In this episode of the History Slam, Sean Graham talks with Shannon McConnell, author of the new book The Burden of Gravity. about the book. They talk about Shannon’s background in writing, researching the story, and why poetry is an effective storytelling technique for historians. They also talk about the history of the Woodlands School, how the students were treated, and the challenges of writing from the students’ perspectives.

The book tells the story of the students at New Westminster’s Woodlands School in the 1960s and 1970s. The school originally opened in 1876 as a ‘lunatic asylum’, but later became a custodial school for children with disabilities. During this time, there were reports of neglect and abuse that went unaddressed. Based on archival research, McConnell uses poetry to share the students’ stories. As poetry of witness, the book employs a first person perspective without using I and takes readers through the students’ emotions while also challenging the audience to consider how institutions like the Woodlands School are remembered.