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From YouTube: Alison Bechdel | Arlington Reads | March 9, 2023
Description
Join us virtually for another Arlington Reads with Alison Bechdel
A
A
each
year,
offering
an
array
of
authors
to
talk
about
the
most
important
issues
of
our
time
and
I
see
many
familiar
faces
this
evening.
Thank
you
for
supporting
us
through
the
years
a
couple
of
thank
yous.
Thank
you
first
to
study
Studio
Theater
in
the
front
row
here
they
have
given
us
tickets
to
fun
home.
A
So
if
you
had
a
chance
to
participate
in
the
raffle
there's
still
time,
I
mean
please
don't
like
run
over
there
now,
but
at
some
point
in
the
evening,
please
there'll
be
tickets
available
for
the
production,
which
I
believe
is
in
June
and
also
a
big
big.
Thank
you
to
the
Friends
of
Arlington
Library
without
the
friends
and
their
annual
Book
Sales,
which
take
place
in
April
and
October,
or
so.
A
Okay,
so
a
couple
of
housekeeping
notes:
please
silence
devices
that
make
noise.
We
will
take
questions
from
the
audience
after
Allison
and
I
have
had
a
chance
to
talk
for
a
bit.
A
mic
will
be
placed
in
the
center.
Don't
be
shy,
all
questions
are
great.
It's
I
know
a
little
off-putting
to
sometimes
walk
up,
but
it's
really
the
best
placement
to
allow
for
hearing
the
question
and
also
allowing
everybody
to
participate.
We
do
expect
it
to
be
a
community
conversation.
A
I
have
Reams
and
reams
of
questions,
but
I
want
to
hear
from
all
of
you
as
well,
especially
those
of
you
who
have
not
been
with
us
previously.
If
you
haven't
purchased
one
of
Allison's
books
to
sign
this
evening,
you
can
do
so
after
the
program
at
the
one
more
page
table
out
in
the
lobby.
One
more
page
has
been
supporting
us
and
working
with
us
for
years,
they're,
an
independent
bookstore,
yay.
A
A
If
you've
never
been
down
there,
it's
an
experience,
but
it's
a
terrific
sale
and
in
fact
it's
one
of
the
best
community
events
we
have
going
and
it's
the
longest
running
recycling
program
in
Arlington,
yay,
all
right
and
finally,
keep
coming
back.
Keep
coming
back
to
programs
keep
coming
back
to
use
the
library,
the
Makerspace,
making
the
puzzles
upstairs.
A
On
the
second
floor,
Central
all
of
our
locations,
the
courthouse
library,
is
opening
next
month
we're
thrilled
that's
going
to
be
a
full-service
Library,
which
it
previously
has
not
been,
and
there
are
plans
on
the
books
to
create
a
library
in
Crystal
City.
So
there's
a
lot
going
on
in
in
library
world
over
the
next
year
year
and
a
half
but
Courthouse
will
open
next
week.
So
we're
very
excited
about
that.
A
A
Popular
ubiquitous,
voluminous,
challenging
and
often
gorgeous
graphic
novels
are
for
everyone.
They
are
the
intersection
of
the
visual
and
literary
Arts.
The
graphic
novel
connects
to
the
world
of
comics
and
comic
series.
Think
back
to
your
favorite
superhero
mine
was
Batman
the
detail
of
Japanese
manga,
underground
comics
of
the
1970s,
and
now
the
dog
man
series
by
Dave,
Pilkey,
El
Divo
by
CC
Bell
and
all
of
Reina
telgemeier's
books
just
to
name
a
couple.
A
A
A
In
2012
Bechtel
published
are
you
my
mother.
I
could
definitely
relate
to
that
book.
A
graphic
novel
that
export
explored
the
mother
child
Bond
through
bechtel's
relationship
with
her
own
mother,
as
well
as
the
writings
of
Virginia
Woolf
and
psychoanalyst
Alice
Miller
and
Donald
winicot
I'm
a
fan
of
Memoirs
and
was
pleased
to
discover
fun
home
ranked
number
three
on
the
New
York
Times
50
best
Memoirs
of
the
past
50
years,
a
list
that
was
published
in
2019.
That's
extraordinary.
Congratulations.
A
C
A
Okay,
well,
thank
you.
Speaking
of
libraries,
the
New
York
Times
published
a
love
letter
to
libraries
a
couple
of
weeks
ago,
I
think
Liz,
Egan
and
Erica
ackerberg.
How
many
saw
it
it's
a
great
piece,
go
back
and
find
it.
It's
an
essay
and
it's
pictures
from
a
number
of
libraries
across
the
country.
You
didn't
see
that
it's
a
great
piece
and
it
talks
about
libraries
and
their
role
and
meaning
in
communities.
C
C
Remember
that,
like
I,
can
take
out
any
of
these
books
really,
but
that's
not
the
memory
I
I'm
going
to
tell
us
about,
even
though
I
already
told
us
my
my
really
favorite
memory
is
when
it
occurred
to
me
at
age
19
that
I
could
look
up
homosexuality
in
the
card,
catalog
that
was
really
life-altering
like,
and
what
a
what
a
vivid
connection
to
the
information
I
wanted
there.
It
was
in
that
little
drawer.
It
was
like
the
key
to
the
kingdom
amazing
and,
of
course,
in
1979,
when
this
happened.
A
Right
no
I
I
have
heard
that
story
for
many
many
people,
including
people
who
grew
up
in
Arlington
and
used
this
library,
and
that
was
how
they
were
able
to
understand
the
kinds
of
feelings
they
were
having
and
and
have
language
for
it.
