My original question was about _Running With Scissors_:
The debate coach at my high school is wondering if _Running with Scissors: A
Memoir_ by Augusten Burroughs is fiction or nonfiction. While it is a memoir
and biographical, Library of Congress suggests the Dewey number 813
(American Fiction in English). The rules for the debate contest are very
strict, so the student cannot afford to err by choosing fiction for her
piece. Can someone clarify? I understand that memoirs are not true
biographies because they usually cover only a small portion of a person's
life rather than the entire life in chronological order. Also, memoirs are
usually essays or narratives based on how someone remembers his life. Still,
does that make a memoir fiction?
The responses follow:
I think this was billed as memoir/bio but the family Burroughs lived
with has sued, claiming that (like James Frey and David Pelzer and
others) much has been made up. That may be part of the reason this
isn't in bio but in fiction. I'd have the student chose something
else.
I have placed Running with Scissors in my biography section: 921
Burroughs,A. It has the subject headings Burroughs, Augusten; American
novelists; and Amherst (Mass.)--social life and customs. No fiction
subheads.
The reason for confusion may be that Dewey gives the option to place author
biographies in the 800s, e.g. 813 for American novelists, but that's also
the Dewey number for their fiction books. I choose to place all my
biographies in 921 and keep the 800s for criticism only which many libraries
don't do. My clue at to whether it is biography is if there is a "B" in the
082 field of the MARC record. That indicates that it is a biography--not
fiction.
Another cause of confusion may be the recent brouhaha over James Frey's
book, A Million Little Pieces, which turned out to be a fictionalized
account of his life. When this was discovered many libraries moved it to the
fiction collection.
The reason this book has a Dewey of 813 is because the author is
known for his fiction works so he is classed in the American fiction
number. It is the procedure of Dewey that biographies and
autobiographies of American authors be placed in the correct literature
number for their works. So that is why his book is in 813, but it is an
autobiography and would be nonfiction.
I have not read the book. While the author insists it's all true, the
other members of the family in a Time(?) article I read last fall dispute
his memory of events.
The loc follows the 813.6 with B for biography. Also, the tracings do
not contain the limiter of fiction. I also looked at our county catalog,
and all libraries have
it classified as Biography. I have seen no libraries classify it as
fiction. All reviews treat it as
biographical.
I read this book and would classify it as nonfiction/biographical however, I
am no expert. What I can tell you though is that I would NEVER recommend
putting the book in a high school library. I am almost surprised that this
student's parents even allowed their 9th grader to read it. There are some
VERY explicit sex scenes with graphic details.
Thank you to all for your help. The student chose another piece for the
debate tournament.
Julie Long
Library Media Specialist
Mayde Creek High School (Katy ISD)
Texas
jml@jjlong.us
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