Jennifer Clement on women, art, creativity & why we love Frida Kahlo

The Shift with Sam Baker

Sam Baker Ltd

Society & Culture, Health & Fitness, Personal Journals

4.8 • 525 Ratings

🗓️ 6 February 2024

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

My guest today has lived, well, a life like no other. The writer Jennifer Clement grew up in 1960s Mexico, at the tail end of the Mexican Golden Age, next door to the former home and extended family of seminal artist Frida Kahlo. As a teenager she moved to New York, where she inhabited the artistic downtown world of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Andy Warhol. She was - and still is - a magnet for the creative and surreal. But Mexico had her heart. Since returning to Mexico City, she has written many books, including the cult classic Widow Basquiat and Prayers for the Stolen which became an award-winning Netflix film. Jennifer was also the first and only woman president of the writers human rights organisation PEN International in its 100+ year history. In her memoir, The Promised Party, Jennifer looks back at an extraordinary youth spent with artists and revolutionaries, and examines the way it shaped her. Jennifer joined me from her home in Mexico City to talk about playing in Frida Kahlo’s bathtub and why Kahlo’s art speaks to so many women, why so much women’s art is still sidelined, and how she developed a passion ethic not a work ethic. We also discussed rebellion, running away, the power of girlfriends, how acting on dreams can change your life and why her mother has been taking HRT for 50 (yes five oh) years If you loved this episode, you might also like my conversations with Isabel Allende and Esther Freud. * You can buy all the books mentioned in this podcast at The Shift bookshop on Bookshop.org, including The Promised Party by Jennifer Clemenet and the book that inspired this podcast, The Shift: how I lost and found myself after 40 - and you can too, by me. * And if you'd like to support the work that goes into making this podcast and get a weekly newsletter plus loads more content including exclusive transcripts of the podcast, why not join The Shift community, come and have a look around at www.theshiftwithsambaker.substack.com • The Shift (on life after 40) with Sam Baker is created and hosted by Sam Baker and edited by Juliette Nicholls @ Pineapple Audio Production. If you enjoyed this podcast, please rate/review/follow as it really does help other people find us. And let me know what you think on twitter @sambaker or instagram @theothersambaker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is a paid message from GoFundMe.
0:02.9	My name is Ashley Kane.
0:04.6	I'm the daddy of a little girl in heaven and a father to two boys on earth.
0:09.9	I've got an incredible relationship with GoFundMe, both personally and via our daughter's foundation, the Azalea Foundation.
0:17.4	GoFundMe has allowed me, the foundation, and thousands of people out there to give hope to others in need.
0:25.5	You'd actually be surprised how many people out there are willing to show love and support you in your time of need.
0:33.3	My advice for anyone that needs to stop a GoFundMe would be do it.
0:38.6	You don't need to feel shame.
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0:41.3	You don't need to feel embarrassment.
0:43.1	If you need GoFundMe, use GoFundMe.
0:46.8	Start your GoFundMe today at gofundme.com.
0:50.7	That's gofundme.com.
0:59.8	This message reflects one person's experience.
1:12.1	Hello and welcome to The Shift, the podcast that aims to tell the no-holds-barred truth about being a woman post-40,
1:16.6	created and hosted by me, writer and broadcaster, Sam Baker.
1:21.3	My guest today has lived a life like no other.
1:28.6	The writer Jennifer Clement grew up in 1960s, Mexico, at the tail end of the Mexican Golden Age,
1:34.7	next door to the former home and extended family of seminal artist Frida Carlo.
1:40.7	As a teenager, she moved to New York where she inhabited the artistic downtown world of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Herring and Andy Warhol. She was, and still is, a magnet for the
1:47.8	creative and surreal. But Mexico had her heart. Since returning to Mexico City, she has written many
1:55.4	books, including the cult classic Widow Basquiat and prayers for The Stolen, which became an award-winning Netflix film.
	...

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