Things
are
are
different,
but
we'll
talk
a
little
bit
more
about
that
in
a
bit
earlier.
Today
you
spoke
with
students
at
Marymount,
yes,
and
it
was
a
great
conversation.
We've
done
that
for
a
number
of
years
at
least
one
of
our
authors.
A
We
have
an
afternoon
conversation
with
the
Marymount
students,
terrific
empathetic,
wonderful
questions,
smart,
they
read
fun
home
and
they
have
a
a
project
to
do
using
the
book
as
a
basis
for
that.
So
they
asked
terrific
questions.
I
borrowed
a
couple
of
them,
but
I
was
struck
by
here.
We
were
talking
about
literature
and
books
and
writing,
and
yet
Humanities
programs
across
the
country,
English
programs,
history
programs
in
particular-
are
either
sorely
undersubscribed
or
are
going
away
and
I
think
actually
marymounts
is
changed.
C
Well,
I,
you
know
I
guess
this
has
been
happening
slowly
for
a
while,
but
yeah
there
seems
to
be
a
lot
of
dire
news
coming
out
all
of
a
sudden
and
it
feels
really
upsetting
I.
Just
read
a
a
nice
column
that
Ross
douthit
wrote
in
response
to
the
long
New
Yorker
piece
about
the
death
of
the
English,
major
and
I
liked
how
honest
he
was
about
his
own
complicity,
and
it
makes
me
realize
my
own
complicity.
I
I,
really
don't
read
the
way
I
used
to
as
a
child.
C
C
It's
bad
and
I
keep
reading
listening
to
or
hearing
people
talk
on
podcasts
about
how
they've
tried
to
read
a
book
and
they
couldn't
do
it,
and
it's
made
me
really
feel
like
I
need
to
change
my
ways.
I
seriously
need
to
start
reading
again
find
a
way
to
do
it.
Get
off
of
these
devices,
I
mean
I'm.
Reading
all
the
time
but
I'm
reading
like
this
and
that
and
this
and
I
don't
even
remember
who
said
it
or
where
it
was.
A
Think
I
read
a
statistic
somewhere
where,
if
you
calculated
the
amount
of
time
you
spend
on
social
media
and
devoted
it
to
reading,
you
could
read
at
least
another
100
books
a
year.
I
found
that
staggering.
That's
that's
a
lot!
That's
a
lot
of
reading.
I've
also
heard
you
say
that
the
books
we
read
and
the
books
we
love
are
the
ones
that
tend
to
tell
us
a
lot
about
who
we
are.
C
Well,
I
think
coming
out
experience
like
look,
you
know
looking
up
homosexuality
in
the
card,
catalog
was
it
it
I
I
didn't
come
out
like
by
having
a
relationship
or
falling
in
love
with
someone.
I
fell
in
love
with
these
books,
who
were
telling
all
these
different
people's
stories
about
how
they
realized
they
were
gay.
So
it
was.
It
was
a
a
very
Library
focused
Moment
Like
of
self-revelation
that
came
completely
through
books
and
and
also
books
like
that
books
that
my
father
gave
me
helped.
C
A
Well,
I
I
can
remember
being
very
affected
by
books
that
I
read
when
I
was
in.
My
early
teens,
like
I,
can
still
remember,
A
Tree
Grows
in
Brooklyn.
Isn't
that
a
great
book?
Yes
and
but
sometimes
I,
can't
remember
the
book
I
read
last
week
and
I,
don't
know
whether
that's
just
getting
older
or
it's
just
that
there's
so
many
distractions
and
other
things
that
are
pulling
my
attention.
I
don't
have
the
luxury
of
really
getting
lost
in
a
story
and
identifying
with
a
character
and
the
emotions
it
gives
rise
to.
A
C
Well,
I
always
Drew.
Ever
since
I
could
hold
a
crayon
like
we
all
draw
as
children
I
just
never
stopped
I
just
always
kept
drawing.
Eventually,
when
I
was
around
seven
and
had
become
a
reader,
I
learned
that
I
could
tell
stories
with
the
drawings
and
I
would
draw
like.
You
know
scenes
with
people
talking
in
voice
balloons,
and
that
was
exciting,
but
mostly
I
just
drew
just
almost
compulsively
just
all
the
time
and.
A
C
A
C
Me
right
they
were,
there
were
always
art
supplies.
There
were
always
books.
My
parents
had
tons
of
books.
We
always
bought
books
like
books
were
one
thing
that
you
didn't
have
to
worry
about:
spending
money
on
and
I
I've
kept
up
that
Tradition.
Now
my
house
is
like
too
full
of
books,
which
I
never
thought
was
really
possible.
But
I
have
to
tell
you
it
is
it's
a
bit
of
a
problem.
A
A
Yes
and
I
had
two
sons
of
15
and
19
I
think
they
were
at
the
time
and
my
biggest
struggle
quandary
at
the
time
was
how
to
come
out
to
them
and
make
them
feel.
You
know
the
life
I
had
with
their
dad
was
as
valid
as
this
person.
I
am
in
touch
with
now,
and
my
older
son
was
the
first
one
I
spoke
with,
and
his
response
was
to
give
me
a
copy
of
fun.
Oh
my
God,
yes,
wow
wow,
that's
true,
true
story.
What
a
kid.
A
A
I
had
never
really
told
anyone
before
that
story
about
fun
home
and
the
impact
it
had
on
my
life,
but
I
I
believe
he
was
saying
it's
okay,
you
know
it's
going
to
be,
you
know
a
little
tumultuous
and
there
are
going
to
be
things
that
are
difficult
and
it's
and
it's
and
it's
good
to
be
who
you
are
so
yeah
I,
I
treasure
that
so
fun
home
when
you
began.
