Leading up to my 'Madonna and Me' talk at the Decatur Book Festival, I will be interviewing my fellow contributors. Today: Sarah Sweeney. In her coming of age essay, 'Mother Madonna', Sarah grapples with all the sexual confusion Madonna evokes as well as a father who is adamant that Madonna is the 'devil'.
My favorite bit from Sarah's essay "Madonna emblemized happiness, a life without limits, and I knew I wanted that and not my parents' humdrum version of living: their tired bodies dragged out of the house each morning, the gruff churning of the engine, the invisible desire to flee."
And here's Sarah herself:
Favorite Madonna song and why?
My favorite Madonna song is Borderline. Obviously I have many favorite Madonna songs, but this one really speaks of the lengths Madonna, and many women, will go for love. And yet we can only take so much bullshit along the way, so I identify with this song too. I blast it and dance and wish I had that coveted checkered bow hat that Madonna dons in the video.
What are you working on now?
Sarah Sweeney's poems and nonfiction have appeared in Quarterly West,
Barrelhouse, Cream City Review, The Best of the Web, Tar River Poetry,
Pank, and more. A native of North Carolina, she now lives and writes in
Boston, where she works for Harvard University. Visit her at http://www.facebook.com/l/JAQGxncVkAQG3UmkWdJ6j4qP5NT59gUQZ78mGlMtzLe0WNw/www.sarah-sweeney.com.
Buy Madonna and Me
Tomorrow Q & A with Maria Raha
Read Q & A with J. Victoria Sanders
Read Q & A with Laura Barcella
Read Q & A with Wendy Tokunaga
Sept 1, 2012. Decatur Book Festival. Local Prose Stage. 3: 15.
Soniah Kamal will be talking about growing up Muslim with Madonna. She will also read from her essay 'Through the Wilderness'. Please join her.
My favorite bit from Sarah's essay "Madonna emblemized happiness, a life without limits, and I knew I wanted that and not my parents' humdrum version of living: their tired bodies dragged out of the house each morning, the gruff churning of the engine, the invisible desire to flee."
And here's Sarah herself:
Favorite Madonna song and why?
My favorite Madonna song is Borderline. Obviously I have many favorite Madonna songs, but this one really speaks of the lengths Madonna, and many women, will go for love. And yet we can only take so much bullshit along the way, so I identify with this song too. I blast it and dance and wish I had that coveted checkered bow hat that Madonna dons in the video.
Favorite video and look?
Hands down, Like a Prayer. I prefer Madonna blond, but for this video
the dark hair rocked. As a kid, I longed for the wine-colored dress she
wore with the bra straps hanging down her arms. It seemed so sinful to
me then to show even a hint of your bra, so of course when I started
wearing a bra, I wanted to show it to everyone! Such is the power of
Madge.
Madonna
with Nicki Minaj and MIA: Ultra Diva or Desperate?
I admit I've fallen out of the mainstream Madonna loop, so I can't
reference her with MIA or Nicki Minaj. I know she's collaborated with a
lot of people, and I applaud her for continuing to take risks. It's so
easy for an artist of her caliber to stand alone, and yet she is now
more than willing to share the spotlight.
Can you
tell us a little about your writing and revision process for “Burning Up?”
I think I'm still revising "Mother Madonna." The piece packs a lot about
my younger self and my eccentric family life into very little space. I
think it works, as is, but I'm hoping to expand it for a longer book of
essays I've been working on. After reading about the call for
submissions for women writers for this anthology, though, I immediately
began writing this essay.
This is something I've wanted to write for
such a long time -- about Madonna's role in my life -- and I'm thankful
to editor Laura Barcella for giving me an outlet and believing in the
story enough to include it. When it was accepted for the anthology I was
hugely dissatisfied with my essay -- I think almost two years had
passed and, while I feel the same, I would've written certain things
different. But that's the beauty of being a writer: we can, and do, keep
revising...
What are you working on now?
Right now I'm working on a book of poems about two months I spent in
the Yucatan peninsula. The poems are rather top-secret as of now, but
they're charged and sexy and about love and disappointment and they
incorporate a lot of Spanish language and a bit of Mexican history. It's
unlike anything I've tackled before. Stay tuned!
Thanks Sarah!
Buy Madonna and Me
Tomorrow Q & A with Maria Raha
Read Q & A with J. Victoria Sanders
Read Q & A with Laura Barcella
Read Q & A with Wendy Tokunaga
Sept 1, 2012. Decatur Book Festival. Local Prose Stage. 3: 15.
Soniah Kamal will be talking about growing up Muslim with Madonna. She will also read from her essay 'Through the Wilderness'. Please join her.
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