A self-portrait told through intimate and literary profiles of his favourite personalities – which range from the famous to the unknown – John Waters invites readers to appreciate some of the figures who helped him form his own brand of neurotic happiness.

Among many others, Role Models features Waters’ musings on Johnny Mathis, Comme Des Garcons founder Rei Kawakubo, actress Patty McCormack, writers Tennessee Williams, Lionel Shriver and Ivy Compton-Burnett, insane martyr Saint Catherine of Siena, English novelist Denton Welch, ex-Manson follower Leslie van Houten, lesbian stripper Zorro, artist Cy Twombly and outsider pornographers Bobby Garcia and David Hurles.

From the sublime to the extreme, Role Models is a personal invitation into one of the most unique, perverse and hilarious artistic minds of our time.

“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. Role Models is as much a philosophical manifesto as it is an utterly hilarious and shamelessly entertaining read.” – Philip Hoare, author of Leviathan or, The Whale
 
“John Waters has a great gift for appreciation – whether for toothless lesbian strippers in Baltimore or the most rarified painters and writers of our day. He is a dandy who has 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
 
Praise for the US edition of Role Models:
“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 on very page that he’s both sentimental and good-hearted.” – New York Times Book Review
 
“A self-aware and thought-provoking work for anyone interested in why depressing plays, acidic novels and provocative films might actually make you a happier person.” – Time Out New York
 
“He 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.” – Washington Post
 
“Disarmingly unfiltered confessions that capture Waters' singular blend of weirdness and guileless honesty.” – San Francisco Chronicle
 
“With these lively, generous essays, Waters comes across as not just hilarious and perverse but also surprisingly sensible like an infinitely weirder David Sedaris.” – Boston Globe
 
“A wonderful present for every member of your Addams Family.” – Vanity Fair

John Waters is an American filmmaker, actor, writer and visual artist best know for his cult films, including Hairspray, Pink Flamingos and Cecil B. DeMented. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

Details

• Published 2nd December 2010
• B format hardback
• ISBN: 9781907616082
• Price £15.99

Rights

UK and Commonwealth