Non-fiction Weekend - Introduction

Susan Omand introduces our weekend of themed articles...

Mark Twain once said “Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.” Or was it Ernest Hemingway, quoted as the source according to one article I read. Or maybe the Texan, J Charles Dobie? A few more people seem to think that way and claim the quote for the Lone Star State. Anyway, you get my point... and that point is that “the truth” of an event depends on who’s telling it and where they got their information from and that, for me is, what’s so fascinating about documentaries and non-fiction books – there’s always so many viewpoints to any real event that the facts sometimes take on a life of their own. And then there’s the interpretations of that information, using salient facts to further a point or bolster an argument while conveniently forgetting, or not knowing, others.

There is no need to conjure up mystical lands or delve into the depths of a dystopian imagination to come up with excitement and adventure, intrigue and danger and good old-fashioned gut-rending emotion in the telling of events that actually have happened in the real world. Over this weekend, we’re going to look at epic quests across country, morality, kindness, true love, life, death, secrets and lies. There are tales here that will make you laugh, those that will make you cry and those that will make you wipe your computer hard-drive and sit whimpering in the coat cupboard with a tinfoil hat on your head... or is that just me?

Welcome to Non-fiction Weekend on /Garbage-file. Honestly? You couldn’t make it up...