Last Friday (March 7), I gave a lunchtime presentation on
writing about Toronto history at the Arts & Letters Club. The following is the
text of my talk:
Looking up “history” in my desk dictionary, the first
meaning listed was “tale, story.” It’s a meaning sometimes lost when people
discuss history. To some, our past is little more than facts and statistics.
That’s fine under certain circumstances—compiling appendices for a larger work,
refuting the claims of politicians, cramming for trivia night. But having piles
of factoids and numbers lodged in your head isn’t helpful without the
contextual stories behind that data.
There was a point in my writing career where I fretted about
being called out by online commenters who harped on minor facts I overlooked in
an article, or nitpicked about obscure details. My girlfriend at the time, who
often proofread my work, asked who I was really writing for: the nitpickers,
who will complain regardless of what I write, or the wider audience, who is
more compelled by colourful stories and engaging storytelling? The answer was
the latter. She knew that while historical accuracy is important, so is finding
resonances with readers.
