Patricia Leavy, PhD
Patricia Leavy, PhD, is an award-winning, best-selling author. She was formerly Associate Professor of Sociology, Chairperson of Sociology & Criminology, and Founding Director of Gender Studies at Stonehill College. She has published more than forty books; her work has been translated into many languages, and she has received more than forty book honors. She has also received career awards from the New England Sociological Association, the American Creativity Association, the American Educational Research Association, the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, and the National Art Education Association. In 2018, she was honored by the National Women’s Hall of Fame and SUNY-New Paltz established the “Patricia Leavy Award for Art and Social Justice.”
Twitter: @PatriciaLeavy
What’s the oddest thing a reader has ever asked you?
If one of my novels was about them. I did not know them.
Is there a work of art that you love. Why? Have you ever visited it in person?
There are many, and I’ve been lucky to travel extensively and tour countless museums. Several years ago, there was a special exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York that included the painting “Circus Sideshow” by Seurat. It depicts popular entertainment—street art, the performers outside the circus—and raises questions about how we value art. I was fascinated by it and even bought the book of the exhibit to have something to take home with me. A pivotal scene in Hollyland takes place at the Met in front of that painting. I’ve had the same experience with other paintings. A specific Monet I saw in Paris decades ago resonated, and many years later it made its way onto the pages of one of my novels. I often find when I’m drawn to a piece of visual art, it inspires my writing, even if it takes a while to materialize.
What do you worry about?
My daughter. My parents’ health. The environment. Injustice. Writing books that no one will read.
What brings you great joy?
Getting lost in a story world I’m creating. When a character says something I didn’t expect. When the writing is flowing so naturally that I forget to have lunch. My daughter’s laughter. A good hug from my husband. My dog rolling on her back for a belly rub. A visit with one of my close friends, just catching up at a café. The success and happiness of my friends. Smelling the sea air.
What piece of clothing tells the most interesting story about your life?
The large black leather handbag I carry almost every day, which fits my manuscripts so I can work in cafés, on airplanes, wherever, but isn’t so big that it can’t be worn out to dinner at a nice restaurant or anywhere else. It’s not the bag itself that’s important, but what it symbolizes. Like most kids, when I was growing up, I fantasized about my life. In my wildest dreams I’d be a writer, a great writer (hey, this was my fantasy), and I’d have a big, exciting life. I was too afraid to pursue my true passion, so I took another path, and went to graduate school for a doctorate degree. Early on, I felt I wasn’t taken seriously. I was younger than most, female, wore makeup, had long hair, and so on. I was also creative, even in so-called scholarly writing. My work was minimized. People wanted to make me smaller, and I started to feel that way. I was on vacation in Vermont and wandered into a leather shop. I saw a maroon leather work bag, the kind I imagined a serious writer or scholar would carry. I bought the bag. Carrying the right bag surely would make me seem like a serious writer. Fast-forward and I spent the next couple of decades buying bag after bag. Each bag carried the promise of the life I wanted to live. Each bag was a statement about my identity. Some were serious and practical, others fun and flirty. Over time as I became more “successful” the price point changed and I went from “affordable” to designer. While I didn’t recognize it at the time, and it wasn’t conscious, each time I selected a new bag and looked in the mirror, it was like I was trying on the life I wanted. Suffice it to say, I ended up with a ridiculous number of bags (many of which have been donated to charity and gifted to friends) and no handbag ever transformed my life. A couple years ago, I suddenly realized I was actually living my dream life, even though it looked different than my fantasies. Despite being too scared when I was young and taking an unconventional path, I’ve been a full-time author for more than a decade. I work with two amazing publishers, for my fiction and nonfiction. My writing has allowed me to travel the world in ways I never could have imagined. I’ve met incredibly kind, generous, and inspiring people along the way. Best of all, I get to spend most days in my sweatpants, sitting in my office, lost in story worlds I’m creating. It’s like the Colette quote, “What a wonderful life I’ve had. I only wish I’d realized it sooner.” Once it dawned on me that even though things don’t look like they did in my childhood dreams, I’m lucky beyond measure, I bought myself the “perfect” black handbag, for work, for leisure, for travel, for anything. While I still have a bunch of my old handbags for special occasions, these days I just have one bag I really use. It carries all my stuff, but not my hopes and dreams, and I never have to wonder where my keys are.
