History/politics cutoff point

Helen_Davis · Post by **Helen_Davis** » Sat November 2nd, 2013, 8:46 pm

If this has been debated before I apologize, I'm just curious-- is there a 'cut-off' date between the two? I am curious since I am interested in Angela Merkel and what is going on there in the EU. Since she's alive today I know obviously she would be political. I'm pretty young, so I consider 1970s and before historical. Any thoughts?

John Sliz · Post by **John Sliz** » Tue December 17th, 2013, 1:59 pm

As far as I am concerned if it happened before today it is history.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Tue December 17th, 2013, 3:22 pm

I missed this thread when it got started, apologies. I think it's been said somewhere that the 50s are the cutoff point? That would make sense for older peeps like me, the 70s were years I lived in, and I can't imagine thinking of them as historical. That said, for you younger whipper snappers, I can see the 70s as being a historical period.

Make sense?

donroc · Post by **donroc** » Tue December 17th, 2013, 4:15 pm

History for you young'ns = current events for my generation.

DianeL · Post by **DianeL** » Wed December 18th, 2013, 12:20 am

I've seen a mobile line drawn in the past couple of years, pinning the question to the author - if an author born in the eighties writes about the sixties, they are writing historical. But an author born in the forties writing about the sixties is not. It has a certain logic, but I'm open to a pretty subjective interpretation and, for me, I tend to judge historical from my personal perspective. I can't think of anything from the past fifty years as "historical", personally, and even the rest of the 20th century I would probably look at more just as a story than historical.

As far as making the distinction historical/political, I'm not sure the options are compelling. Not all historicals are apolitical, by a very long shot, and political writing transcends the period in which it's either fictionally or accurately set. A work could be both or neither.

Helen_Davis · Post by **Helen_Davis** » Sat December 21st, 2013, 3:23 am

[quote=""DianeL""]I've seen a mobile line drawn in the past couple of years, pinning the question to the author - if an author born in the eighties writes about the sixties, they are writing historical. But an author born in the forties writing about the sixties is not. It has a certain logic, but I'm open to a pretty subjective interpretation and, for me, I tend to judge historical from my personal perspective. I can't think of anything from the past fifty years as "historical", personally, and even the rest of the 20th century I would probably look at more just as a story than historical.

As far as making the distinction historical/political, I'm not sure the options are compelling. Not all historicals are apolitical, by a very long shot, and political writing transcends the period in which it's either fictionally or accurately set. A work could be both or neither.[/quote]

Thanks and especially very true about your last paragraph.

Donroc-- very funny!

DianeL · Post by **DianeL** » Sat December 21st, 2013, 9:16 pm

Heh - something of a restatement of Donroc's point, really, but thank you.

I'm fascinated by the idea of making the author the measure, and it seems like it could go the same way, measuring "historical" by audience/reader too (settings 10-20 years before they were around being historical, etc.)

Helen_Davis · Post by **Helen_Davis** » Sun August 3rd, 2014, 2:02 am

BUMP

So if I were to write about Angela Merkel it would not be historical but just a story, but whereas, say, anovel about Eleanor Roosevelt would be historical?

DianeL · Post by **DianeL** » Sun August 3rd, 2014, 9:14 pm

Sounds right to me! For all that's worth.

Divia · Post by **Divia** » Sun August 3rd, 2014, 10:42 pm

Yep.
Thats what I would say.