Judy Blume Will Not be Silenced

Next Question with Katie Couric

Katie Couric Media

Health, Health & Fitness, Commentary, News, Documentary,, Society & Culture

4.4 • 4.7K Ratings

🗓️ 25 May 2023

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For author Judy Blume, writing is about making connections. Her genius has always involved finding a path into the intimate spaces of her readers’ hearts; it’s the very thing that drove her to write. Now, at 85, she’s reaching her third generation of readers — and she’s connecting as powerfully as she did in the late 1960s when her first book was published. A new documentary, Judy Blume Forever, explores this phenomenon, and the deep cultural reach of her books. On this episode of Next Question, Katie chats with the incredibly energetic Judy Blume, as well as the doc’s directors, Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok, about the power of books as a force for transformation, identity, disruption, escape, and revolution. They discuss why Judy’s books have been embraced and feared, and why the connections she has made are just as strong as ever — even though there are people who would like to silence her altogether.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm David Eagleman. I have a new podcast called Inner Cosmos on I Heart. I'm going to explore
0:06.8	the relationship between our brains and our experiences by tackling unusual questions. Like,
0:13.6	can we create new senses for humans? So join me weekly to uncover how your brain
0:20.9	steers your behavior, your perception, and your reality. Listen to Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman.
0:27.4	On the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
0:37.9	Hi everyone, I'm Katie Curric and this is Next Question. For anyone who's either had kids
0:43.9	or been a kid in the past 54 years, you probably know the name Judy Bloom, but she's the first
0:51.1	to admit she's not comfortable with her fame. I don't know how to do it and I'm not used to it.
0:57.2	I'm used to being a writer locked up at home or in my bookstore. But when it comes to talking about
1:04.9	her readers, Judy practically gushes. Kids opened up to me in a way that I think they felt they
1:14.4	couldn't to their parents. Did Judy, I'm in fifth grade and developing. It is kind of embarrassing
1:21.6	without your books. I would be nowhere. I mean, it's just so much easier to open yourself up to
1:28.6	someone that you're never going to see. You know, it's a stranger and yet it's not a stranger.
1:34.0	You feel connected to this person. That's Judy and a new documentary about her life and her epic
1:41.2	contribution to literature for kids and adults. The film by directors Leah Woolchock and Divina
1:48.1	Pardo allows us to see what Judy does best. Connect with her readers. I felt very much a kid and I
1:57.2	identified very much with with kids. That's why I didn't. You know, but some of us always are like
2:04.8	that. I still I identify with kids. When I meet a four-year-old in the store and I look into
2:11.2	that child's eyes, there's a connection. Leah, Divina and Judy join me for a conversation
2:17.6	about bookbanging, the importance of reading, the fate of libraries, and the role of parents,
2:24.0	all of which Judy has passionate opinions about. When I asked her why make a documentary and why
2:30.7	now, she gave me a typically Judy Bloom answer. Hart felt funny and uncomfortably honest.
	...

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