The Power of Primary Sources
Laurie Halse Anderson and I spent time going over how to find primary sources, and what to do with them in order to properly pay homage to the past
My wife and I used to jokingly refer to ourselves as “Halse-heads” because there was a five year span of time where it seemed like we were seeing Laurie Halse Anderson at author talks and book signings every few months. And not in the same place either. From Central New York to the Delmarva area, to Cambridge Massachusetts and to the Capital region of New York ; we partaken in discussions photo ops and signings, even seeing the stage version of Fever:1793 in her native Syracuse at one point.
And there’s a reason why Laurie’s work appeals to two people with degrees in history and literature; she knows precisely how to tell a story, set in the past, with the accuracy the real people of those time periods deserve. It is especially important that her work serves young people, as these future “Halse-heads” benefit from a role model who demonstrates such strong stewardship of history.
It was such an honor to have a Laurie, an authority on finding and analyzing historical documents, join the Everything is a Primary Source so the two of us could discuss the power of primary sources. She has made a career out of working with primary sources. Her bibliography of nearly 30 books for children and young adults includes several historical fiction titles, and she is adamant about using the documents and artifacts that she researches fully as a way to project as much truth about the past as possible.
Laurie Halse Anderson can be found at madwomanintheforest.com
You can learn more about my teaching methods and schedule a consulting session by visiting everything-history.com.