Samhi C. – Staff Writer

skc5908@psu.edu

“If I could turn my writing into music, I would.” These words were said by Glenn Taylor, the featured writer for the third installment of the Smith Creative Writers Reading Series. On Thursday, April 20, at 6:00 p.m., Taylor took his place at the podium in the Metzgar Lobby and read excerpts from his latest novel, “The Songs of Betty Baach.” 

The novel is narrated from the point of view of a fictional woman named Betty Baach and its timeline spans from 1777 to 2038. Betty claims to be 321 years old and after a storm hits her hometown, she writes down her history and reflection on key moments of her life, all the while referring to several real-world songs that Taylor has been inspired by. 

While reading, Taylor requested that we use our imagination to change his voice in our minds to Margo Martindale’s, saying that her voice is that of Betty’s in his mind. “If I ever got to choose who would read the audiobook, it would be Margo Martindale,” he says. 

Befitting of the novel’s title, each chapter begins with “Song of” and ends with the main subject of the chapter. This functions as an indication that the “Songs” which are mentioned in the title do not refer to the real-world songs which Taylor mentions in the book but rather refer to Betty’s musings. 

The novel is interesting in that while the chapters function together to tell a larger story, they can also be read as standalone short stories, each with their own distinct message for the audience. Most of the chapters end with a profound reflection from Betty that transforms the tangible subject into a metaphor for some phenomenon in life. 

For example, the last line of “Song of the Robot” is “I am not a robot and neither are you.” While in context, Betty is discussing how we, humans, are literally not robots, metallic machines filled with pre-set coding and programming. The word “robot” can also be representative of that which lacks autonomy and is controlled by an external force. By having Betty say “I am not a robot and neither are you”, Taylor is making commentary on human autonomy, decision-making, blind obedience, and fate: People are not robots and should not be treated like robots. 

Meanwhile, the line that stood out to me in “Song of Imagination” was “Imagination is like memory, only stronger.” The statement has a metafictional quality, making commentary on the imagination that drives stories, drives fiction, which includes this novel. This also enhances the unreliable-narrator quality of the book in combination with a line from the chapter “Song of Memory” in which Betty says “I don’t remember things right”. 

The subjectivity of the statement also has the potential to make readers consider whether or not they believe in the same and why. Personally, it struck me as true. Our brain capacity for remembering things aside, while memories are the real events we have lived and have no control over, imagination is filled

with content that we ourselves have created and own. In this way, I do feel imagination is stronger than memory. For me, in a way, this rolls back to the desire for autonomy, for wanting control over one’s own life. 

When asked about the inspiration for the novel, he said that apart from being inspired by some real-life songs, he had also been inspired by certain real-life events such as the shooting of Larry the Llama which prompted the chapter “Song of the Llama.” According to Taylor, learning about Larry the Llama’s shooting made Taylor aware of the fact that using animals in fiction is “not just laughter and diversion… It’s preparing for coming hardship.” 

While the usage of animals as characters instead of humans allows some distance from the pain that a story might entail, they still express the realities of human life so that audiences can learn to deal with the hardships that come to them. 

“I don’t think I’ll ever go back to traditional novels,” Taylor says. “Maybe. I don’t know.” He reveals that his current work-in-progress project is based on the English alphabet, how the first letter of every chapter will be dictated by alphabetical order. 

About his writing process, Taylor says that while he picked up a routine for when to write after starting his first job, he’s slowly moving back to writing when he can. “At the end of the day,” he says, “when you’re taking classes and working, how much can you actually write?” 

He also tells us, “I used to be a silent writer. Eventually, I moved to music and began curating [different] playlists for different kinds of writing.” He says the playlists are “curated based on mood.” His most recent musical obsession is Smino, but he also expresses affection for the music of Frank Ocean, Louis Armstrong, and Nina Simone to name a few. 

When asked about his opinion towards writers who read less and consume other forms of media or art more such as music or movies, Taylor says, “It’s so individual.” For him, nothing can replace books. “There is something magical about them.” However, his own personal preference aside, he feels that writers being inspired by other forms of art more than writing is completely acceptable. 

Whatever medium of creativity, of story, of expression one is consuming, the important part is that there is something being consumed and something else being inspired. “None of it is a waste of time… I think it can only be a good thing for your writing or any art.” 

As a word of advice for other writers, he says, “Experiment, and read, and go out and experience life.” 

Originally from Huntington, West Virginia, Taylor attended Ohio University, earning a B.A. and M.A. in English with a focus in Creative Writing. He later earned an M.F.A in Fiction Writing at Texas State University. Having taught at a Chicago community college for some time, he has been back in West Virginia since 2011 and is currently teaching Fiction Writing at West Virginia University.