align:middle line:90% And then there was-- 00:05:14.080 --> 00:05:15.290 align:middle line:90% I was feeding the rats. 00:05:15.290 --> 00:05:17.120 align:middle line:84% I don't know what's going on with those rats in Rome. 00:05:17.120 --> 00:05:19.370 align:middle line:84% They're like, somebody's shampooing them or something. 00:05:19.370 --> 00:05:26.230 align:middle line:84% They're so soft, and they're just not what you expect. 00:05:26.230 --> 00:05:27.440 align:middle line:90% They really are not. 00:05:27.440 --> 00:05:28.990 align:middle line:90% And there was a woman-- 00:05:28.990 --> 00:05:31.910 align:middle line:84% I'm almost 60, she was probably like a decade older than me, 00:05:31.910 --> 00:05:34.660 align:middle line:84% and she was like, [SHUSHES] the police will arrest you 00:05:34.660 --> 00:05:38.770 align:middle line:84% if you-- so we would do look out for one another, feeding rats. 00:05:38.770 --> 00:05:40.690 align:middle line:84% And then they would just crawl right up, 00:05:40.690 --> 00:05:43.610 align:middle line:84% and be like-- you can pet them and they were very sweet. 00:05:43.610 --> 00:05:45.590 align:middle line:84% We need to stop killing these things, 00:05:45.590 --> 00:05:48.175 align:middle line:90% these creatures, these people. 00:05:48.175 --> 00:05:49.010 align:middle line:90% You know what? 00:05:49.010 --> 00:05:53.560 align:middle line:84% Let me just start reading from the-- oh, so-- 00:05:53.560 --> 00:05:54.540 align:middle line:90% oh, never mind. 00:05:54.540 --> 00:05:55.250 align:middle line:90% That's enough. 00:05:55.250 --> 00:05:57.100 align:middle line:90% [LAUGHTER]