Why We Occupy

A Note on the Interviews

The seventy-one interviews collected in this volume were conducted by Olivia Schanzer in downtown Manhattan during the fall of 2011. The first interview took place on October 22, when Occupy Wall Street was thirty-six days old. On day sixty the people were evicted, and the last interview took place, barricaded, the day after that.

Except where otherwise noted, these conversations were recorded in and around Liberty Plaza a.k.a. Zuccotti Park. The atmosphere in the park during the day was turbulent: busy with occupiers, and rippling with wave after wave of reporters, photographers, tourists, panhandlers and hecklers. The roaring wind and the beating of the drums were relentless. Adding to the challenge, Olivia was carrying an energetic one-year-old on her back most of the time. These factors all contributed to a certain spontaneity evident in the body of the recordings which bears some resemblance to the occupation at that time, and which is largely preserved in this volume by presenting the interviews in chronological order.

Many more people agreed to be interviewed for this book, but the eviction was carried out before they had a chance to go on the record. We miss their contributions, and it is our sincere desire to see all of those suspended conversations—indeed, all suspended conversations everywhere—resume. ❖