While much of Pulitzer-Prize winning author Richard Russo’s fiction has been semi-autobiographical, “Elsewhere” is the New England writer’s first proper memoir.
"I'm pretty much incapable of writing literal truth for more than two sentences in a row."
“I’m very happy writing fiction, making things up. I’m pretty much incapable of writing literal truth for more than two sentences in a row,” said Russo. “So writing a memoir where I couldn’t play fast and loose with literal truth was difficult.”
But Russo does tell an honest, emotionally complex story about his close relationship with his mother, Jean.
“She was just so much on my mind since her death, that I needed to get this out.”
A key moment is Russo’s decision to attend college in Arizona, thousands of miles from his small hometown in upstate New York. He says his mother moved with him, not your typical collegiate experience.
“I began to see that the decision to go to Arizona had only been partly mine,” says Russo.
The title, “Elsewhere,” is a nod to his mother’s desire to get away. She dealt with a range of issues from her family relationships to a difficult marriage in upstate New York. Russo also reluctantly acknowledges Jean’s mental health issues.
“She believed that she could re-invent herself, but only in a place where nobody knew her. So it didn’t really matter much where. Just elsewhere, was where she needed to be,” says Russo.
Russo will speak at the Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier on July 2nd.
