{"id":62957,"date":"2025-11-05T19:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T00:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/?post_type=lecture&#038;p=62957"},"modified":"2026-03-30T19:11:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T23:11:07","slug":"judy-blume","status":"publish","type":"lecture","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/lecture\/judy-blume\/","title":{"rendered":"Judy Blume"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"wp-block-umw-hero alignfull umw-custom-block umw-hero umw-hero--dark-text umw-hero--white umw-hero--with-no-media\"><div class=\"umw-hero__inner\"><div class=\"umw-hero__media\"><\/div><div class=\"umw-hero__title\"><div class=\"container\"><div class=\"umw-hero__title__wrapper\"><div class=\"umw-hero__eyebrow\">great lives lecture series<\/div><h1 class=\"umw-hero__title__header\"><strong>Judy Blume<\/strong><\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-umw-hero-ctas alignfull\"><div class=\"umw-hero__links\"><div class=\"container\"><div class=\"umw-hero__links__wrapper\">\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Great Lives 2026: Judy Blume\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1162643675?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"1100\" height=\"619\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-lecture-date-february-5-2026\">Lecture Date: February 5, 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-fred-and-barbara-rankin-lecture\">The Fred and Barbara Rankin Lecture<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/11\/Blume_cover.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"659\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/11\/Blume_cover.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-62946\" style=\"width:276px;height:auto\" title=\"\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/11\/Blume_cover.jpg 659w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/11\/Blume_cover-198x300.jpg 198w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 659px) 100vw, 659px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Judy Blume\u2019s life and work represent one of the most profound cultural shifts in modern literature. From a stay-at-home mom in suburban New Jersey to a literary icon and a leading voice against censorship, Blume revolutionized what it meant to be an author of books for children and young adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her nostalgia-inducing and visually compelling story spans her most memorable\u2014and groundbreaking\u2014works, from <em>Are You There God? It\u2019s Me, Margaret<\/em> to 1975\u2019s controversial classic <em>Forever<\/em>. These books not only defined a generation of readers but also challenged long-held taboos surrounding adolescence, identity, and emotional honesty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blume\u2019s career reveals fresh insight into her strongly held feminist beliefs and the professional struggles she faced as one of the most-banned authors in the United States. Her legacy continues to resonate amid today\u2019s growing book-banning crisis, raising timeless questions about what belongs in children\u2019s literature, and why her voice remains as vital as ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/presentation\/d\/14x_P0pq303lFJqjmOX_DC0Uvhw2dYAq9\/edit?usp=drive_link&amp;ouid=103238403274382254745&amp;rtpof=true&amp;sd=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">VIEW PHOTO SLIDESHOW<div class='arrow'><\/div><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-speaker-rachelle-bergstein\">Speaker: Rachelle Bergstein<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/10\/bergstein-rachelle.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/10\/bergstein-rachelle.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-63012\" style=\"width:236px;height:auto\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/10\/bergstein-rachelle.png 400w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/10\/bergstein-rachelle-300x300.png 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/10\/bergstein-rachelle-150x150.png 150w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/10\/bergstein-rachelle-50x50.png 50w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/10\/bergstein-rachelle-75x75.png 75w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Rachelle Bergstein is a lifestyle writer, bestselling author, and editor, focused on style, pop culture, and families. Her work has appeared in the&nbsp;<em>Washington Post<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>The New York Times<\/em>, NPR, and more. She is the author of three books:&nbsp;<em>Women from the Ankle Down<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>Brilliance and Fire<\/em>, and&nbsp;<em>The Genius of&nbsp;Judy<\/em>. She lives with her husband and son in Brooklyn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"season":[1263],"class_list":{"0":"post-62957","1":"lecture","2":"type-lecture","3":"status-publish","5":"season-1263","6":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Judy Blume - Great Lives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/lecture\/judy-blume\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Judy Blume\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lecture Date: February 5, 2026 The Fred and Barbara Rankin Lecture Judy Blume\u2019s life and work represent one of the most profound cultural shifts in modern literature. From a stay-at-home mom in suburban New Jersey to a literary icon and a leading voice against censorship, Blume revolutionized what it meant to be an author of [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/lecture\/judy-blume\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Great Lives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-30T23:11:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/11\/Blume_cover.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"659\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatlives\\\/lecture\\\/judy-blume\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatlives\\\/lecture\\\/judy-blume\\\/\",\"name\":\"Judy Blume - Great Lives\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatlives\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatlives\\\/lecture\\\/judy-blume\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatlives\\\/lecture\\\/judy-blume\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatlives\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/8\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/Blume_cover.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-06T00:30:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-30T23:11:07+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatlives\\\/lecture\\\/judy-blume\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatlives\\\/lecture\\\/judy-blume\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatlives\\\/lecture\\\/judy-blume\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatlives\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/8\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/Blume_cover.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatlives\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/8\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/Blume_cover.jpg\",\"width\":659,\"height\":1000},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatlives\\\/lecture\\\/judy-blume\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatlives\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lectures\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatlives\\\/lecture\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Judy Blume\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatlives\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatlives\\\/\",\"name\":\"Great Lives\",\"description\":\"University of Mary Washington\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatlives\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Judy Blume - Great Lives","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/lecture\/judy-blume\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Judy Blume","og_description":"Lecture Date: February 5, 2026 The Fred and Barbara Rankin Lecture Judy Blume\u2019s life and work represent one of the most profound cultural shifts in modern literature. From a stay-at-home mom in suburban New Jersey to a literary icon and a leading voice against censorship, Blume revolutionized what it meant to be an author of [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/lecture\/judy-blume\/","og_site_name":"Great Lives","article_modified_time":"2026-03-30T23:11:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":659,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/11\/Blume_cover.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/lecture\/judy-blume\/","url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/lecture\/judy-blume\/","name":"Judy Blume - Great Lives","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/lecture\/judy-blume\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/lecture\/judy-blume\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/11\/Blume_cover.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-06T00:30:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-30T23:11:07+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/lecture\/judy-blume\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/lecture\/judy-blume\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/lecture\/judy-blume\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/11\/Blume_cover.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/11\/Blume_cover.jpg","width":659,"height":1000},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/lecture\/judy-blume\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Lectures","item":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/lecture\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Judy Blume"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/","name":"Great Lives","description":"University of Mary Washington","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lecture\/62957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lecture"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/lecture"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"season","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/season?post=62957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}