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Emily Bazelon talks with journalist Mark Oppenheimer about his new bookJudy Blume: A Life. Oppenheimer, who spent years with Blume’s papers atYale and conducted extensive interviews with the author herself, traceshow a restless housewife in New Jersey became one of the mostbeloved—and most banned—writers in American history.They discuss what made Blume’s frank, funny voice so revolutionary foryoung readers in the 1970s, the surprisingly progressive household thatshaped her, and the genius of Forever, her landmark novel in whichteenage sex is depicted as pleasurable rather than catastrophic. Theyalso dig into the scandalous adult novel Wifey, Blume’s doggedpersistence through rejection, and her tireless championing of otherwriters’ right to be read.Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at [email protected].(Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulatesotherwise.)Podcast production by Nina Porzucki. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.