"John Waters "is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and visual artist best known for his cult films, including "Hairspray," "Pink Flamingos," and "Cecil B. DeMented." He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.
Praise for "Role Models""Waters is a greater National Treasure than
90 percent of the people who are given 'Kennedy Center Honors' each
December. Unlike those gray eminences of the show-business
establishment, Waters doesn't kowtow to the received wisdom, he
flips it the bird . . . [Waters] has the ability to show humanity
at its most ridiculous and make that funny rather than repellent.
To quote his linear ancestor W.C. Fields: It's a gift.""
--"Jonathan Yardley, "The Washington Post""His acolytes won't need
a reviewer's say-so to lap up every word of "Role Models," . . .
But dilettantes at liberty to skip around will find a lot to charm
them. In a way, the best joke is that - Baader-Meinhof gang,
outsider porn and all"--"Waters can't help revealing one very page
that he's both sentimental and good-hearted. Pass the relish, Uncle
John."" --"Tom Carson, "New York"" Times Book Review""If Waters
began his career by seeking to infuriate, he now has mellowed to a
place of gleeful tweaking. 'Role Models' is charming and chatty . .
. it also reveals the making of a unique American artist through
his influences. When he calls for people to make him a cult leader
of filth "--"having left trash behind for becoming too
acceptable"--"it's hard for any outsider not to want to follow
along." "--"Carolyn Kellogg, "Los Angeles"" Times ""Waters may not
be a gloater, but there is a delightful lunatic glee that pulses
through the book. It combusts in the final chapter, titled 'Cult
Leader, ' which exhorts readers to rise up against the 'tyranny of
good taste, ' wear their belts off center, and infiltrate living
creches. Happily, for all the reflective and tender moments, Waters
never suppresses his radiant pervert self." --Liz Brown,
"Bookforum.com""What is exhilarating about Waters is that he's not
kidding, that he's the reporter, comedian and poet-in-chief of a
fantasy cult which thinks 'there's only one way to die--spontaneous
combustion. The unexplained phenomenon of being so guilty and
happy, so obsessed, so driven and so fanatical that you just burst
into flames for no apparent reason on the street.' He remains one
of our most necessary fellow Americans." --Jeff Simon, "The Buffalo
News" "The collision of the eloquent and the profane is probably
the best reason to read this quasimemoir-cum-how-to, aside from its
deeper philosophy: judge not lest ye have the whole story, indulge
your inner pervert (within reason), and read, for the love of
Divine. Waters puts it another way: 'I believe in the opposite of
original sin. I don't believe anybody is born guilty or evil.'
Glory-hole-lujah. Amen." --Heather McCormack, "Library
Journal""["Role Models "is] an impressive, heartfelt collection by
a true American iconoclast." --"Kirkus Reviews "(starred)"Apart
from its consistently engaging voice, both casual and eloquent . .
. what makes "Role Models" more than just the latest expression of
a great American oddball is its appearance at a time when nearly
every segment of society (hipsters, meet Tea Partiers) feels
justified in dehumanizing anyone they deem as the other. Waters
never does that, even to the truly abhorrent. This man who never
sought respectability may have become the most affectionate and
radical humanist in American letters." --Charles Taylor, "Barnes &
Noble Review""How did somebody from a quiet Baltimore neighborhood
grow up to become the outlandish, brilliant, and insane John
Waters? Two words: "Johnny Mathis."" --Augusten Burroughs, author
of "Running with Scissors""A delirious descent into Waters World,
"Role Models "is a true-life confessional from one of America's
greatest ironists. John Waters is a man always ready and willing to
say the unsayable. He is the dark mirror of contemporary culture.
From haute couture to low culture, from literary outsiders to
lapsed actors, he delivers razor-sharp pen portraits of the women
and men who have perverted and inspired him by turns. And yet
Waters's warped imagination is always humane, his judgments
insightful. "Role Models "is as much a philosophical manifesto as
it is an utterly hilarious and shamelessly entertaining read."
--Philip Hoare, author of "The Whale""John Waters has a great gift
for appreciation--whether for toothless lesbian strippers in
Baltimore or the most rarefied painters and writers of our day. He
is a dandy who has done away with everyone else's hierarchies and
created a new world that conforms only to his own taste for trash
and the sublime. He is frank, funny, and (strangely enough) both
sensible and outrageous." --Edmund White, author of "City
Boy""Waters is a greater National Treasure than 90 percent of the
people who are given 'Kennedy Center Honors' each December. Unlike
those gray eminences of the show-business establishment, Waters
doesn't kowtow to the received wisdom, he flips it the bird . . .