This
was
a
long
process
of
writing
this
book.
So
can
you
talk
a
little
bit
about
how
you
came
to
write
fun,
home.
C
This
book
is
a
story
that
I
really
wanted
to
tell
for
a
long
long
time.
It
focuses
around
my
father's
death
when
I
was
19
and
I
knew
pretty
soon
after
that
that
this
felt
like
a
story
that
I
needed
to
tell,
but
and
in
those
days
I
thought
one
day.
I
would
write
a
book
like
a
book
of
words
Pros,
but
the
big
problem
was:
nobody
knew
that
my
father
was
gay.
Nobody
knew
that
my
father
had
killed
himself.
C
C
But
at
the
point,
when
I
was
almost
40,
I
realized
I
I
still
needed
to
tell
this
story
and
that
now
maybe
it
was
possible
things
felt
like
they
had
changed
enough
over
that
those
20
years
where
it
didn't
wasn't
going
to
be
the
end
of
the
world.
If
people
found
out
my
dad
was
gay,
I
mean
I
was
gay.
I
was
out
and
also
conversation
around
things
like
suicide.
Different
mental
health
topics
had
become
much
more.
C
You
know
things
that
people
actually
talked
out
loud
about
so
I
I
started
work
on
the
on
this
book.
I
had
no
idea
how
I
was
going
to
do
it
at
that
point.
I
had
become
a
cartoonist
and
I
knew
it
would
be
graphic.
I
knew
it
would
be.
A
comic
book
in
large
part,
I
think
due
to
Art
spiegelman,
who
had
you
know,
just
changed
the
landscape
so
much
for
comics
when
he
wrote
Mouse
in
the
1980s,
which
I
saw
as
a
young
cartoonist.
C
So
I
worked
on
that
the
book
getting
trying
to
get
started
on
it.
I
gave
myself
a
year
to
work
on
it
before
I
told
my
mother.
That
I
was
doing
it.
I
knew
I
had
to
tell
her.
You
know,
there's
I
couldn't
write
this
whole
book
and
then
just
publish
it
with
without
her
knowing
what
was
going
on
so
then
we
had
this
like
intense
conversation
where
I
told
her
what
I
was
going
to
do.
It
was
really
scary
to
tell
her
that,
but
she
was
really
remarkable.
C
C
A
C
Talking
about
how
one
of
the
things
that
made
me
feel
so
compelled
to
tell
to
write
the
book
to
tell
this
story
was
that
I
never
really
properly
grieved
my
father,
because
the
actual
funeral
that
we
had
in
our
in
our
family
funeral
home,
which
was
so
surreal
and
crazy?
That's
the
title
of
the
book
comes
from
Funeral.
E
C
C
So
I
wanted
to
I
realized
that
part
of
what
I
needed
to
do
with
this
book
was
to
grieve.
My
father
I
needed
the
book
to
be
a
proper
funeral,
where
I
was
really
telling
the
truth
about
who
he
was,
which
did
not
happen
at
the
actual
funeral
so
and,
and
part
of
my
struggle
was
that
I
I
didn't
I
didn't
feel
grief,
I
didn't
feel
Sadness
the
way
you
would
expect
to
feel
sad
when
your
parent
dies
but
I
for
various
complicated
reasons
that
I
would
explore
in
future
books.
C
My
family
didn't
do
emotions
I
did
not
know
how
to
have
feelings
or
manage
my
feelings,
so
I
just
shut
them
all
down.
So
in
order
to
write
this
book,
I
realized
I
was
going
to
have
to
go
there
and
so
I
found
I
made
up
little
exercises
for
myself
to
try
and
access
my
grief
for
my
father
and
one
of
them
was
I
got
my
big
Norton
anthology
of
poetry
out,
and
my
father
was
always
telling
me
to
read
this
poem
or
that
poem
and
I
would
always
resist.
C
I
would
always
Rebel
and
like
I,
don't
want
to
read
your
stupid
old,
poems
dad
because
you
have
to
rebel
against
your
parents,
even
when
they're
telling
you
to
do
cool
things
like
read,
poetry,
but
what
I
did
was
I
picked
I
found
some
of
his
favorite
poems
some
Walt
Whitman
stuff,
many
poems
that
I
knew
that
he
loved
and
I
read
them
out
loud
as
if
I
was
reading
them
to
my
dad,
and
it
was
really
emotional.
It
was
I
would
just
start
sobbing,
like
two
words
in
and
I
had
to.
C
Just
you
know,
keep
keep
struggling
with
that
and
I
did
it
for
a
couple
months.
I
think
you
know
reading
a
poem
or
two
every
night,
and
it
helped
me
get
in
that.
You
know
space
of
missing
him
and
feeling
the
real
feelings
that
I
needed
to
feel
in
order
to
write
the
book.
It's
not
part
of
the
book.
I
didn't
write
about
this
in
the
book,
but
it
was
an
exercise
that
helped
me
to
do
the
emotional
part
of
the
writing.
A
C
I
always
was
fascinated
with
the
Jewish
tradition
of
rendering
your
garments.
When
you
hear
that
someone
has
died,
I
don't
know
if
people
actually
do
that,
but
you
know
you
wear
a
little
scrap
of
cloth
to
symbolize
the
rendering
of
your
garments,
but
I
I
I
did
that
too
I
I
put
on
a
shirt
I
have
to
confess
I
cheated
by
putting
on
a
shirt.
I
didn't
really
like
that.
A
C
I
mean
so
so
the
his
real
funeral
just
felt
like
kind
of
a
farce.
