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American diva : extraordinary, unruly, fabulous / Deborah Paredez.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, NY : W.W. Norton & Company, [2024]Copyright date: ©2024Edition: First editionDescription: x, 239 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781324035305
  • 1324035307
Subject(s):
Contents:
Vikki Carr's voice -- Diva definitions : Me and Ms. (Grace) Jones -- Diva style : Tía Lucia, Prima Prima Donna -- Diva movidas : Rita and Anita -- Diva comeback : Tina and the river -- Diva monstrosity : Divine and Jaime -- Diva feminism : Aretha and the rest -- Diva relations : Celia and La India -- Diva girls : Venus and Serena -- Diva revivals : Me and Ms. (Jomama) Jones -- Diva portals : Nona and Patti and Sarah and all the space children -- Lucia's last act.
Summary: "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"--Dust jacket.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 790.2082 P227 Processing 33111011359722
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

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.

Vikki Carr's voice -- Diva definitions : Me and Ms. (Grace) Jones -- Diva style : Tía Lucia, Prima Prima Donna -- Diva movidas : Rita and Anita -- Diva comeback : Tina and the river -- Diva monstrosity : Divine and Jaime -- Diva feminism : Aretha and the rest -- Diva relations : Celia and La India -- Diva girls : Venus and Serena -- Diva revivals : Me and Ms. (Jomama) Jones -- Diva portals : Nona and Patti and Sarah and all the space children -- Lucia's last act.

"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"--Dust jacket.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

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