NPR: Grant Pick: The People are the News

Grant Pick: The People are the News

Filed under: Media

Listen to our interview with Grant Pick's son John and his former colleague Alex Kotlowitz

Grant Pick, poet of the quotidian

Courtesy of John Pick

Grant Pick spent 25 years finding great stories where most other people would look away, and telling those stories in print with humanity and humor. Three years ago, while walking home from lunch, he died of a heart attack at age 57.

I was lucky enough to meet Grant when I lived in Chicago. I'm friends with his kids and asked him to meet me for coffee, so I could mine him for advice on my budding journalism career. He was personable, wise, and generous with his time and insight. He told me then what he told so many others: The people are the news. In other words, there are great stories all around you. You just have to look.

Now there's an anthology of his most memorable pieces entitled, The People Are The News: Grant Pick's Chicago Stories. It's edited by his son John, with a foreword by his former colleague, writer and author Alex Kotlowitz.

Rachel Martin spoke to both men on today's show. Click the listen link at the top of this post to hear the interview. And to read some excerpts from the book click here.

Dan Pashman

11:10 AM ET | 02-28-2008 | permalink

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