To
me
you
know
it
was
just
this
very
stilted
affair,
he's
in
the
casket
with
all
this
makeup,
and
we
had
always
made
fun
of
American
Funeral
rituals.
When
I
was
a
kid,
I
mean
that's
what
my
dad
did
for
a
living
and
we
just
all
thought
it
was
kind
of
ridiculous.
So
it
was
felt
really
wrong
that
he
was
going
through
that
himself.
C
A
C
It
was
really
an
interesting
challenge
to
write
a
book
that
was
successful.
I
mean
I
had
been
an
author
for
many
years.
Doing
my
Comics
my
decks
to
watch
out
for
cartoons,
but
you
know
they
reached
a
very
small
audience
and
fun
home
really
crossed
over
and
got
all
these
Awards
and
stuff,
and
it
was
really
daunting
to
think
about
how
I
was
going
to
follow
that
up.
Nobody
tells
you
that
so
for
a
long
time,
I
actually
thought
of
this
next
book.
C
As
a
book
about
relationships,
I
was
gonna
just
like
pick
little
aspects
of
different
Intimate,
Relationships
I'd
had
and
explore
the
notion
of
relationships
and
several
years
into
this
project
it
had
gotten
so
convoluted
and
over
intellectual
and
I
finally
realized
I'm,
not
writing
about
relationships.
That's
this
book
is
it's
it's
about
the
relationship
like
the
fundamental
relationship,
which
is
the
one
with
my
mother
and.
E
C
Faced
that
I
could
throw
it
over
crap,
and
you
know
find
the
true
things
that
I
wanted
to
say
about
relationships
and
your
mother
was
alive.
Yes,
this
was
a
much
yeah
I
mean
in
a
way.
Actually,
the
book
about
my
mother
is
in
a
is
a
recounting
of
telling
her
about
that.
I
was
going
to
write
the
book
about
my
father
and
our
process
around
that.
It
was
a
very
painful
period
of
time
where
I
was
showing
her
drafts.
C
C
A
We've
all
been
there
so
now,
I
I
I,
like
both
books,
I
I,
think
I
found
a
lot
of
are
You
My
Mother
resident
with
me
for
some
of
the
obvious
reasons
about
important
relationships:
daughters
and
mothers
in
particular
so
and
you've
moved
so
fun.
Home
was
gray
and
blue
in
Coloring
arguing.
My
mother
was
red
and
gray
and
now
you're
in
full
color,
and
so
what?
What
has
prompted
that
transition.
C
C
A
A
C
C
So
the
less
I
can
draw
the
better
in
the
early
stages
in
case
I
need
to
move
things
around
or
get
rid
of
a
whole
scene,
so
I
get
it
all
mapped
out
in
illustrator
and
then
I
printed
out
just
on
regular
paper
and
start
sketching
on
that
and
I.
Do
lots
of
sketching
successive
layers
of
sketching
with
tracing
paper.
I.
Take
lots
of
reference
photos
in
the
old
and
pre-digital
days.
A
A
On
PBS
you
can,
it
is
on
PBS
I
watched
it
the
other
evening.
It's
it's
terrific!
So
talk
a
little
bit
about
the
comic
scene
that
is
represented
in
that
period,
kind
of
the
70s
and
when
so,
first
it's
underground,
comics
and
I.
Remember
things
like
Fritz,
the
Cat
and
stuff
like
that.
But
then
there
was
this
whole
subgroup
of
lgbtq,
comic
writers
and
cartoonists
talk
a
little
bit
about
the
influences
of
some
of
those
feet.
You
know
like
who
are
some
of
your
favorites
in
that
in
that
time.
Well,.
C
C
It
was
the
first
edition
of
this
Anthology
comic
that
Howard
Cruz,
the
great
Howard
Cruz,
was
started,
started
doing
for
kitchen
sink
comics
for
this
underground
press,
and
it
was
such
a
great
comic
book
here
were
all
these
gay
men
and
lesbians,
and
he
Howard
was
very
intentional
about
wanting
to
include
like
50
men
and
women,
which
was
not
the
case
in
the
gay
world
at
that
time
was
very
segregated.
So
it
was
great
to
see
men
and
women
together
and
who
are
these
people
writing
comics
about
being
gay
and
I
suddenly
realized?
A
A
C
Do
yeah,
okay,
it
was
nice
to
have
a
break
after
doing
it
for
25
years,
I
was
really
I
needed
a
break,
but
I
have
been
missing
it
for
a
long
time.
There's
something
it's
nice
to
do
these
long-form
books
and
to
have
the
freedom
to
make
something
really
dense
and
long
and
deep.
But
it's
really
stressful
to
not
be
making
constant
progress.
You
know
like
I'll,
just
I'm,
very
bad,
at
procrastinating
and
with
dikes
I.
Couldn't
really
do
that.
C
I
had
to
make
a
comic
strip
every
two
weeks
and
I
was
just
constantly
producing
work,
which
was
very
satisfying
and
I
missed
that
bring
it
back
yes,
well,
I
sort
of
am
in
a
way
I'm
playing
with
the
the
project.
I'm
working
on
right
now
involves
bringing
the
characters
back.
It's
a
funny
project
that
is
a
mix.
C
I
feel
like
it's
a
mix
of
everything
I've
done
before
I,
it's
a
sort
of
a
memoir,
a
and
also
sort
of
like
my
friends
in
this
Memoir
are:
are
the
types
to
watch
out
for
characters
like
they're,
my
friends
who
live
in
live
down
the
hill
in
town
and
I?