[Waters] has the ability to show humanity at its most ridiculous
and make that funny rather than repellent. To quote his linear
ancestor W.C. Fields: It's a gift." --Jonathan Yardley, "The
Washington Post" "His acolytes won't need a reviewer's say-so to
lap up every word of "Role Models," . . . But dilettantes at
liberty to skip around will find a lot to charm them. In a way, the
best joke is that - Baader-Meinhof gang, outsider porn and
all--Waters can't help revealing one very page that he's both
sentimental and good-hearted. Pass the relish, Uncle John." --Tom
Carson, "New York Times Book Review""" "If Waters began his career
by seeking to infuriate, he now has mellowed to a place of gleeful
tweaking. 'Role Models' is charming and chatty. . . it also reveals
the making of a unique American artist through his influences. When
he calls for people to make him a cult leader of filth --having
left trash behind for becoming too acceptable--it's hard for any
outsider not to want to follow along." --Carolyn Kellogg, "Los
Angeles Times" "The cult director's memoirs are always so witty and
pleasurable that you want to read whole chapters aloud."
--"Details""" "What Vasari is to the lives of the artists, what
Burke is to the peerage, what the Social Register is to the elite,
so is John Waters to the lunatic fringe. In "Role Models," John
Waters makes us gasp with admiration and joy at these defiant prime
ribs of America's underbelly." --John Guare, author of "Six Degrees
of Separation"
Praise for "Role Models"“Waters is a greater National Treasure than
90 percent of the people who are given ‘Kennedy Center Honors’ each
December. Unlike those gray eminences of the show-business
establishment, Waters doesn't kowtow to the received wisdom, he
flips it the bird . . . [Waters] has the ability to show humanity
at its most ridiculous and make that funny rather than repellent.
To quote his linear ancestor W.C. Fields: It’s a gift.”" —"Jonathan
Yardley, "The Washington Post"“His acolytes won’t need a reviewer’s
say-so to lap up every word of “Role Models,” . . . But dilettantes
at liberty to skip around will find a lot to charm them. In a way,
the best joke is that – Baader-Meinhof gang, outsider porn and
all"—"Waters can’t help revealing one very page that he’s both
sentimental and good-hearted. Pass the relish, Uncle John.”" —"Tom
Carson, "New York"" Times Book Rev
Waters waxes poetic about the books, artists, and individuals who have influenced him in this desultory memoir, and his selections have a fascinating range, from the novels of Ivy Compton-Burnett to Leslie Van Houten (of Charles Manson fame). His choice to narrate may have seemed a given; after all, fans would appreciate hearing his delivery and distinctive high-pitched voice. However, his projection is inconsistent from word to word, and listeners will have to continually adjust the volume to better hear him. He does convey a certain charm and rhythm with his narration, but it's not enough to compensate for the challenging soundscape. A Farrar, Straus, and Giroux hardcover (Reviews, May 3). (June) Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.
Praise for "Role Models""Waters is a greater National Treasure than 90 percent of the people who are given 'Kennedy Center Honors' each December. Unlike those gray eminences of the show-business establishment, Waters doesn't kowtow to the received wisdom, he flips it the bird . . . [Waters] has the ability to show humanity at its most ridiculous and make that funny rather than repellent. To quote his linear ancestor W.C. Fields: It's a gift."" --"Jonathan Yardley, "The Washington Post""His acolytes won't need a reviewer's say-so to lap up every word of "Role Models," . . . But dilettantes at liberty to skip around will find a lot to charm them. In a way, the best joke is that - Baader-Meinhof gang, outsider porn and all"--"Waters can't help revealing one very page that he's both sentimental and good-hearted. Pass the relish, Uncle John."" --"Tom Carson, "New York"" Times Book Review""If Waters began his career by seeking to infuriate, he now has mellowed to a place of gleeful tweaking. 'Role Models' is charming and chatty . . . it also reveals the making of a unique American artist through his influences. When he calls for people to make him a cult leader of filth "--"having left trash behind for becoming too acceptable"--"it's hard for any outsider not to want to follow along." "--"Carolyn Kellogg, "Los Angeles"" Times ""Waters may not be a gloater, but there is a delightful lunatic glee that pulses through the book. It combusts in the final chapter, titled 'Cult Leader, ' which exhorts readers to rise up against the 'tyranny of good taste, ' wear their belts off center, and infiltrate living creches. Happily, for all the reflective and tender moments, Waters never suppresses his radiant pervert self." --Liz Brown, "Bookforum.com""What is exhilarating about Waters is that he's not kidding, that he's the reporter, comedian and poet-in-chief of a fantasy cult which thinks 'there's only one way to die--spontaneous combustion. The unexplained phenomenon of being so guilty and happy, so obsessed, so driven and so fanatical that you just burst