Augusten Burroughs has left an indelible mark on the world of memoir, and he now has his sights set squarely on the audio book. To accompany the release of his latest autobiographical installment, A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father, the local best-selling author created a "performance artist piece" for the iPod generation, comprised of organic sound effects, a haunting score, and original compositions inspired by the harrowing tales of his formative years in Western Massachusetts. The outcome is immediate and cinematic. "There's never been an innovation in the audio book industry," Burroughs says, and points proudly to his vocal performances on the recording—alternating nuanced turns as his mother, father, brother and sundry other characters.
Burroughs has already released five books focused on various aspects of his life: Sellevision, about his years in the advertising industry; Dry, which details his battle with alcoholism; and two collections of personal essays, Magical Thinking and Possible Side Effects. The work that catapulted Burroughs into the realm of author-celebrity, however, was 2002's Running with Scissors, a chronicle of his disturbed and disturbing teenage years after his mother sent him to live with her local psychiatrist, Dr. Finch, and Finch's dysfunctional family. Its publication incited a defamation of character and invasion of privacy lawsuit from the family of Dr. Rodolph H. Turcotte (the real life Dr. Finch). The case was settled prior to the release of a 2006 feature film version of the book starring Annette Bening and Alec Baldwin.
A Wolf at the Table documents the young Augusten's pre-Finch years in the '60s and '70s in various locales—residences in Hadley, Shutesbury, and Amherst, a hotel in Northampton—as the family moved around, sometimes fleeing their unstable patriarch. Burroughs is reared under the malicious eye of his father, a professor of philosophy at UMass-Amherst, and the aegis of his distracted mother, a writer. The narrative is bookended by a dramatic, barefooted nighttime flight from his father into the dark forest, an event both real and allegorical. Burroughs also recounts leaping out of a careening, out-of-control vehicle driven by his maniacal father during an apparent death-wish moment; handing his older brother a gun to gain the upper hand in a stand-off with their old man; and beating back thoughts of pushing his tormentor down Gay Head Cliffs to certain death.
Burroughs' latest book eschews the intermittent levity of past memoirs, and without that honey to ease the harsh medicine of his accounts of abuse and psychological torment, the reader is left with a chilling, disquieting tale of one boy's painful retreat—both external and internal—from the looming, archetypal specter of the menacing father. At times, particularly in its recorded form, A Wolf at the Door feels like a therapy session during which the reader as confessee is unable to escape, left squirming uncomfortably until time is up.
The audio book features four new songs by acclaimed artists hand-selected by Burroughs himself: Patti Smith, Sea Wolf, Tegan Quin (Tegan and Sara) and Ingrid Michaelson all contribute their own dark tributes to Burroughs' personal exorcism. The compositions are eerily similar—somber, mournful and atmospheric all—and their inclusion underscores the nexus of literature and music that informs Burroughs' life and work. The Advocate caught up with Burroughs during his extended book tour to find out more about the audio book project, the role of music in A Wolf at the Table, and what's next.
Valley Advocate: How did you choose the artists for the audio book?
Augusten Burroughs: These are four artists whose work I personally love and respect. They are four very different musicians, but they have in common the ability to constantly create deeply emotional, innovative music.
In discussing the audio book, you talk about transferring your words directly to iPod fans by using music and sound effects to bring your book to life. Do you think A Wolf at the Table is a more complete entity in this expanded format?
For the reader, no. For the traditional audio book listener, yes. As primarily a reader myself, I find it distracting to listen to an author read his or her work. And often painful, with low production values and no "ear candy." But audio book listeners will appreciate the added textures, layers and—of course—artistic collaboration found on the Wolf audio book.
Your audio book is, in your words, the first real innovation in the medium. Do you think that it is the future of the industry?
I do. I think the audio book listener is traditionally an older person. And in order to survive as a medium, it's essential to attract a younger listener. So in this sense, yes, I expect we'll be seeing more audio books like Wolf in the future—collaborations between the author and other artists—musical as well as visual.
Did your music lessons end after the violin incident—in which you violently destroy your instrument—depicted in A Wolf at the Table?
Actually, no. I attempted guitar.
You talk about how your older brother made sound systems for local bands back in the day—do you remember any of those artists?
I don't know any of the local bands [checking in via email, Burroughs' brother, John Elder Robison, names a few of the bands he worked for, including Fat, Clean Living, James Cotton, James Montgomery, and the Rhinestones as local bands]. But he made all the pyrotechnic guitars for Kiss. And he did massive sound systems for Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane and so just so many stadium bands of the '70s. My brother is John Elder Robison and he writes about this in his Asperger's syndrome memoir, Look Me in the Eye, which was an instant bestseller. And no, I didn't help him write it.
There is mention of opera playing on the radio in your home—was there often music playing in the house? Did your mother listen to anything while she wrote?
Yes, she listened to various operas when she wrote, as well as Buffy Saint-Marie, Joan Baez, Helen Reddy, Roberta Flack, Odetta.
Do you remember any of the records you might have purchased with the silver dollars you talk about pilfering from your brother?
Probably a Streisand album. I have tinnitus and the tone of her (young) voice perfectly masks the endless ringing I hear. And my mother played her albums when she was pregnant with me, so perhaps that helps to explain it.
In A Wolf at the Table, your father almost allows your dog Brutus to kill your neighbor, partially because of the loud music emanating from that neighbor's house. At one point he also chides you for thinking you are kneeling and praying for a record player, of all things. Was your father averse to music, or particular kinds of music?
My father loathed music. I never in my life saw him play an album. In the car, after he was remarried, he might listen to a bland Muzak station, but I expect this was his wife's choice, not his. My father wouldn't even buy a car with an AM radio—just the faceplate where the radio should be. He has absolutely no interest in music—of any kind—whatsoever.
Any film adaptations currently in the works? Is the Sellevision project still in production?
Yes, Sellevision is in pre-production and I'll be able to talk more about that picture once casting has been finalized. In addition, Wolf was optioned before I wrote it by Universal Pictures—with Red Wagon producing. Very exciting. And I may have some exciting Dry news very soon.
Do you have input into the soundtracks for film versions of your books?
Typically, no. That would be a decision made by the films' producers. But I think many directors, when directing something as personal as a memoir, welcome any input from the author. Within reason.
Do you listen to music when you write? What music is currently in heavy rotation for you?
I never listen to music when I write. But when I'm not writing, like right now, I listen to music constantly. And I'm listening to "comfort food" music—songs that remind me of certain periods of my past. But also new stuff. I have a "Book Tour" playlist on my iPod that I update every couple of cities. It's a range of songs from "Island" by Julia Fordham to the new cover of "Kissing You" by Taylor Dayne. "Love is Here" by Des'ree and "Just a little Loving" by Shelby Lynne. Joni Mitchell's "All I Want" is on there, as is "O Filli Et Filiae" by Sinead O'Connor. Looking further down the list, I see "Northern Star" by Hole and "I've Seen It All" by Bjork. "Strange Fruit" by Billy Holiday is on my Book Tour playlist, as is Greg Laswell's cover of the Cindi Lauper mega-hit "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." And then there are about 80 more.
What musician, past or present, would you like to be?
I wouldn't want to be a musician. I hate buses.
Augusten Burroughs reads from and signs A Wolf at the Table June 18, 7:30 p.m., Chapin Audiutorium, Mount Holyoke College, Route 116, South Hadley, (413) 545-2511 or (800) 999-UMAS. Tickets are $30-70, and proceeds benefit WFCR.
