The Surprising Legacy of Lu Burke, Longtime New Yorker Copyeditor

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My friend Alan Bisbort, whose book “When You Read This, They Will Have Killed Me:” The Life and Redemption of Caryl Chessman, Whose Execution Shook America, I edited and published with him in 2006, is a fine writer with whom I share many personal interests. We’ve both worked in bookstores, we both ponder the iniquities of the criminal ‘justice’ system, and we both enjoy reading about and observing idiosyncratic and eccentric personalities.

In Connecticut Magazine, Alan recently published a fascinating piece of literary journalism, on Lu Burke, a longtime copyeditor at the New Yorker, who upon her recent death bequeathed all her accumulated fortune to the Southbury (CT) Public Library, more than a million dollars. Alan’s piece is called The Million Dollar Enigma, and it was published in the magazine’s May issue. I found today that Mary Norris of the New Yorker, who knew and worked with Lu Burke, has contributed a recollection of Burke and done some more reporting on her bequest. It appears on the New Yorker‘s book blog, Page Turner, and also references Alan’s article. The photo accompanying Ms. Norris’s blog essay, and Alan’s article, as well as this blog post was taken at the Friendly’s restaurant in Southbury where she enjoyed going to lunch with a visitor, such as Norris, who took the photo.

Two other bookpeople I know are mentioned in Alan’s article–Peter Canby, who’s worked at the New Yorker for many years (and whose book The Heart of the Sky I published in paperback in 1994) and Daniel Menaker, who was an editorial executive at Random House when I worked at the company in 1997-2000. Peter and Daniel also both knew Burke. (One necessary correction to Alan’s article: Menaker is no longer working at Random House.)

Alan and Norris both wonder why Burke–who it is now known never even had a library card from the Southbury Public Library–willed her life savings to the institution. Though she had no children , she did have a niece. Lu was known for a vinegary personality–Norris reports on “A story that made the rounds after her death” . . . once, while waiting for the elevator, she beckoned to a fellow-resident and asked, “Would you do me a favor?” And when the woman said yes, Lu told her, “Drop dead.” She was not known for a generous nature to her co-workers.

Norris also reports that now the library and the town are in a dispute over how the money should be spent and allocated, an unfortunate pass for such surprising generosity.

 

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Day 6 in Toronto–Heading Home to NYC

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Late evening update: The Publishing People for President Obama fundraiser, held at a handsome downtown loft–which I rushed to after landing at LaGuardia late in the afternoon–was great fun. According to organizer Barbara Lowenstein, it was a big financial success, with nearly $150,000 raised from it. Presidential advisor David Plouffe addressed the group and answered more than a half-dozen questions, making clear that the OBama campaign will draw sharp contrasts wherever they can do so. He was followed to the stage by Rosanne Cash and a fabulous guitarist John Leventhal. They played three songs and made a lot of us in the crowd even more glad we had come to support the president.

Afternoon update: I’m at Pearson Airport in Toronto, soon to board a flight for home to LaGuardia.

My productive and fun visit to Toronto ends today, and I am packing up my room this Monday morning. After I’ve checked out of my hotel and left my luggage with the concierge, I’m heading off to breakfast with my friend and book business colleague Marc Glassman, former owner of Pages Bookstore, and nowadays organizer of Toronto’s This is Not a Reading Series, and film critic. We last saw each other when I came to Toronto for NXNE last June, so we’ll catch up about the past year, including this blog and my new client, Speakerfile. Marc’s coordination of panels for his innovative reading series makes him potentially an ideal person to utilize the Speakerfile platform.

On Sunday, I attended an outdoor performance by the wonderful 6-piece band Ohbijou. They play a special kind of chamber-pop featuring guitar and soaring vocals by Casey Mecija and violin by her sister Jenny. The rest of the instrumentation makes for an unusual and appealing soundscape: electrified cello, keyboards, bass, and drums. In the evening I took the Toronto subway for the first time out to the northern reaches of the city to join a Father’s Day BBQ hosted by the Fish family, my Toronto relations. The family includes Abe and Marcy Fish, a cousin to my late father Earl. This was the second year in a row I was able to join them for this occasion, also after finishing up at NXNE. I enjoy enormously being with Abe and Marcy, and with their son Joel, at whose home we gathered. Surprise arrivals were Arthur and Bonny Fish, at whose vacation home on Prince Edward Island my family and I enjoyed a wonderful evening with their three sons a few years ago.

This whole trip has been my first attempt to more or less live-blog an event and it was a mixed bag, with some growing pains. I regret that the problems I faced in writing and posting about my activities limited my posting–due to the fact that 1) Verizon made fatal mistakes with my account and the SIM card on this IPad before I crossed the border into Canada, denying me access to cellular networks, and leaving me dependent on sporadic Wifi at many venues; and 2) Publishing photos in WordPress–the environment for this site–on the IPad is a very incomplete interface. In short, I had hoped and intended to post as rich a brand of content as I do from NY, with links and photographs and video, but it just hasn’t worked out that way.

