Today we are very excited to share an interview with Author Azadeh Westergaard (The One & Only Googoosh: Iran’s Beloved Superstar)!
Meet the Author: Azadeh Westergaard
Azadeh Westergaard received her BA from Harvard College and MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is the author of A Life Electric: The Story of Nikola Tesla. Originally from Iran, she grew up in the United States and now lives in New York City with her husband and three boys. Visit her at AHWestergaard.com.
About the Book: The One & Only Googoosh: Iran’s Beloved Superstar
A celebration of one of Iran’s most iconic musical artists.
The legendary Iranian singer and actress Googoosh (born Faegheh Atashin) made her stage debut at age two while performing alongside her acrobat father. By the time she reached adulthood, she was widely considered to be Iran’s first superstar. Googoosh was in the prime of her career and on the brink of international stardom, but after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, she was silenced and disappeared from public life for over twenty years. However, her fans did not forget her. And as they sought refuge around the globe, they found ways to keep her music alive.
Azadeh Westergaard has crafted an unforgettable love letter to the home she once knew in Iran and to the woman who was and still is a cultural icon—a dazzling performer known as the one and only Googoosh.
~Author Chat~
YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
I first learned that Googoosh was a child star after watching the documentary, Googoosh: Iran’s Daughter. A few months later, when brainstorming about new projects with my agent, Googoosh immediately came to mind not only because of the historic significance of her life story, but also because I thought her experience as a child performer would resonate with young readers.
YABC: Which was the most difficult or emotional scene to narrate?
My book is written in 2nd person to narrate Googoosh’s life story and alternates into first-person plural to represent the perspective of the Iranian diaspora. In the early drafting stage, I always choked up when writing about Googoosh’s return to the stage after her 20 year absence. Not only is that moment of deep significance for Googoosh as both a human being and performer, it also symbolizes the profound loss of a former way of life for the Iranian people. That wistfulness and nostalgia for an irretrievable moment in time always moves me.
YABC: What is the main message you want readers to learn from your book?
The dramatic toll that the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the subsequent ban on female singers had both on the cultural life of Iran and women’s rights. And of course, the enduring appeal of Googoosh as a performer and the dear place she holds in the hearts of the Iranian community both inside and outside the country.
YABC: Is there an organization or cause close to your heart?
September 2024 marked the 2 year anniversary of the Woman.Life. Freedom protest movement in Iran. I was particularly moved to see that when the truly unprecedented protests began in 2022 after Mahsa Amini’s death while in the custody of Iran’s “morality police” only one live video of Mahsa circulated via social media and that was of her singing along to a Googoosh song when she was a teen.
For those interested in learning more about this movement and Iran’s history, the graphic novelist, Marjane Satrapi of Persepolis fame, recently published a book called Woman, Life, Freedom. She and her collaborators do a wonderful job of explaining the current state of affairs in Iran from the perspective of the protestors pushing for change in the country.
YABC: What’s a book you’ve recently read and loved?
Eugene Yelchin’s The Genius Under the Table: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain. It’s an illustrated middle-grade memoir about the author’s childhood growing up under Communist rule in the Soviet Union. Yelchin does a brilliant job of balancing stark historical facts with humor and poignancy.
YABC: What advice do you have for new writers?
Read books in the genre you plan to write. Then re-read those books slowly and examine each word, sentence, and chapter like a mechanic looking under the hood of a car to see why it works the way it does. Read your work out loud. Err on the side of succinctness. Use concrete language. Bring the scene to life for your reader by engaging all five senses.
YABC: What would you say is your superpower?
I am an extremely empathetic person by nature and feel and notice everything. This comes in handy as a writer when trying to put myself in the shoes of my subject. That said, it also has its challenges because all the sensory input takes a toll and is something I need to find a way to process every day.
YABC: Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?
To trust my voice and perspective and to recognize that it’s in my differentness that I can bring something new to the table.
Title: The One & Only Googoosh: Iran’s Beloved Superstar
Author: Azadeh Westergaard
Illustrator: Azadeh Westergaard
Release Date: November 12th, 2024
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers / Penguin Young Readers
Genre: Picture Book Biography
Age Range: Ages 4 – 8