Are you there, readers? It鈥檚 a Judy Blume biography.
In his new biography of author Judy Blume, Mark Oppenheimer observes that for many young people in the 1970s, reading Blume鈥檚 work was 鈥渘ot just a rite of passage but a habit.鈥� That habit was enabled by the writer鈥檚 prodigious output: Between 1970 and 1975 alone, Blume published a remarkable 10 titles. Among them are some of her best-known books 鈥� including 鈥淎re You There God? It鈥檚 Me, Margaret,鈥� 鈥淭ales of a Fourth Grade Nothing,鈥� and 鈥淒eenie.鈥� Blume continued writing for children, teens, and adults into the 21st century, if at a less breakneck pace. Her books have sold more than 90 million copies worldwide.
The engaging 鈥淛udy Blume: A Life鈥� begins with its subject鈥檚 childhood in suburban New Jersey and works its way to the present. Now in her 80s, Blume, after two divorces, is happily married. She鈥檚 the proprietor of a nonprofit bookstore in Key West, Florida, where she鈥檚 known to greet worshipful fans. The question animating Oppenheimer鈥檚 biography is why Blume鈥檚 work has resonated with so many readers for so many decades, making her the rare author to achieve mainstream celebrity status.聽
To answer the question, Oppenheimer, himself a longtime admirer of Blume鈥檚 work, turned not only to the books but to the woman herself. Blume sat for hours of interviews and answered hundreds of questions via email; she also connected Oppenheimer with her family members and friends. Intriguingly, he reports that after he sent Blume a draft of the manuscript, she responded with a 40-page memo filled with suggestions, some of which he accepted and others not.聽
Why We Wrote This
A new book illuminates the prolific author鈥檚 life, work, and fame. Her frankness made her a lightning rod, but as Mark Oppenheimer observes, for many young people in the 1970s, reading Judy Blume鈥檚 work was 鈥渘ot just a rite of passage but a habit.鈥�
Blume was born into a middle-class Jewish family in 1938. She married her first husband while still a college student at New York University and gave birth to a daughter and son within the next four years. As a restless homemaker in the Jersey suburbs, she framed her college diploma and an academic award above her washing machine, 鈥渢o remind myself that I was an intelligent, educated person,鈥� she recalled years later.聽
Bursting with ambition and creative energy, Blume began a short-lived stint as a felt artist before turning to writing. Her initial forays into children鈥檚 literature were, in her words, 鈥渢errible ... imitation Dr. Seuss.鈥� She racked up a pile of rejection letters before a weekly writing class in New York City helped her find her voice and hone her craft.
According to Oppenheimer, Blume was wildly successful because she brought realism to children鈥檚 literature, tackling topics like puberty, divorce, and bullying in her fiction. (He acknowledges that she was not alone in doing so, citing Norma Klein and S.E. Hinton.) 鈥淎re You There God? It鈥檚 Me, Margaret,鈥� told in first person, 鈥渢akes seriously the ... development of an adolescent girl, from the narrative point of view of that girl,鈥� he writes. The book also credibly captures the voice of its protagonist, 11-year-old Margaret Simon, with Blume mining material from her own childhood.聽
Blume鈥檚 frankness made her a lightning rod. Her work has frequently been targeted for banning, leading her to free-speech advocacy and a long affiliation with the National Coalition Against Censorship.聽
Oppenheimer, the author of 2021鈥檚 鈥淪quirrel Hill鈥� about the shooting at Pittsburgh鈥檚 Tree of Life Synagogue, considers Blume鈥檚 entire body of work. While her oeuvre is often discussed in terms of hot-button topics, the biography offers a welcome reminder that Blume has excelled at lighthearted, funny books for children, such as 1980鈥檚 鈥淪uperfudge鈥� and its spinoffs.聽
The author also provides sharp critical assessments of Blume鈥檚 work for adults, including her 1983 novel 鈥淪mart Women,鈥� about a trio of divorced single mothers. 鈥淓verybody in the book has the emotional age of about twenty,鈥� he writes.
Perhaps most significantly, Oppenheimer conveys what the books 鈥� and their author 鈥� have meant to readers. At the height of her success, Blume received roughly 2,000 letters per month, many from young people confiding in her about their problems. Blume famously corresponded with some of her readers for decades. 鈥淚s there another contemporary author who has so collapsed the distance between herself and her readership?鈥� Oppenheimer asks.聽
Oppenheimer鈥檚 once-warm relationship with Blume reportedly cooled after she sent him that 40-page memo. For his part, Oppenheimer seems aware of the sensitivities involved in writing a biography with input from its living subject. He states in an epilogue that his job 鈥渋s to offer one plausible, but selective, account of the subject鈥檚 life.鈥� If that account 鈥� as laudatory as it generally is 鈥� has not pleased Blume, it is likely to appeal to her legions of fans.聽
