Me? A day trip to NYC? Uh oh.
But, I found the train station in Providence, found the correct platform and train, found the Penn Station exit to 8th Avenue and then—what luck!—found Erica Zappy in the cab queue. This last was a great find, because Erica is a hip and saavy former New Yorker: she wrangled us a cab, got us to the American Museum of Natural History, hiked four flights of stairs with her goofy-author-who-suddenly-cannot-stomach-elevators, and delivered us both to the luncheon with thirty minutes to spare.
Phew.
The John Burroughs Association greeter welcomed Erica and I with news that every attendee would be leaving the luncheon with a complete set of Burroughs Award works … all four Nature Books for Young Readers, the Medal Book Award winner, and the Outstanding Published Nature Essay. Classy, yes?
My pile o’ 2007 Burroughs award books.
The first award of the day—The John Burroughs Award for an Outstanding Published Nature Essay—went to Christopher Cokinos, whose essay THE CONSOLATIONS OF EXTINCTION was published in the May/June 2007 issue of Orion. (I read this essay on the train ride home and found it so very insightful and hopeful that I encourage all of you to read it.)
Next, Certificates of Commendation were bestowed upon the authors and editors of the 2007 List of Nature Books for Young Readers:
IT’S A BUTTERFLY’S LIFE
Written and illustrated by Irene Kelly
Edited by Mary Cash
Holiday House, 2007
TRACKING TRASH
By Me!
Edited by Erica Zappy
Houghton Mifflin, 2007
BEING CARIBOU
by Karsten Heuer
Walker & Company, 2007
WHERE IN THE WILD?
Written by David M. Schwartz and Yael Schy
Illustrated with photographs by Dwight Kuhn
Tricycle Press, 2007
Only Irene and I and our editors were in attendance, and we all managed to make it from our table to the podium and back again without incident. Very nice.
The finale was the presentation of the 2008 John Burroughs Medal to author Julia Whitty for her book THE FRAGILE EDGE (Houghton, 2007). Julia’s remarks were a fitting end to the afternoon … she shared her passion for the amazing writers who have been honored with John Burroughs medals in the past, including Rachel Carson, Carl Safina, Aldo Leopold, Loren Eiseley and so many others. I enjoyed her words and look forward to reading her book.
The rest of the afternoon was spent here and meandering through the vast wings of the Museum. When I was too tired to see any more, I collected my bag o’ books and my wit and set out to hail my first cab. 8th Avenue. Penn Station. The Acela Express. Providence Station. Home.
Easy peasy.