Anyhow,
I
shouldn't
talk
too
much
about
it,
but
it's
really
fun
to
bring
them
back
and
okay
to
see
what
they're
all
doing
in
their
60s.
A
C
C
C
And
I
just
feel
so
grateful
and
so
lucky
it
took
a
long
time.
It
was
in
development
for
many
many
years
took
a
lot
of
turns,
but
part
of
that
was
because
Lisa
Crone,
the
playwright
and
Janine
tesori,
who
did
the
music
they
just
went
through
almost
as
much,
perhaps
just
as
much
torture
and
and
creative
experimentation
as
I
did.
Writing
the
book
to
come
up
with
this
analog
of
the
book.
This
adaptation
that
really
really
captures
the
essence
to
I
I.
Think
of
the
book
in
an
amazing
way.
A
We
talked
a
little
bit
about
banned
books
earlier
your
books,
at
least
fun
home,
has
been
banned
or
removed,
or
threatened
with
removal.
There's
a
lot
going
on
with
culture
wars.
At
the
moment
it
was
interesting
to
hear
you
say
earlier.
It
was
a
time
when
there
was
more
acceptance
and
freedom
and
it
seemed
like
yeah.
A
correct
and
the
American
Library
Association
tracks,
statistics
on
banned
books
and
they
are
being
threatened
with
removal
in
libraries,
both
school
and
public,
at
an
alarming
rate,
and
the
topics
are
usually
black
studies
and
lgbtq
subjects,
and
it's
scary
and
I
have
not
personally
experienced
a
threat
here
in
Arlington,
but
it
has
happened
in
Virginia.
It
happens
across
the
country.
There
are
things
going
on
where
the
legislation
they
are
hoping
to
hold
Librarians
accountable
by
perhaps
jailing
them,
we've
been
called
groomers.
A
Teachers,
people
who
encourage
free
thinking
and
making
your
own
choices
and
being
free
to
be
who
you
are
and
understand
who
you
are
in
the
world
and
so
it's
a
very
upsetting
time
and
I'm.
Just
you
know:
I'm
worried
that
yeah
there
were
sort
of
a
Halcyon
period
where
things
were
kind
of
okay,
and
now
it
was
going
the
opposite
direction
and
wondering
your
thoughts
about
that.
C
C
I,
don't
know
I,
don't
know
what
to
do.
What
should
we
do?
You
guys
vote
who
said
that?
Yes,
but
just
you
know,
we've
got
a
somehow
address
this
insane
polarization
like
we
have
to
start
talking
to
people
who
we
think
are
on
the
other
side,
because
they're
not
really
I,
don't
think
they
are
I.
Think
they're
just
falling
for
this.
C
It's
it's
weird.
Having
your
work
banned,
I,
I,
you
know
people
are
calling
this
book,
but
I've
written
about
my
life,
obscene
and
pornographic
I
have
a
picture
of
a
school
board
meeting
in
Kansas
City,
where
this
guy
is
holding
up
the
two
pages
of
my
book
that
have
naked
people
having
sex
on
them
at
a
school
board
meeting
and
I'm
the
one
being
called
pornographic
like.
Why
would
you
take
these
Pages
out
of
context
this,
and
you
know
this
scene?
C
That's
a
crucial
scene
in
the
book
and
hold
them
up
like
there's
some
kind
of
like
I.
Don't
even
know
it's
it's
crazy!
Oh,
oh
and
the
reason
this
particular
scene
came
to
my
attention
is
because
the
man
who
brought
this
book
to
the
school
board
to
complain
about
it
was
arrested
for
child
molestation.
Three
months
later,
I
mean
I,
know
and
they're,
calling
us
groomers
it's
crazy,
but
why
don't
you
want
kids
to
know
other
stuff.
A
Well,
what
if
you
hadn't,
been
able
to
go
to
the
library
and
look
up
in
the
card?
Calendar
I
know
homosexuality,
so
to
turn
away
from
that
a
little
bit.
Those
of
us
who
live
in
Arlington
recognize
that
the
budget
process
is
underway
and
there
will
be
an
opportunity
to
do
some
visioning
around
the
public
library
system
as
part
of
the
post-budget
process.
A
If,
if
you
haven't
didn't
read
the
fine
print
in
the
budget,
I'm
telling
you
now
there's
going
to
be
a
community
process
which
I
I'm
really
looking
forward
to
like
what
kind
of
Library
System
do
we
want
what
what
is
Meaningful
for
Arlington
at
this
time,
with
our
level
of
diversity
and
issues
around
Equity
Etc?
What
what
makes
sense
and
I'm
just
curious
what
you
think
the
future
of
the
of
the
public
library
is.
C
I
think
it
is
what
we're
doing
here
tonight.
I
think,
is
this
amazing
Library
this
place
is
incredible.
Thank
you.
I
I
saw
the
maker
space
earlier.
Do
you
know
about
that?
Wow
I
mean
this
place.
Is
amazing
and
just
it's
so
great
to
see
it
I
mean
I,
know
you're,
not
exactly
a
community
center,
but
it
feels.
A
We're
going
to
have
a
lot
of
interesting
conversations,
so
we'll
pause
right
now
you
and
I
and
we'll
turn
it
over
to
all
of
you.
I
know
you're
teaming
with
questions.
If
you've
been
thinking
about
them,
we
do
ask
please
that
you
come
up
to
the
the
microphone.
You
can
either
ask
something
what
we
haven't
already
discussed.
You
can
build
on
something
else.
That's
been
on
your
mind,
but
let's,
let's
make
this
a
real
Community
conversation.
Yes,
hi
hello,.
