Miranda July is a writer, filmmaker, and artist. Her most recent book published by Prestel April 2020, Miranda July, has re-imagined the art monograph as an oral history on her career to date. July’s collection of stories, No One Belongs Here More Than You, won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. It Chooses You was her first book of non-fiction, which was followed by her debut novel, The First Bad Man. She wrote, directed and starred in feature films The Future and Me and You and Everyone We Know — winner of the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and recently added to the Criterion Collection. Her latest film, Kajillionaire, which she wrote and directed, world premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and will be released by Focus Features this year. Some of July’s participatory art works include “New Society” (a performance); “Somebody” (a messaging app created with Miu Miu), and an interfaith charity shop in Selfridges department store in London, presented by Artangel.

Photo by Oliver Zahm

Script:

My Fellow citizens, I crawl to you. 

I come on hand and knee to you, my Americans.

My shitters who shit upon themselves and each other, I crawl to you. 

I have no self respect. None of us do. 

Put your fingers in my mouth.

All of them--

656 million fingers, 

Its very gross, but I am turned on anyway

because there are so many, so many different kinds and colors 

Some very old, some dear and tiny new born fingers 

And I can’t believe my mouth can hold them all 

WOW!

Like tiny dicks, American Fingers 2020!

So sorry about the sickness. I know you love to party and work and be the best. 

Dying being the thing you do the worst. 

I will do everything I can to help you over

To the otherside. 

Small presidential canoe caught on the rocks 

We paddle together through dark unlit stretches almost making it 

But not quite

Not dead exactly, just different

Which is a good place to begin 

Let us begin again, my Americans

I crawl to you and point 

This is fire. It makes light and heat 

Gather around.