Library bringing in documentary producer
“We are delighted to announce Lynn Novick as our sort of Author in the Fall,” said Alpena County Library Director Eric Magness-Eubank. “She has co-produced all of Ken Burns’ films, starting with “The Civil War.” She received co-billing with Burns on the Vietnam War documentary that aired in September last year.”
Novick is slated to speak Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. in the Alpena High School Auditorium.
A Yale University graduate, she was a research assistant at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History before beginning her film career as a production assistant at WNET, a public television station in Manhattan. She then worked on Bill Moyers’ projects, “Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth” and “A World of Ideas” before moving to Florentine Films in 1989 to work as associate producer for post production on Burns’ 1990 series, “The Civil War.”
In 1994, she produced Burns’ nine-part series, “Baseball,” for which she received an Emmy Award. In 1998, she was director and producer with Burns of a two-part biographical documentary, “Frank Lloyd Wright,” for which she received a Peabody Award.
In 2001, Novick produced Burns10-part series, “Jazz.” Among her most recent collaborations with Burns are “The War” (2007), “Baseball: The Tenth Inning” (2010) and “Prohibition” (2011). Her latest collaboration was the 18-hour documentary film series, “The Vietnam War.”
Along with bringing Novick to Alpena, the library is planning another Community Read to coincide with her visit. With Novick’s most recent work in mind, the library chose the Vietnam War-themed book, “The Things We Carried” by Tim O’Brien. This collection of linked short stories is about a platoon of American soldiers fighting on the ground during the war.
The community is invited to read the book prior to Novick’s visit and participate in a variety of related programming.
“It’s an incredibly powerful book that fits in with ‘The Vietnam War’ documentary,” said Magness-Eubank, adding that a colleague of his in Marquette previously offered the book as a Community Read project and it ended up being the most successful one his library had every done.
Magness-Eubank said a reason Novick became interested in doing a speaking engagement in Alpena is tied to research she’s currently doing for another documentary with Burns. It is a two-part biography of the author Ernest Hemingway, who spent time as a youth in the Petoskey area. She plans to conduct research in Michigan while here for the Alpena program and another in Traverse City.
The next collaborative project between Novick and Burns to be aired is focused on the U.S. prison system. Magness-Eubank said talking about subjects such as the Vietnam War and prisons can be difficult though important.
Magness-Eubank said the Vietnam War is a subject he’s very conscious of because his father, a Navy veteran, saw combat in Vietnam. Also, one of his childhood friends was a Vietnamese boy, who along with his family fled South Vietnam with nothing but the clothes on his back.
“Part of what libraries are here for is so people can explore harder issues and be a place to bring people together,” he said. “If you can’t explore tougher topics then how can you work your way through them?”
In addition to Novick, the library hopes to announce soon a second well-known author as part of its fall programming.