F
Hi
so
I,
how
do
I
start
this
you're,
the
commencement
speaker
for
skidmore's,
graduating
class
of
2018
and
I,
think
you
told
a
story
about
wearing
a
suit
for
the
first
time
at
your
graduation
and
oh
I
can't
believe
you
remember
that
and
photographer
sent
your
pictures
to
or
sent
you
pictures
of
the
man
behind
you
or
something
yeah,
and
the
same
thing
happened
to
me
really
yeah
wow.
He
sent
me
my
friend,
Jeff's
pictures
from
behind
me,
so
I
thought.
I
would
tell
you
that,
but.
C
Thank
you
down
now.
Yes,
for
sharing
that
story,
yeah
running
has
always
been
a
really
important
thing
for
me.
I
started
running
as
a
teenager
and
it's
like
I
I'm,
a
very
anxious
person
and
running,
is
always
soothed
me
and
calmed
me
down
and
I
I
went
for
many
years
without
running
I,
don't
know,
I
got
bored
with
it
or
got
had
an
injury
and
only
took
it
up
again
like
in
my
50s,
and
it's
really
been
life-saving.
C
G
C
C
C
C
Yeah
I
mean
that's,
I,
think
what
this
is
really
about
is
they
saw
that
it
didn't
work
to
attack
gay
people
so
now
they're
like
ramping
up
and
trying
trying
to
blame
trans
people,
and
it's
not
going
to
work.
You
know
it's
the
whole,
it's
just
all
the
smoke
and
mirrors
and
it's
all
gonna
that
doesn't
mean
we
don't
have
to
fight
it
right,
but
it's
just
I'm.
Sorry
I
keep
cursing
well.
A
A
C
I
How
do
you
think
that
when
you're
growing
up
going
to
English
classes
and
literature
classes
shaped
the
work
that
you
ended
up
doing
these,
especially
now
like
the
culture
around
English
classes,
has
changed
so
much
like
even
in
fun
home?
You
mentioned,
like
learning
about
James,
Joyce
and
Ulysses
in
college,
and
now
that's
been
to.
C
You
know:
I
I
had
a
funny
relationship
to
English
classes,
because
both
my
parents
taught
high
school
English
and
I
had
them
both
as
teachers,
which
was
also
surreal.
The
third
time
I've
used
that
word
tonight,
and
so
when
I
got
to
college
I
I
didn't
take
any
English
courses.
I
took
one
required
class
that
I
write
about
in
fun
home,
which
was
like
baffling
to
me.
We
were
reading
books
about
Jung
and
trying
to
Analyze
This
these
books,
symbolically,
which
I
just
wasn't
mentally
able
to
do
at
that
age.
C
Reading
I
kind
of
put
myself
on
a
program
and
I
was
living
in
New,
York
City
and
commuting
a
lot
on
the
train,
which
was
so
great
to
because
I
had
like
40
an
hour
and
a
half
a
day
to
just
read
and
I
would
just
read
book
after
book,
but
yeah
don't
do
that
anymore.
Anyhow.
I
hope
that
answered
your
question.
Yes
thank.
J
I
love
your
books,
thank
you
for
coming
and
I
love
the
Arlington
Library,
and
thank
you
for
all
that
you're
you're
you're
doing
my
question.
I
hope
is
we'll
bring
up
something
happy
and
that's
what
you
talk
a
little
bit
about
every
year.
I
look
forward
to
the
announcement
of
the
MacArthur
fellows
and
I.
Look
for
myself!
Never
happened.
J
Would
you
talk
a
little
bit
about
that
process?
You
know
we.
We
we
hear
little
tidbits,
you
know
you're
told
and
then
you're
told
sworn
to
secrecy.
Could
you
go
a
little
bit
beyond
that
about
what
your
experience
of
of
of
how
you
think
they
found
out
about
you
and
then
and
then
what
the
process
was
like
sure,
I.
C
C
But
yes
they
don't
you
you
get
a
phone
call
out
of
the
blue
and
I
happen
to
be
out
of
the
country.
I
was
in
Italy
at
an
artist's
residency
and
I
got
this
phone
call.
I
could
see
it
was
from
Chicago
and
I
I
didn't
answer
it
because
I
don't
know
because
I
was
in
Italy
and
who,
who
was
this
person
in
Chicago,
but
then
they
called
back
and
so
I
picked
up,
and
it
was
someone
who
said
they
were
from
the
MacArthur,
Foundation
and
I.
C
Just
kind
of
I
can't
remember
what
happened
next.
It
was
crazy,
it
was
you
know,
I
had
this
physical
response,
I
felt
like
weak
and
in
shock.
I
really
was
literally
in
shock,
and
they
said
you
can't
tell
anyone
until
we
make
the
Public
Announcement
I
think
there
was
like
a
week
or
two
weeks
between
that
time,
and
you
really
can't
tell
anyone.
C
And
then
they
they
come
and
make
a
movie
of
you.
They
make
little
films
of
all
the
fellows
to
introduce
their
work,
and
so
someone
came
to
Italy
and
shot
this
film
and
it
had
to
be
secretive.
I
had
to
like
make
up
some
lie
about
why
this
film
crew
is
coming
to
the
to
the
artist
Colony,
and
then
they
make
this
public
announcement
and
I
just
started.
Getting
a
million
emails.
I
was
sitting
there
watching
my
computer
just
fill
up
with
email
after
email
after
email
from
everyone.
I
knew
from
my
whole
life.
C
C
K
Hi,
thank
you
for
being
here.
