Seeing The Story in History
“Our task is not to find the maximum amount of content in a work of art,” Susan Sontag wrote in her 1964 work, Against Interpretation and Other Essays. “Our task is to cut back content so that we can see the thing at all.”
Maria Popova, the brilliant writer behind The Marginalian, explored Sontag’s line of thought regarding art and content, criticism and interpretation. Popova’s examination and Sontag’s words prompted thoughts about how I’m researching and writing about history. Bear with me as I follow Popova and Sontag, leading to thoughts about my work on Barons, Brewers, and Bootleggers: A Social History of Beer in Missouri.