I apologize to readers that these failures limited what I’ve been able to post from Toronto; still, I’m hopeful I will have learned valuable lessons over the past week that I can apply to my blogging the next time I travel.

Next time I post I’ll be back at my desk in NY, eager to upload and share my NXNE photos and write about the many great bands I heard over the past week, the interactive/digital/social media connections I made, as well as the new friends I met, and the great time I had hanging with my CBC Radio 3 friends. Toronto is a great city, vibrant, lively, diverse and cosmopolitan, a true engine of urban discovery.

When I land in NY later this afternoon, I’ll be heading right from LaGuardia to a Publishing for President Obama fundraiser. I look forward to seeing many NY book friends there.

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Day 5 in Toronto for NXNE

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Last night’s musical performances were everything I had hoped they would be. Early in the evening, at 8 PM, I went to hear a set by a little-known band called Amity Beach. They were a young five-piece from Grand Bend, Ontario, 18-year olds who play their own songs and some great covers. Afterward, at the merch table I met the dad of the lead singer, who told me of the band’s origins and how they’re writing and recording their own music. I enjoyed learning about their process.

From Rancho Relaxo on College Street, I used the Spadina Ave. streetcar to get back down to the Horseshoe Tavern on Queen St. West for the CBC Radio 3 showcase, where Yukon Blonde put on a tremendous, high-energy set in the 10 PM slot. Afterward, I took the streetcar and subway to Lee’s Palace on Bloor Street where Matt Mays played a tremendous 90-minute set with his band El Torpedo. He forged–even already had–a strong bond with his appreciative audience and the last four or five songs (“Tall Trees,” “City of Lakes, Cocaine Cowgirl, etc.) turned into exercises in mass-participation.

After Matt Mays, I cabbed back down to the Horseshoe Tavern, where I heard the end of the set by the stomping, hollering blues trio Catl. The evening ended there with a pleasant surprise–a really good set from a band I’d never heard of, Fast Romantics. As tired as the audience was they began at 1 AM, the crowd got pulled into it and all were won over to what amounted to a new discovery for those around me.

Publication of photos on this site will have to wait till I’m home, since as I’ve learned, adding photos to WordPress from the IPad is no simple trick. Still, I will put some up on Facebook to go along with this brief post.

Now, it’s Sunday morning and I’m heading off to the bluegrass brunch at the Dakota Tavern where a number of Radio 3 friends are meeting at 11 AM. Later, at 4 PM, Ohbijou will be playing as part of the Luminato Festival. This will be my last full day in Toronto, before heading back home to NYC Monday afternoon.

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Coming up–Day 4 in Toronto at NXNE

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Evening update: The unofficial Radio 3 picnic this afternoon was a blast. Grant Lawrence arranged for a fabulous group of musicians to play in the leafy setting of Trinity-Bellwoods Park. We were treated to three-song sets by Portage & Main; Emperor of the North; Jeremy Fisher; Ian Foster; and The Matinee. Close to 100 people showed up for the bucolic blend of music, food, and conversation. Afterward, I walked with R3 friend Matt to hear Kathleen Edwards play an outdoor set as part of the Luminato Festival. She and her terrific band played a great set as fans swayed under the hot sun. Edwards gave a shout-out to all the great culture in Toronto this weekend, and said she’s going later tonight to listen to Richard Ford talk about his new novel, Canada, which I have loved reading.

In a few minutes I’ll be off to the night’s activities–the CBC Radio 3 showcase at the Horseshoe Tavern, with Yukon Blonde playing. Later, I’ll head over to Lee’s Palace on Bloor Street for Matt Mays and his band El Torpedo.
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Following on yesterday’s tour of CBC HQs and the fabulous showcase featuring Hidden Pony musicians at the Dakota Tavern, with Erin Passmore, Jeremy Fisher, the Danks, Elephant Stone, and Rah Rah, Saturday promises to be another great day of music and friends.

At noon we have a CBC Radio 3 picnic in Toronto’s leafy Trinity-Bellwoods Park, coordinated by R3 host and author Grant Lawrence, with what I’m sure will be great guest musicians. Also this afternoon is a free outdoor concert with Dan Mangan and Kathleen Edwards, as part of the city’s Luminato festival. Tonight will be the NXNE CBC Radio 3 showcase at the Horseshoe Tavern including Yukon Blonde, Also tonight is a personal fave, Matt Mays with his band El Torpedo at Lee’s Palace. It’s going to be a great day!

