Why read a fictional account of homelessness? Surely the facts speak for themselves and are sufficient. Keith Oatley, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, has studied that question. His research suggests that the experience of reading fiction affects people differently than reading non-fiction.
Oatley created a factual account that matched the details of Checkov’s story The Lady and The Dog. Study participants were assigned to read the factual account or Checkov’s original. The participants also completed a survey before and after reading so that Oatley could compare changes in personality and emotion between the two groups. The group who read the fictional account showed more change in personality and emotion.
Oatley doesn’t comment specifically about fiction that discusses homelessness, but his research suggests that fiction might change the way people see and think about it.1
Now, in Katherine Seligman’s recent novel, we have a live opportunity to test whether fiction will turn opinion faster than facts. Seligman is the author of At the Edge of the Haight, a fictional account of young adults who are homeless. Her book is favourably reviewed in the San Francisco Examiner: Novel insightfully looks at the lives of homeless people
Footnotes
- You can read more about Oatley’s work in The Literary Review of Canada: Why Fiction is Good for You
