John Waters on Working for Mary Oliver in Her Bookstore

In this week’s episode of A Phone Call From Paul, Paul Holdengraber and John Waters discuss his new memoir, Mr. Know-It-All (or as he describes, a “self-help book for lunatics,” what he’s reading this summer, and his experience working for Mary Oliver at her bookstore in Provincetown.

From the episode:

John Waters: When I worked for Mary Oliver and Molly Malone, I could only work when it rained because that’s when the stores got crowded in Provincetown. Wherever I was, if it started raining, I’d run to work. They also said I could take any book for free if I sold them. It was so smart, because this was in the 60s when everybody stole everything, so I didn’t steal. Also, I read everything and that’s how I got my education. It was like going to college . . . since I didn’t even go to school. I learned from working there, yet I sold all the books I read and liked. It was worth it. It was a really smart thing to do, from a management’s viewpoint.

Paul Holdengraber: John, are you talking about Mary Oliver, the poet?

JW: Yes, yes! This was around 1965-1966, and she had just one poem that had come out. She just died; I knew her forever and ever. I knew her girlfriend, Molly, who was great too. They had this bookshop where you were allowed to be mean to the customers. It was really fun. These people would come in and say, “Do you have Valley of the Dolls?” Molly would yell, “Get out! We don’t carry that book!” If anyone said anything bad about Norman Mailer, they would snatch the book out of the person’s hand and throw them out. . . . The customer was always wrong. Mary, at that time, was really dark. She would be in the back chain-smoking in a peacoat when it was 100 degrees out. She obviously accrued an amazing career and had great success, and I loved her and I got along with her great. She was very different than people think about her. She was no sweet little earth mother. She was fun and really lovely, but she did not suffer fools in any way. She had little patience for people that weren’t very smart. I used to kid with her about crawling around the woods talking to animals, that I was going to call the police if I saw her.  I loved her very much.

PH: The way you describe her now is so different than we imagine her reading her poems.

JW: I know! She was funny and lovely. She believed all that; I’m not saying anything wasn’t completely legitimate because everything she wrote was real. She went on nature walks, but she also fought with the neighbors all the time. She was a drama queen.