--- description: "It's your turn to cause trouble" title: John Waters's Viral Commencement Address to Be Published as Book image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76b27dab8e666829/698866305f570f31ccb1da46/john-waters.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # John Waters's Viral Commencement Address Will Be Published in Book Form by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 30, 2015 4:22 PM CUT  John Waters attends John Waters "Carsick" Book Launch Party at PowerHouse Arena on May 27, 2015 in New York City. John Waters attends John Waters "Carsick" Book Launch Party at PowerHouse Arena on May 27, 2015 in New York City.Anna Webber—Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 30, 2015 4:22 PM CUT John Waters’s 2015 commencement address to the graduates of the Rhode Island School of Design [will be published as a book](http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2015/09/30/john-waterss-viral-commencement-speech-is-becoming-a-book/ "undefined"). The director and self-described “filth elder” and “people’s pervert” gave a popular speech on the work of making transgressive art, like his films _Hairspray_ and _Pink Flamingos_. Urging the students to consider themselves insiders who can change the mainstream rather than outsiders who operate on the fringes, he told them, “It’s time to get busy. It’s your turn to cause trouble. But this time in the real world. And this time, from the inside.” The book version, which will be illustrated, will be published by Algonquin Books, an imprint of Workman Publishing, in spring 2017. \[[_WSJ_](http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2015/09/30/john-waterss-viral-commencement-speech-is-becoming-a-book/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4055686/john-waters-commencement-address-book/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4055686/john-waters-commencement-address-book/"},"headline":"John Waters's Viral Commencement Address Will Be Published in Book Form","datePublished":"2015-09-30T16:22:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:23:42.971Z","description":"\"It's your turn to cause trouble\"","url":"https://time.com/4055686/john-waters-commencement-address-book/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76b27dab8e666829/698866305f570f31ccb1da46/john-waters.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76b27dab8e666829/698866305f570f31ccb1da46/john-waters.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"John Waters \"Carsick\" Book Launch Party","caption":"John Waters \"Carsick\" Book Launch Party","creditText":"Anna Webber—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4055686/john-waters-commencement-address-book/","name":"John Waters's Viral Commencement Address Will Be Published in Book Form"}}]}] ```