Writing professors Deborah Paredez and Margo Jefferson (’71 Journalism) discussed Paredez’s “impassioned homage to the divas who shake up our world and transform it with their bold, dazzling artistry.” Introduced by Sarah Cole, Dean of Columbia University School of the Arts and Parr Professor of English and Comparative Literature.
About American Diva:
“What does it mean to be a ‘diva’? A shifting, increasingly loaded term, it has been used to both deride and celebrate charismatic and unapologetically fierce performers like Aretha Franklin, Divine, and the women of Labelle. In this brilliant, powerful blend of incisive criticism and electric memoir, Deborah Paredez — scholar, cultural critic, and lifelong diva devotee — unravels our enduring fascination with these icons and explores how divas have challenged American ideas about feminism, performance, and freedom.
“American Diva journeys into Tina Turner’s scintillating performances, Celia Cruz’s command of the male-dominated salsa world, the transcendent revival of Jomama Jones after a period of exile, and the unparalleled excellence of Venus and Serena Williams. Recounting how she and her mother endlessly watched Rita Moreno’s powerhouse portrayal of Anita in West Side Story and how she learned much about being bigger than life from her fabulous Tía Lucia, Paredez chronicles the celebrated and skilled performers who not only shaped her life but boldly expressed the aspiration for freedom among brown, Black, and gay communities. Paredez also traces the evolution of the diva through the decades, dismayed at the mid-aughts’ commodification and juvenilizing of its meaning but finding its lasting beauty and power.
“Filled with sharp insights and great heart, American Diva is a spirited tribute to the power of performance and the joys of fandom.”
Books available for purchase by Book Culture.
Co-presented by Columbia University School of the Arts; the Society of Fellows and Heyman Center for the Humanities; and University Life.
New or First-Year Columbia University students attending this event may receive credit for the Inclusion and Belonging component of the Columbia Citizenship Initiative.
