Thank you, Eileen Lystee, Mark Stout, Doris Miller-Yetton, Ann Rockley, Dee Douglas-Jones, Linda Teather, Jennifer Jones, and so many more of you following along in this recording of Diane Burley sharing her strategies for braiding a story from archives, history, and family tales.

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Weaving Leonora’s Story

Diane’s approach to storytelling begins with a story grounded in known facts, then adds feelings as gleaned from the records and echoed in Diane’s own life. Diane shared her process of sorting through research on labor leader Leonora Kearney Barry, whose scant Wikipedia page quickly glosses over the compelling details of her life as a wife and mother. While not necessarily relevant to her groundbreaking work, they humanize her and provide a rich background to her story.

Some of the pieces Diane’s written about Leonora include this first one introducing her:

Picking up on some of the stories Diane mentioned in her talk, you may want to explore …

Coronet-playing William E. Barry and the trailings Diane has gleaned…

And in a wonderful example of how we bring ourselves to our writing, here’s Diane’s reflection on Leonora fighting her way through literal boys clubs.

In a very personal way, Diane gave voice to an advocate who walked the walk in a bustle, and for miles…

And finally, Leonora’s complicated rise through the Knights of Labor, her pioneering work in data collection, and ultimately the twisted story of her contributions and how that weaves into Diane’s own tale.

Learn more about Diane Burley, about her Substack publication, “Musings of a Storyteller.”

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