This
is
unoriginal,
but
it
is
surreal
to
be
able
to
ask
you
a
question
so
big
fun
of
your
artwork,
obviously
you're
incredible,
but
you
also
have
such
an
incredible
range
of
styles.
So
the
question
that
I
wanted
to
ask.
You
was
in
all
of
the
work
that
you
do,
and
you
mentioned
that
you
did
reference
pictures.
How
do
you
decide
how
much
detail
you're
going
to
fill
a
frame
or
panel
with
because
I
mean
just
in
terms
just
in
the
stuff?
K
That's
been
up
on
the
screen,
there's
like
different
textures,
different
levels
of
detail.
As
someone
who
like
tries
to
draw
I
try
to
like
fill
in
a
tree
and
then
I'm
like
three
trees,
looks
weird:
why
not
seven
and
seven
isn't
much
if
you
have
a
process
or
any
advice
or
how
you
think
about
those
things,
I'd
love
to
no.
C
You
can
do
it
visually.
You
can
do
it
in
the
text,
but
hopefully
you
do
it
in
some
kind
of
combination
of
the
two
that,
where
they're,
not
overlapping,
you're,
not
saying
anything
in
the
words
that
you
can
show
in
the
picture
and
you're
not
including
something
in
the
picture
that
you
could
do
more
efficiently
with
words.
So
it's
just
solving
these
problems
all
the
time
like
what
needs
to
happen
in
this
panel.
What's
the
information,
and
then
you
just
you
know
you
only
have
it's
not
in
you.
C
C
L
Hi,
hello
so
pleased
that
you're
here
actually
you're
the
only
like
public
figure,
I've
ever
wanted
to
ask
a
question
and
I'm
gonna
I'm
glad
that
I
get
to
finally
ask
it,
and
so
you
deal
with
very
challenging
topics
in
your
work.
Sometimes
things
that
are
like
kind
of
intense
for
other
people.
You've
talked
about
sexuality,
family
relationships
and
including
the
relationships
of
people
that
you
know
very
closely,
and
they
know
people
very
closely
and
there's
just
network
of
relationships.
C
Yes,
yeah,
it's
really,
it's
quite
a
risk
to
write
about
real
people
and
I
I
feel
like
I
I
did
both
damage
my
relationship
with
my
mother
and
enrich
it
through
this
process,
so
it
was
very
complicated.
Some
some
things
were
lost
some
ways.
There
were
some
ways
that
she
didn't
trust
me
after
I
did
this,
but
also
we
we
spent
a
lot
of
time
together
that
we
wouldn't
have
if
I
weren't
doing
this
project.
We
we
talked
about
things
that
we
wouldn't
have
talked
about.
C
C
Remember
about
me,
go
for
it,
but
she
she
never
did,
but
I
try
to
I
try
to
show
people
what
I'm
doing
if
they're
in
the
work
and
try
to
get
their
buy-in,
you
know
make
sure
people
are
okay
with
it,
which
just
feels
like
the
ethical
thing
to
do
yeah
so
far,
I
don't
think
I
have
well.
There
are
always
little
issues,
there's
still
some
issues
with
my
family,
but
we
won't
go
into
this.
C
M
So
in
fun,
home
there's
this
part
where
you
talk
about
your
journal
entries
and
how
sometimes
like
it
was
difficult
for
you
to,
like
necessarily
like
specify
detail,
you'd
cross
things
out
you'd,
so
like
I
I
was
wondering
like
in
terms
of
like
graphic
novels.
Is
there
a
way
like
where
words
fail,
you
and
pictures
sort
of
take
up
that
extra
space
and
convey
things
that
get
left
out
in
your
writing?.
C
That's
a
really
good
question,
but
I
I
yeah
you
you
mentioned
that
my
like
childhood,
obsessive,
compulsive
phase
where
I
was
making
these
journal
entries,
but
obscuring
them
with
my
like
repetitive
marks
that
I
couldn't
stop
myself
from
making
I
feel
like
yeah.
In
a
way,
I
was
really
struggling
with
language,
like
the
ability
of
language
to
convey
the
truth.
I
was
learning
that
language
is
very
imprecise.
Language
can
lie,
language
can
misrepresent
and
I
think
in
some
ways.
C
C
N
N
To
the
library,
so
it
all
comes
full
circle,
but
my
question
was
I,
now
teach
eighth
grade
and
I'm
the
GSA
sponsor,
not
math
I,
don't
teach
math
I
promise,
they
saw
my
transcript
script
and
we're
like
don't
do
that
and
something
my
students
always
ask
me
about:
is
finding
community
and
they're
like
I
Googled
it
and
I
couldn't
find
anything
because
they're
13
year
olds
and
so
I
guess
I
wanted
to
ask
you.
How
did
you
end
up
finding
your
community.
C
I
found
it
by
drawing
it
honestly,
I
I
did
have
a
community,
but
real
Community
was
always
sort
of
hard
for
me.
Just
because
I'm,
a
shy
person
and
I
always
felt
like
I,
wasn't
doing
things
right
and
socially
awkward
and
I
in
many
ways
that
that
is
why
I
drew
the
comic
strip
was
so
I
could
have
these
people,
these
Dependable
friends
who
I
didn't,
have
to
worry
what
they
thought
of
me,
because
I
was
creating
them.
C
C
B
B
How
did
you
overcome
a
fear
of
kind
of
putting
so
much
of
your
really
really
intensely
personal
and
intimate
feeling
into
the
open,
like
you
know,
one
thing
for
strangers
to
read
it
and
and
see
and
feel
those
things,
but
for
people
who
know
you
well,
but
maybe
didn't
have
that
you
know
perspective
of
how
you
were
feeling
like.
