Ever since she published her first book in the late s, Judy Blume has been a cultural touchstone for generations of readers. And Blume was never afraid to broach topics other authors were eschewed. Thorny topics like race, sex, divorce, and religion were just a few topics Blume wrote about that she knew affected many of her readers. I, for one, am a huge fan of Judy Blume. Born in , a young Judy Sussman never could believe she would become a famous writer with countless devotees.
She was a nice Jewish girl raised to be a nice Jewish wife and mother. She married her first husband, John Blume and had her two children, daughter Randy and son, Larry when she was quite young. But being a suburban New Jersey housewife was too limiting for Blume.
She wanted something more. With the civil rights movement, the LGTBQ community refusing to stay hidden, and second-wave feminism, there was a huge shift in culture in American society. Blume admits she was definitely inspired by feminist writers and leaders. Blume wanted to be taken seriously and she took young people seriously.
She knew life can be pretty ambiguous, and young people can see the gray in a world where some adults wanted to make strictly black and white. Blume knew her readers needed honesty. The more books Blume wrote, the more she gained detractors. With the rise of the religious right in the s, people like Phyllis Schlafly and the Moral Majority spoke out against Blume and her books. Many attempts were made to ban her books.
As much as Blume bothered by any attempt at book bans and censorship, she remained undeterred in her devotion to her readers. Many young people wrote Blume letters, pouring their hearts out, telling her how much her books meant to them and asking her advice on many topics. Much of this fan mail was later published in a book called Letters to Judy. One surprise in The Genius of Judy that struck me, was how many detractors Blume had when it came to the book critics.