into flames for no apparent reason on the street.' He remains one of our most necessary fellow Americans." --Jeff Simon, "The Buffalo News" "The collision of the eloquent and the profane is probably the best reason to read this quasimemoir-cum-how-to, aside from its deeper philosophy: judge not lest ye have the whole story, indulge your inner pervert (within reason), and read, for the love of Divine. Waters puts it another way: 'I believe in the opposite of original sin. I don't believe anybody is born guilty or evil.' Glory-hole-lujah. Amen." --Heather McCormack, "Library Journal""["Role Models "is] an impressive, heartfelt collection by a true American iconoclast." --"Kirkus Reviews "(starred)"Apart from its consistently engaging voice, both casual and eloquent . . . what makes "Role Models" more than just the latest expression of a great American oddball is its appearance at a time when nearly every segment of society (hipsters, meet Tea Partiers) feels justified in dehumanizing anyone they deem as the other. Waters never does that, even to the truly abhorrent. This man who never sought respectability may have become the most affectionate and radical humanist in American letters." --Charles Taylor, "Barnes & Noble Review""How did somebody from a quiet Baltimore neighborhood grow up to become the outlandish, brilliant, and insane John Waters? Two words: "Johnny Mathis."" --Augusten Burroughs, author of "Running with Scissors""A delirious descent into Waters World, "Role Models "is a true-life confessional from one of America's greatest ironists. John Waters is a man always ready and willing to say the unsayable. He is the dark mirror of contemporary culture. From haute couture to low culture, from literary outsiders to lapsed actors, he delivers razor-sharp pen portraits of the women and men who have perverted and inspired him by turns. And yet Waters's warped imagination is always humane, his judgments insightful. "Role Models "is as much a philosophical manifesto as it is an utterly hilarious and shamelessly entertaining read." --Philip Hoare, author of "The Whale""John Waters has a great gift for appreciation--whether for toothless lesbian strippers in Baltimore or the most rarefied painters and writers of our day. He is a dandy who has done away with everyone else's hierarchies and created a new world that conforms only to his own taste for trash and the sublime. He is frank, funny, and (strangely enough) both sensible and outrageous." --Edmund White, author of "City Boy""Waters is a greater National Treasure than 90 percent of the people who are given 'Kennedy Center Honors' each December. Unlike those gray eminences of the show-business establishment, Waters doesn't kowtow to the received wisdom, he flips it the bird . . . [Waters] has the ability to show humanity at its most ridiculous and make that funny rather than repellent. To quote his linear ancestor W.C. Fields: It's a gift." --Jonathan Yardley, "The Washington Post" "His acolytes won't need a reviewer's say-so to lap up every word of "Role Models," . . . But dilettantes at liberty to skip around will find a lot to charm them. In a way, the best joke is that - Baader-Meinhof gang, outsider porn and all--Waters can't help revealing one very page that he's both sentimental and good-hearted. Pass the relish, Uncle John." --Tom Carson, "New York Times Book Review""" "If Waters began his career by seeking to infuriate, he now has mellowed to a place of gleeful tweaking. 'Role Models' is charming and chatty. . . it also reveals the making of a unique American artist through his influences. When he calls for people to make him a cult leader of filth --having left trash behind for becoming too acceptable--it's hard for any outsider not to want to follow along." --Carolyn Kellogg, "Los Angeles Times" "The cult director's memoirs are always so witty and pleasurable that you want to read whole chapters aloud." --"Details""" "What Vasari is to the lives of the artists, what Burke is to the peerage, what the Social Register is to the elite, so is John Waters to the lunatic fringe. In "Role Models," John Waters makes us gasp with admiration and joy at these defiant prime ribs of America's underbelly." --John Guare, author of "Six Degrees of Separation"
Praise for "Role Models""Waters is a greater National Treasure than 90 percent of the people who are given 'Kennedy Center Honors' each December. Unlike those gray eminences of the show-business establishment, Waters doesn't kowtow to the received wisdom, he flips it the bird . . . [Waters] has the ability to show humanity at its most ridiculous and make that funny rather than repellent. To quote his linear ancestor W.C. Fields: It's a gift."" -"Jonathan Yardley, "The Washington Post""His acolytes won't need a reviewer's say-so to lap up every word of "Role Models," . . . But dilettantes at liberty to skip around will find a lot to charm them. In a way, the best joke is that - Baader-Meinhof gang, outsider porn and all"-"Waters can't help revealing one very page that he's both sentimental and good-hearted. Pass the relish, Uncle John."" -"Tom Carson, "New York"" Times Book Rev
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