Q & A with Anne Matthews, author of "If Walls Could Talk"

While working on her essay on how buildings sound, author Anne Matthews became intimately more aware of her own surroundings, of the differences in ambient noise, for example, associated with buildings in various settings. Matthews, the author of several books, teaches at Princeton University. Here she discusses the writing of "If Walls Could Talk" with Preservation's associate editor Eric Wills.

EW: Why do you think the movement to preserve sound has recently gained momentum?

AM: Because the world is getting infinitely noisier very fast. Alex van Oss is very eloquent on the subject in my story. We are literally not wired to handle the noise, and yet when we seek silence, tranquility, and natural sound, the social, cultural, and geographical barriers are higher than ever. When you want peace and quiet you really have to work for it these days. It's something that you value much more when you do find it. The preservation impulse takes over at that point. Something that's marvelous and vanishing inspires the desire to save it for the future.