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Friday in Toronto–Speakerfile and Day 3 of NXNE

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I began today by taking the Toronto subway crosstown from my hotel over to Yonge and College Streets where my new client Speakerfile has their office in a handsome old brick building that used to be an Odd Fellows Hall (who were those odd guys, anyway?). I met several people I’d been working on the phone since I began working with Speakerfile last month; it was good to put faces to names.

CEO Peter Evans had asked me to speak to his colleagues a bit about how Speakerfile can answer a need in the wider author/publisher space, so I explained that in an age of diminished shelf space in brick & mortar bookstores, and less print space for traditional book reviews, the discovery of new books by the reading and consuming public is among the greatest challenges that authors and publishers face in marketing their work. I’d bet that a comprehensive Web search for the use of the word “discoverability” would probably shown it’s multiplied many times over the past year or two–it is one of the watchwords of our business.

After our informal meeting, I made a few calls to Speakerfile prospects I’ve identified, including one Toronto literary agency, and headed off to my afternoon and NXNE activities.

An hour from now, members of the informal CBC Radio 3 blogger and enthusiast community will meet at the CBC building, and be given a tour of the CBC broadcast facility by radio producer Pedro Mendes. After the tour, we’re going to do a group photo in the CBC building atrium, and soon after head off to a group dinner. The musical highlights tonight will include label and management company Hidden Pony’s showcase at the Dakota Tavern featuring their bands and artists Rah Rah, Jeremy Fisher, the Danks, Elephant Stone, and Rah Rah’s Erin Passmore. Other music tonight which will challenge my ability to be in two places at once include the Rheostatics’ Dave Bidini current outfit, the Bidini Band, and blues-soul performer Andre Williams playing with the great band The Sadies. And outdoor, at Yonge-Dundas Square Plants and Animals will be playing, along with the Matthew Good Band.

It’s been a good day already, and it’s only going to get better at the CBC and the Dakota Tavern.

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Thursday in Toronto–Speakerfile and Day 2 NXNE

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Afternoon update from Toronto: Just had lunch–salad, soup, cornbread–at a soul food place on Queen Street West called Harlem. Good wifi. Kinda funny, coming from NYC to eat here, but it just shows we do live in a global village, and that NY’s reach as a cultural touchstone remains strong.

It’s a warm sunny day in Toronto. Despite getting back to my room late and managing less than five hours sleep, I woke up excited and ready to roll.

My first activity was breakfast with Speakerfile CEO Peter Evans. He met in my hotel lobby and we walked to a little place nearby. It’s Peter’s vision that’s fueling this new web platform that connects event planners and conference organizers with authors, experts and thought leaders. With discoverability being the primary challenge for authors and publishers today, Speakerfile promises to be a discovery engine that puts authors in front of avid audiences. It’s significant that even amid the struggling economy of the past few years, conferences continue to grow in frequency and in the numbers of those who attend them. To me this shows that even with a greater percentage of the population working on their own, people remain hungrier than ever to connect in person with peers and colleagues, and make new contacts. It’s a parallel and key concomitant to the growth of social media.

Following on the successful work Peter and I did at BEA last week–introducing Speakerfile to many publishers, literary agents, authors, and indie publicists–this morning the two of us focused on a number of new initiatives we’ll be working on together. I’m more excited than ever to be sharing word of this extremely useful discovery tool with my many publishing friends and contacts, and will be stopping at his office Friday morning to meet his colleagues, and speak with them about how I see Speakerfile helping authors and publishers in their efforts to build their careers and sell more books. If you want to find out more about the platform, pleae click on the Speakerfile box at the upper-right corner of this site, and click through to their website.

NXNE, of course, is largely a rock ‘n roll crowd so festival activities won’t commence until later today. I’m excited about seeing more bands tonight, including possibly Boxer the Horse at El Mocambo on Spadina near my hotel; Baby Eagle, which features Daniel Romano, who is also playing solo later, and Julie Doiron, all at the Great Hall on Queen Street West; Belle Star at the Dakota Tavern; and Zulu Winter, at the Rivoli. Now, if I could just work on being in two places at once, I’d be all set!

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Settling in and First Bands at NXNE

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Registration and checking in today was fun. Compared with last year, when I was a neophyte, I knew what to look for in the exhibits of the Interactive strand of this tri-partite conference and festival. There were game designers, graphic artists, music tech people, inventors, and everyone’s extremely friendly.

Other than encountering some problems with my cellular service here in Toronto–owing to the fact that incredibly, Verizon in NYC had failed to properly set me up, even though I dealt with half a dozen over the past several weeks, things are going great.

