The How, Why, When, What, and Who with Author Judith Barrington

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The fourteen literary memoirs collected in Virginia’s Apple explore the pivotal moments in poet and writer Judith Barrington’s life. Barrington is the author of Lifesaving: A Memoir, winner of the Lambda Literary Award and a finalist for the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for the Art of the Memoir. Memoirs in Virginia’s Apple were included in Creative Nonfiction’s “Favorite Prizewinning Essays” and as Notable Literary Nonfiction in Best American Essays. Barrington is also the author of the bestselling Writing the Memoir: From Truth to Art and five collections of poetry. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

In Virgina’s Apple you are very candid and open about moments throughout your life. How do you approach sharing the intimate details of your story with readers so openly?

I grew up absorbing the British middle class abhorrence of revealing anything personal and then, through consciousness-raising in the early days of the women’s movement, learned to talk openly about my life. All our lives were changed by the truth-telling that was unleashed in that era. I don’t agree that writing true stories and making literature out of my life should be described as revealing “intimate details”— that’s what memoir is. I hope that readers will take pleasure simply in the reading and for many, in gaining insight into a life different from their own. I suspect, in spite of differences, they will also see themselves in many places.

You’ve written a previous memoir as well as a popular guide to writing memoir. Why publish this collection now?

Lifesaving is focused on the three years after my parents drowned in the Lakonia disaster when I was nineteen, and on my long-delayed grief. Virginia’s Apple is focused on being a lesbian before and during the early wild days of the women’s movement and goes through the 80s and 90s. It’s a collection of short memoirs that were written over many decades and published in literary magazines and anthologies. I collected them and put them in more or less chronological order. Together, they create a longer narrative that called out to be published as a book.

The essays in Virgina’s Apple span several decades, sharing your experiences as a feminist and activist. When do you think was the most pivotal time for you and for this work? Do you feel that there is still more work to accomplish?

My work as a feminist activist was all-consuming during the seventies when I discovered the Women’s Liberation Movement in London, devoted my life to learning feminist theory and history, and worked for change, which was happening fast. Another pivotal time was from 1988 to 1994, when ballot measures from the Oregon Citizens’ Alliance attacked the rights of lesbian and gay people. Living in Portland by then, I wrote articles, gave speeches, and went door to door talking with people.

Starting in the early eighties my focus was primarily on what was then called the Women in Print Movement. With my partner, Ruth Gundle, I founded and ran Flight of the Mind, a women’s residential writing program for women, which was active for seventeen years. In the early 90s, along with others, we created Soapstone, which originally ran a retreat for women writers in Oregon’s Coast Range and now offers virtual study groups on women writers.

I often marvel at how much we have all achieved. But of course, there is always more to do and inevitably, we must also defend our hard-won rights. I watch the women and men of the Third Wave with great interest and happiness.

What advice do you give to aspiring writers? And does this advice change depending on the genre?

My first piece of advice to aspiring writers is to read, read, read. This is good for any genre, although of course if you are an aspiring playwright or screen writer, you should watch the good stuff. I think anyone can benefit from reading good writing, not only in the genre she wants to write in, although obviously she should include a generous portion of that. In addition I’d add that it is quite helpful to read good literature aloud—either to people who might not be able to read it themselves, or to oneself. Becoming a fluent reader teaches a lot about the rhythms of language, syntax, and words.

Who do you see as the ideal reader for Virginia’s Apple?

The ideal reader for this book is anyone who loves a good story—readers of memoir.

Virginia’s Apple: Collected Memoirs is available to order and will be released in October 2024.