At the Historical Society of Pennsylvania

I spent the swelter of yesterday at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania—reeling through old Philadelphia newspapers, studying the 1860 Smedley's Atlas, reading the tiniest guidebook I've ever seen (it fit in the palm of my hand, had been produced for the representatives of a 19th century pharmaceutical conference), and finding (miraculously!) precisely what I'd come for.  Some of this was sheer good fortune.  Some (Smedley's Atlas) came at the suggestion of the extraordinarily knowledgeable people who staff HSP.  I am grateful.

A day of research is a gift.  It opens a story out and forward. 

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River Talk

I'll be down at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania tomorrow evening, talking about rivers and the way they flow, talking about primary research and the way it builds to narrative. I always feel a deep sense of responsibility, when it comes to giving talks—to the audience, to the material—and often, in the preparatory hours before, I try to strip myself of what I know and yield again to questions and original impulses. What does a river mean? How might a river speak? How might a single organ—a river—embody a city's history? What do you search for, while researching?

It's critical, I think, to approach each talk newly. To reach deep and to keep reaching. To avoid, if you can, being seduced by what you've said before. To keep yourself on the right side of the page.

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