I’m at the Gladstone Hotel Ballroom, with good wifi, where the Tracks on Tracks showcase is happening. It’s between sets right now. The evening features all the bands that just traveled across Canada from Vancouver and headed east to Toronto over the past five days. Shred Kelly, named in honr of the Australian outlaw Ned Kelly, were fantastic. They’re a five-piece, driven by a terrific rhythm section–Jordan on bass, who I met after their set, and a barefooted drummer, who kicked the hell out of his bass drum–a female keyboard player named Sage; a rhythm guitarist; and a fellow who played banjo and mandolin. They played foot-stompers, including the showstopper, “I Hate Work,” but also some more pop-sounding tunes. A great blended sound.

I’m here with many CBC Radio 3 pals, as we’re enjoying a reunion, since many of us met here last year.

I’ll get photos from their set up on the blog later. For now, I’m going to take a break from live-blogging and get ready to listen to the next bands.

Late Update: Following Shred Kelly, the highlights for me were the bands Portage&Main and then The Matinee,” a lively five-piece with a great lead guitarist and dynamic lead singer. On the walk back to my hotel, through lively blocks filled with locals and tourists I took photos of many interestingly designed storefronts, photos I will post later. Near the end of my stroll, I stopped at another music venue listed in the NXNE guide, Cameron House, and discovered a great four-piece called Dodge Fiasco. They had a sort of NRBQ-feel, and also reminded me of the great Canadian all-instrumental group, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, famous for providing the theme music to the classic TV show, “Kids in the Hall.” I also a female singer-songwriter, Erika Werry, friend of the band, who told me she’s recording new songs of hers tomorrow, and is hoping to hear Andre Williams and the Sadies on Friday night. It’s always fun to make one more musical discovery before the night is over.

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Done with BEA, on to NXNE

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With Book Expo America (BEA) now a wrap–and time enough over the summer to review the publishers’ catalogs I collected and follow up on email with people whose business cards I exchanged for my own–this week I’m preparing to attend North by Northeast (NXNE), Toronto’s annual music/film/digital festival. Among the band and artists I’m eager to hear live I’m especially excited about Belle Game, Shred Kelly, Adaline, Daniel Romano, Julie Doiron, The Elwins, Brasstronaut, Jeremy Fisher, Plants & Animals, and that’s only through Friday on the schedule, leaving me the weekend line-up to scrutinize. Last year when I went to NXNE I was a bit overwhelmed with all the choices, but still had a great time. Even with a year under my belt, I’m feeling daunted again, but with useful guides like this one by producer Elliot Garnier on the Radio 3 blog, I know I can’t go far wrong. I’ll be blogging, posting to my wall on Facebook, tweeting from NXNE, and connecting on LinkedIn, so please watch for updates if you’re not attending NXNE and would like to know what’s going on in Toronto.

While I’m packing my bag and readying my kit for a Wednesday morning flight to Toronto, friends from the CBCRadio 3 listener community have been traveling by train since last Saturday from Vancouver, B.C., across the Canadian Rockies and prairies, in a musical excursion called Tracks on Tracks, that has placed ten indie Canadian bands on a train with dozens of indie music fans, including Radio 3 host and author Grant Lawrence. It’s a 21st Century version of 1970’s Festival Express, when Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, The Band, and other musicians all trained across Canada. The documentary chronicling that trip is still fun to watch all these years later.

While in Toronto from June 13-18, I’ll also be meeting and working with Speakerfile, my new client who I introduced to many bookpeople during BEA. They have a great Internet platform that connects the events industry and conference organizers with authors, experts, and thought leaders. I’m pleased to host a promo from them at the upper-right hand corner of my site, so if you do public speaking, or work with authors who do public speaking, and you’re curious about what they can do for you and your authors, please click on the promo and surf through to their website. I can also provide you with information, if you want to ask me for it directly.
While I’m packing my bag and readying my kit for a Wednesday morning flight to Toronto, friends from the CBCRadio 3 listener community have been traveling by train since last Saturday from Vancouver, B.C., across the Canadian Rockies and prairies, in a musical excursion called Tracks on Tracks, that has placed ten indie Canadian bands on a train with dozens of indie music fans, including Radio 3 host and author Grant Lawrence. It’s a 21st Century version of 1970’s Festival Express, when Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, The Band, and other musicians all trained across Canada. The documentary chronicling that trip is still fun to watch all these years later.

While in Toronto from June 13-18, I’ll also be meeting and working with Speakerfile, my new client who I introduced to many bookpeople during BEA. They have a great Internet platform that connects the events industry and conference organizers with authors, experts, and thought leaders. I’m pleased to host a promo from them at the upper-right hand corner of my site, so if you do public speaking, or work with authors who do public speaking, and you’re curious about what they can do for you and your authors, please click on the promo and surf through to their website. I can also provide you with information, if you want to ask me for it directly.

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