Q&A with Author Claudia L. Bushman October 14 2024
Q. You grew up in a Latter-day Saint home in San Francisco. In what way(s) did this experience shape you, that growing up in Utah, or perhaps anywhere else, likely wouldn’t have?
A. Well, of course, San Francisco is a sophisticated, gay friendly, highly cultured place. My sisters and I felt very privileged to have access to so much significant art and activity. I think that we took good advantage of what was available to us and had many rich experiences. Our mother encouraged us in many directions and we all benefited a lot from it. I don’t know how it would have been to grow up in Utah or anywhere else.
Q. Your courtship with Richard L. Bushman while you were a student at Wellesley may surprise readers for a number of reasons, but could be summarized with the phrase “opposites attract.” In what way did this prove to be a positive?
A. I am surprised to hear you suggest that Richard and I are opposites. Actually we are very much alike. Very, very much.
Q. The women’s issue of Dialogue in 1971 and the founding of Exponent II are considered pivotal moments in modern Mormon feminism, and the response to both endeavors was favorable as well as critical. You even sacrificed your official involvement to keep the peace. Looking back, are you still happy with the timing of both publications, believing that any backlash would have been inevitable no matter when they came out? Or, would there have been a benefit to waiting?
A. I very much dislike waiting. When I am ready or getting ready to do something, I just do it. That’s dancing to the music of our times. I don’t do things when considering their timeliness. Backlash is not my concern.
Q. Your work as a historian has allowed you to write about women and men, you’ve conducted oral histories, and you have edited and annotated other women’s journals. Each of these genres have their own challenges and rewards. Do you find any one of them more satisfying to undertake than the other? If so, why?
A. All these can be very satisfying. Or not. I just do what seems possible when the occasion arises. I’m not always in a position to undertake anything. Everything I have done has challenges and rewards of its own, for which I am grateful.
Q. After having written about many others, you have now published your own candid memoir. Was your autobiography project more, or less challenging than writing about someone else? What did you learn about yourself in the process?
A. Actually, writing I, Claudia, was somewhat accidental. I don’t remember writing it. I don’t remember why I decided to write it. It just sort of happened. I’m glad it did. Someone asked if I had considered an autobiography and I saw it on my computer and sent it off. Suddenly, it was published. I actually do live in some sort of fog. I don’t think that it was more difficult than anything else. I don’t try to be anything I’m not.