Lady: Are you Mr So-and-So?

Man: Yes, I am.

Lady: Oh. I read your articles every week and I must say that while I do not agree with everything you write, I make sure to read them anyway. Oh, and that one you wrote about such-and-such really touched my heart and opened my eyes.

Man: Thank you very much. My mother does not agree with everything I write, either, so you are in good company.

Lady: Have a good day, Mr So-and-So.

This is a typical conversation that almost every columnist in Bermuda has had on a weekly, if not daily, basis.

The Art of Column Writing

There is a fine balancing act one must perform every week as a columnist. What I have learnt thus far is that one has to follow these basic guidelines:

• Pick topics that are relevant to the populace or at least relevant to a significant proportion of the populace

• Do your due diligence: research, include facts and figures, and cite the sources whence that information flows

• Present your piece in a free-flowing and chronological manner

• Check for grammatical and spelling errors

• Vet anything that could potentially get you in court

• Condense it to about 500 to 700 words, as people tend to zone out at the 550-word mark

• Submit to editor

• Read comments once published

• Ignore the haters

The Masters

Over the past 20 years or so, I was one of those who sat and read various columnists weekly. While some of my friends were turning to the sports pages to see who had beaten whom in what sport, or others were turning to the obituary page to see which funeral they would be attending that week, I went straight for the opinion page to find out what was going on in the community. Every week, I read those columnists, both in print and online.

Over the years, I agreed with many of the columns I read and, like the lady in the beginning of the story, I disagreed with many.

Without them even knowing, these columnists became my mentors in one way or the other, each schooling me in the art of column writing.

So today I want to take a moment to salute some of them in my own little way (if there is someone I have left out, my humblest apologies): Lionel Pearman, Eugene Stovell, Tom Vesey, Tim Hodgson, Adrian Robson, John Barritt, LaVerne Furbert, Cathy Duffy, Bryant Trew, Larry Burchall, Elaine Murray, DJ Lt, Carla Zuill, Nathan Kowalski, Rolfe Commissiong, Alvin Williams, Nicolette Riess, Walton Brown, Robert Stewart, Lynn Millett, Jeremy Deacon, David White, Jonathan Starling, Chris Gibbons.

I thank each of them for not only helping to keep the public informed, but also for providing insight into the various perspectives that exist in Bermuda. It is our diversity in opinion and views that truly makes Bermuda unique. Long live column writing.