Did
you
were
you
afraid
of
that
kind
of
I.
C
C
I
I'm
I'm,
very
shy
and
I
and
I
feel
often
very
conscious
of
my
isolation
from
other
people.
My
otherness,
my
disconnection,
and
so
the
writing
is
where
I
address
that
it's,
how
I
get
out
of
my
little
shell,
my
little
Silo
and
try
and
reach
out
to
other
people
who
might
be
feeling
these
things
right.
Yeah,
yeah,
great
question:
we're.
B
H
Hello
hi,
so
there's
been
a
little
bit
said
tonight
about
the
plight
of
English
Majors
and
it's
become
sort
of
a
cliche
that
Humanities
Majors
can't
get
a
job.
I
was
just
wondering
if
you
have
any
thoughts
on
on
that
process
of
going
from
being
a
student
to
being
someone
who
wants
to
to
make
a
living
off
of
their
passion.
O
C
O
C
C
C
Everyone
really,
you
know:
I
I
love
the
cartoons
of
oh
now,
I'm
going
blank
on
her
name,
the
woman
who
wrote
hark
a
vagrant
and
just
came
out
Kate
Beaton,
she's
someone.
You
should
all
learn
about.
If
you
don't
know
her
work,
she
wrote
this
really
funny
web
comic
about
history
and
literature.
That's
just
hilarious
and
she
just
wrote
a
graphic
Memoir
about
her
time,
working
in
the
tar
Sands
of
Alberta
to
pay
back
her
student
loans.
Really
amazing
book.
C
A
P
You
hi
I
want
to
say
that
this
book
helped
me
out
a
lot
when
I
just
sort
of
realized
that
I'm,
bisexual
and
I
wanted
to
ask
that
when
you
wrote
this,
what
sort
of
Ripple
effects
did
you
think
that
this
was
gonna
have,
if
any
at
all,
and
if
you
could
go
back
to
the
person
that
you
were
when
you
wrote
this
book?
What
would
you
tell
them?
Well.
C
I
didn't
I,
didn't
have
any
idea
that
the
book
would
have
the
impact
that
it
did
like
I
said,
I
was
used
to
this
very
small,
you
know
subcultural
audience
and
to
suddenly
have
like
middle-aged
straight
people.
Reading
my
books
was
like
you
know,
having
their
having
it
in
their
book
clubs.
It
was
just
so
wild
and
then
the
musical
and
just
you
know
just
getting
so
much
attention
for
this
book
that
was
very
intimate.
Project
has
been
obviously
life-altering.
E
E
Q
So
I
will
admit:
I
am
not
an
avid
comic
or
graphic
novel
reader,
but
I
was
introduced
to
your
work
through
fun,
home
the
musical,
and
that
was
a
really
formative
piece
of
theater
for
me
in
the
years
before
I
came
out
and
got
me
through
a
really
difficult
time.
So
thank
you
for
that
so
glad.
But
one
of
the
like
big
moments
in
the
show
is
the
song
Ring
of
keys.
D
Q
He
talks
about
you
as
a
child,
seeing
a
Butch
lesbian
out
in
person
for
the
first
time
like
seeing
all
the
possibilities
of
who
you
could
be
and
I
know
that
as
queer
people,
our
relationships
with
masculinity
and
femininity
can
be
both
very
restrictive,
but
also
liberating
and
I'd.
Love
to
hear
about
how
your
relationship
with
the
two
has
both
restricted
and
liberated.
You.
E
C
C
C
C
R
The
one
that
always
Springs
to
mind
when
I
tell
people
about
your
work
is
the
one
where
Mo
says
she
has
a
new
rule
and
the
rule
is
she's
not
going
to
get
in
bed
with
a
woman
until
she's
met
that
woman's
mother
and
then
immediately
meets
that
woman's
mother
really
the
same
day.
Yes,
oh
a
lot
of
public
pool
and
I
I
was
just
wondering
if,
for
whatever
reason
like
do
you
have
any
of
either
your
Comics
or
anybody
else's
Comics
that
you
find
yourself
going
back
to
often.
C
I
love,
Tintin,
comics,
I,
didn't
discover
them
until
I
was
in
college.
I
didn't
read
them
as
a
child,
but
when
I
did
find
them,
I
was
like.
Oh,
my
God.
These
are
amazing
and
I
will
every
once
in
a
while
I'll
reread
all
of
them.
I
just
love
those
those
books,
but
I
just
want
to
say
something
about
graphic
novels.
Like
that's
one
kind
of
reading
that
I
think
you
can't
do
on
a
screen
or
a
Kindle
or
your
phone
like.
C
E
D
D
E
C
I
I
have
failed
to
do
so.
I,
don't
I,
don't
I
haven't
brought
it
home
to
rural
Pennsylvania.
I
had
to
leave
there
in
order
to
do
the
work
and
I
go
back
to
see
my
family,
but
not
I,
know
I
still
I
sort
of
regressed
to
you
know
being
a
child
when
I'm
in
Pennsylvania,
like
I,
don't
want
to
get
anyone
mad
at
me.
You're.
C
C
D
C
A
A
A
To
the
question
earlier
about
in
your
comment
about
finding
what
you
love,
I,
can't
imagine
a
better
job
for
me.
I
can't
imagine
working
with
a
better
Community
than
the
community.
I
grew
up
in
which
is
Arlington.
You
all
make
these
evenings
what
they
are
and
can
be,
and
so
your
support
means
everything
to
me
and
the
staff.
So
thank
you
for
being
this
here
this
night
and
every
night,
and
we
look
forward
to
seeing
you
in
the
fall.