‘I WAS TOO HAUNTED BY THAT RELATIONSHIP TO
Ili‘t‘ >l<
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Dad's the ivor
UNDERSTAND IT'
If took JOHN BURNSIDE a long time before he could sit down to write about his dead father. Allan Radcliffe hears the brutal truth behind a hard life.
oct and author .lohn Burnsidc is onc of
Scotland's most gil'tcd IIIL‘I'UI')’ ligurcs. His much admircd poctl‘). which runs to ninc collcctions. including thc \\'hithrcad award-winning 'I'lir' sin/uni Danna suhtl} and prcciscly cxplorcs issucs arising from thc conl'incs and rcstrictions ol’ languagc. thc indix'idual's scarch for a homc or communin and thc human mind's intcraction with landscapc and naturc. With his livc ttm'cls. Burnsidc has hccomc rcnowncd for mining thc darkcr aspccts of thc human ps)chc. l.ukc. thc disturhcd narrator of his dchut. 'l'lir' Dumb llousi'. raiscs his childrcn in silcncc whilc im'cstigating thc duclopmcnt ol' thcir languagc. his cxpcrimcnts lcading him to commit murdcr. l.atcr works also lyricall} cxplorc thc conscqucnccs oi masculinin tnalc VIUIL'IIL'L‘ and scxualit}; 'I'Iir' [Jilin erm dcpicts IIIL‘ fallout from a scrics ol‘ rapcs w'hilc thc plot ol- Living .\'oirln'rt' rcxochs around a drunkcn tnurdcr iii a puh. In his latcst hook. .-I Liv .‘I/llllll My Father. thc author traccs many of thcsc ahiding thcmcs to his turhulcnt rclationship with his dad. 'l‘omm}. Hand} with his lists. a hca\_\ drinkcr. passi\c—aggrcssixc hull}; fantasist and l‘oundling. thc ccntral l'igurc ol‘ thc hook is rcgardcd with l'car. distastc and. cx'cntuall}. hatrcd h} his child as hc spirals sIo\\'I_\' downwards. Initially tracking his l'athcr‘s scllldisgust and constant sclllm}thologising to his amhiguous origins. Burnsidc is also achingl} honcst ahout his own carl)’ lil‘c and thc scll-dcstructix'c tcndcncics that would mirror his fathers. th. in thc l'orcw'ord to thc mcmoir. thc author insists thc hook is ‘hcst trcatcd as a work ol‘ l'iction'. acknow'lcdging thc constant chrlap ol~ thc rcal and thc
26 THE LIST 3 to Mir flitlo
itnagincd. 'So littlc is actually known ahout m} lathch stt)‘s Burnsidc. ‘:\ lot ol' this sltit‘} was hascd around hcarsa) and mcmorics so I had to imaginc m} wa_\ into
his lil'c. cspccially his youth and thc cl‘l’cct on his lilc ol
hcing a l'oundling. which I didn't know ahotrt until al'tcr his dcath. But I was writing within ccrtain lactual paramctcrs. which proVidcd a lramcwork.'
.»\s Burnsidc acknowlcdgcs. lhc trickicst aspch ol'
tclling this stor_\' in\'oI\cd thc c\cnts hc was a first-hand witncss to. "I'hc hardcst part ol’ thc hook to w ritc was trying to capturc in} own stor}. much of which I wasn't ohsching and awarc ol' whilc it was happcning. But it's thc samc proccss ol' sclccting and cditing. no mattcr whcthcr )‘ou‘rc dcaling with lact or fiction )ou‘rc still tr}ing toch at somc kind of truth.' |)cspitc thc unflinching Ittiltcsl) with which Burnsidc dcpicts this rclationship and his own latcr ‘lall'. which is punctuatcd h} drug and alcohol ahusc and scrious mcntal hcalth prohlcms. thcrc‘s an cxccptionall) calm tonc to thc hook that scrx cs to highlight thc raw. closc- to-thc-knucklc naturc of thc suhjcct mattcr.
‘It wouldn‘t ha\ c occurrcd to mc to w ritc thc hook a long timc ago. M} l‘atltcr dicd in NW. around thc timc that in} first collcction ol‘ pocms was hcing puhlishcd. hut at that timc l was too hauntcd h} that rclationship to hc ahlc to undcrstand it propcrl}. 'I‘hc calmncss in thc hook is dclihcratc: I didn't want it to hc thc kind of. hook w hcrc thc author is sawing. "Oh. what a tcrrihlc timc I had.”
A Lie About My Father is published by Jonathan Cape on Thu 2 Mar.
* John Burnside The File poet and author brings us a childhood memoir that holds very few bars. See preview. left. Jonathan Cape.
* DBC Pierre Riding on a monsoon of expectation, Peter Finlay follows up his Booker- wrnning debut with Ludmilla's Broken English. a sparky tale of conioined twins and Russian internet brides. See feature. page 14. Faber.
* Jason Gods. angels. deVils. surgeons. vampires. skeletons. policemen, aliens and Elvrs. They‘re all there in Meow. Baby. this Norwegian artist's latest meditative collection. See review. Fantagraphics.
* Kevin Huizenga Not quite the gentle Calvin and Hobbes tribute it first appears to be. Ganges No 7 features a man who just thinks a bit too much. See review. Fanfagraphics/Coconino.
* Sonny Liew Bicycle is the second part of this Malaysians born illustrator and painter's Malinky Robot series about the dystopian city of San'ya. See review. Red Robot.
* Alexander McCall Smith Blue Shoes and Happiness is the latest instalment from the Ladies No 1 Detective Agency series. Does this chap ever sleep, we wonder? Looks OK in the picture. certainly. The Hub, Edinburgh, Thu 2 Mar.
3|: David Cunningham The guy from Glasgow has just published a stirring piece of fantasy sci-fi for young adults entitled Cloud World. Blue skies ahead for Mr C. we reckon. Borders Books, Glasgow, Tue 74 Mar.
* lsla Dewar Getting Out of the House is the new book from the Edinburgh-born author who is perhaps best known for her Women Talking Dirty in 1996. Govanhill Library, Glasgow, Thu 76 Mar.