Susannah Felts Issue #35

The novelist talks about This Will Go Down on Your Permanent Record

By Amber Drea
Published: March 1st, 2008 | 12:26pm

Even though This Will Go Down on Your Permanent Record is considered a young adult book, the debut novel by Birmingham-based writer Susannah Felts tells a story that resonates with anyone who remembers being a teenager outside of the popular crowd.

The story takes place in Nashville (where Felts grew up) during the ’80s. REM-obsessed 15-year-old Vaughn Vance picks up a camera one summer and begins documenting everything around her — in particular, Sophie Birch, the troubled girl next door. Told in the Vaughn’s precocious and perceptive voice, the story follows the girls’ fast and frenzied friendship fraught with angst, jealousy and betrayal as well as Vaughn’s struggle with becoming an artist. Part Ghost World, part Blake Nelson’s Girl, it’s a funny and inspiring emotional roller coaster that reminds us all too well of that tumultuous time.

Venus Zine spoke with Felts via phone about the book’s themes, the word “y’all” and how she feels about becoming a parent.

Why did you make Vaughn an artist or, more specifically, a photographer?
Photography just seemed like a natural fit because I wanted to explore the idea of what it means to take pictures and what it means to a young person to take pictures or just to find yourself creatively. So I added that in and that gave the book some sort thematic backbone [and] a lot more leeway to play with ideas. I’ve done some [photography], though I don’t go around saying (affects a snooty voice), “Well, I’m a photographer.” At other stages of my life, it was actually more front-and-center than it is now.

Why do you have Sophie move in with Vaughn’s family? It’s interesting because they both talk about not having a sibling, and then they become instant siblings.
I acutely remember I’d given [the story] to an old writing buddy to read, and he responded, “There’s not enough of a sense of urgency here.” I’ll never forget that because I was so miffed, but he was right. So I was like, OK, there’s gotta be trouble, and the easiest, fastest way to trouble for these two is get them really close together. And it kind of meshes with the theme of photography, where you’re invading someone’s privacy with a camera. Well, here’s this girl invading the privacy of this family life and taking ownership in a way. She puts a claim on something that the Vances have, and in turn, Vaughn is kind of doing that to her, so it makes the power of the relationship really interesting.

The Vances seem to be the perfect parents. They’re fun and creative and let her have a drink here and there, but they’re also watching every move she makes.
They’re a bit idealized, I would have to say. Maybe my ideal or something. My family’s much more traditional. My mom did all the cooking, and she would have never been totally absorbed in her artwork, although she’s a very creative person. So I’m pulling elements of them for sure, like they were kind of half-way hippies when they were younger, and my dad certainly would get up in the mornings and blast whatever albums he was into.

Is Vaughn similar to you at all?
There are definitely elements of me in Vaughn, like the way her mind works, the things that bother her. She’s kind of a worrier, you can see the beginnings of a little bit of neurosis in her — that’s probably me. And wanting to find yourself, but wanting to fit in — that’s a universal teen thing, but that I very much feel. But I also feel strongly that she’s not me. There’s nothing in this book that actually happened to me. And I never knew anyone like Sophie.

The book is set in Nashville, and you can feel the heat, the mosquitoes, the Southern humidity. You also used “y’all,” but not a lot — just enough to show they’re Southern. Was that important for you to capture?
Yeah, you have to be very careful with the “y’all” [because] it is so quickly overused. Gosh, even in emails, people who live in the South are so ready with their “y’all,” but I was very aware of that — just a few will make it seem Southern. And I think any good book has a strong sense of setting.

Dragon Park plays a huge role in the novel, and it’s a real place.
Did you know there’s a MySpace group for people who hung out at Dragon Park? I’ve seriously thought about joining it, but I haven’t gone that far yet. Yeah, it’s totally real, and [now] it’s a beautiful gentrified park — it’s come back from the dead. I have two friends who take their kids there, and the Dragon’s all cleaned up and everything’s nice. Even though they did say that homeless guys hang around there at night, and [they] were walking through this little tunnel area the other day and there was some poop on the ground, so I guess it’s still got its edge. It loomed so large in my imagination when I was in high school because I didn’t hang out there — I was either too fortunate or not that lucky. I think there was one day when a friend and I skipped class and went there and smoked a cigarette.

Molestation also plays a minor yet important role. Why did you choose to make it a part of this story?
I wanted Sophie to have something in her past, and Sophie presented herself to me as this character [who] was sexualized beyond her years. And molestation is something that doesn’t get talked about — it’s kept very secret usually — and that too worked well with some of the other ideas, [such as] invasion of privacy or trying to get to know a person through art, and how far do you go [in friendship]. How much do you give away? How much do you keep to yourself? So it led me to play with that sense of menace throughout the book. Vaughn knows that there’s something that Sophie’s not telling her, and at the same time, she has her own secret.

With all the making out, smoking, and drinking in this book, would you let your own daughter read it when she’s 15?
I don’t even know what I’m going to do about the grossness of my kid’s first vomit attack or spit up or whatever. I am so clueless about parenthood at this point that I cannot even imagine what I would do, but I think I almost feel like the default would have to be, Yes, I would let my child read it, but with the caveat that we’d have a great discussion about it, which of course would never happen because she’d be like, “Fuck you, Mom, I’m not gonna talk about my book with you.” I like to think that there is actually a really strong moral message that’s presented in this really subtle or coded way, like, If you get drunk, you’re gonna go mess around with a freako boy and you’re gonna feel like a retard the next day. Nothing good comes of all that.

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ABOUT THE BOOK

This Will Go Down On Your Permanent Record (Featherproof Books)
By Susannah Felts
192 pages
List price: $9.95

Available on Amazon.com