Filmmaker Waters Works Blue, but Most Love His Luncheon Talk

-- Library Journal, 04/02/2007

Filmmaker, writer, and all-around provocateur John Waters, a Baltimore native, is hardly known for decorum (check out the cult movie Pink Flamingos), so librarians should've known they wouldn't be getting a typical presentation at the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) luncheon Friday. Indeed, Waters' rollicking and often blue talk had librarians rolling in the aisles—and, in a few cases, walking out of the room. "I know you belie the fuddy-duddy perception of librarians," Waters said opening his push-the-boundaries performance. "You've read too much, you're twisted people." He then twisted further with hilarious commentary on homosexuality, masturbation, "teabagging" (don't ask, but if you must), the church, and even Jackie Kennedy Onassis. It did have a library point, at times; Waters was a living plea for freedom of expression.

Waters also offered advice for making libraries cool again. Of course, those suggestions might not pass the provost's muster; they included highlighting the dirty parts in books, urging librarians to go nude for a day or pretending they're on drugs, and suggesting people sleep only with librarians for a year. "Everybody has been thanking us for having such an engaging speaker," said ACRL president Pamela Snelson afterward. "We had more people at that luncheon than we ever had before. It's all about freedom of speech. We have to walk the walk." (One more critical attendee called it "shameless self promotion," according to a Baltimore Sun account.) A day later, when Temple University's Steven Bell moderated a panel session on technology and change, he opened by observing, "Any conference where the lunch speaker drops the F-bomb—that's a group of librarians that's ready for change." (Here's a somewhat tamer ACRL podcast from Waters.)