According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a friend is “one joined to another in mutual benevolence and intimacy. Not ordinarily applied to lovers or relatives…a boon companion.” It first appears in “Beowolf” in 1018 A.D. as “freondum.” Though the opposite of “fiend,” both words root in the same Germanic word soup for “love” and “hate,” so therefore inextricably intertwined.
Here, two old friends, Teresa Jordan and Judith Freeman, both remarkable and accomplished writers and artists, born and bred in the American West, examine their own enduring relationship through the lens of Judith’s latest novel, the incisive, insightful, at times ruthless “MacArthur Park.” The novel’s core finds two older women, both accomplished writers and artists, born and bred in the American West, attempting to re-kindle their lifelong friendship after intimate convolutions blew them apart. Spoiler alert: marrying the same man may become a problem. No, not Teresa and Judith; her characters Verna and Jolene as they road trip across the West towards some notion of their shared childhood. What destroys friendships? Can good intentions alone heal those implosive moments of toxic intimacy almost inevitable in friendships? Who here has not lost a friend?
SHOW NOTES: Please spend some time on both their websites to appreciate the depth and quality of their respective creativity.
Judith Freeman: https://judithfreemanbooks.com/
Discussed in the Podcast:
Carolee Schneeman: https://www.moma.org/artists/7712
Judy Chicago: https://www.judychicago.com/
Elena Ferante: http://elenaferrante.com
Valeria Luiselli: “Lost Children Archive”: https://www.valerialuiselli.com/
Here’s great conversation about writing with Judith’s friend Barbara Feldon, yes, that Barbara, from “Get Smart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NM1Vi-q1dg
A special shout-out for her novel “Red Water” where Judith imagines John D. Lee's extraordinary frontier life and his disturbing, still controversial role in the Mountain Meadows Massacre through the eyes of three of his nineteen wives. Emma is a vigorous and capable Englishwoman who loves Lee unconditionally. Ann, a bride at thirteen, is an independent adventurer. Rachel, though she married Lee to be with his first wife, her sister Agatha Woolsey, is also utterly devoted to him.
Teresa Jordan: https://teresajordan.com/
In addition to all the writing, painting, sketching and storytelling you can find on her website, Teresa just returned from her residency at the Mesa Refuge, having been awarded the Marion Weber Healing Arts Fellowship to evolve her year of painting and drawing a different bird every single day into a book.