The Pulitzer Prize lunch at Low Library on the Columbia University campus is a 30-year tradition, but 1987 was just its fourth year. And what a year it was: among those receiving prizes were August Wilson, Alex S. Jones, Rita Dove, David J. Garrow, Buzz Bissinger and Joseph Pulitzer Jr.
Fred Viebahn, Dove’s husband, was there to capture it all on VCR tape. Now, 29 years later, Dove has shared the film with us and allowed us to share it with you.
“The day is a blur now, though at the time everything seemed in hyper-focus,” Dove remembers. “My dress was pale blue; I had bought it for the occasion. August Wilson won the Drama Pulitzer that year and confessed to me that he always wanted to be a poet; he wrote me a poem that I have to this day. Meg Greenfield was delightful; in fact, everyone was friendly and celebratory.
“The luncheon made the prize real. Before that, I had been walking on a cloud of congratulations and media coverage. But to look into the dazed faces of the other winners and exchange where-were-you-when-the-call-came was a reassurance that this was a monumental moment in our lives; to meet the members of the selection committee and hear the stories of other winners was confirmation that the written word was an essential expression of the human spirit.”
To make the video, her husband Fred used an over-the-shoulder JVC VHS recorder with its camera attached by cable. The biggest obstacale was “lugging that two piece equipment around.” He set the recorder down and operated the camera by hand. “I was, by happenstance, quite well positioned at the head table.” He later transfered the tape to DVD and, still later, digitized it onto a hard drive.
As you’ll see, the video begins with Dove walking up the Low Library steps on her way to receive the Poetry prize for Thomas and Beulah. She has a starring role in the video, but Viebahn wanted to capture it all.
It was a watershed year for the prizes. Joseph Pulitzer Jr. was retiring after 31 years chairing the board of the prizes that bear his grandfather’s name. As the film opens, Roger Wilkins, a senior board member and the new chair, welcomes the crowd. Later JP Jr. receives a rare Special Pulitzer Citation for his service and his career as a journalist.
Presenting this prize and others is the affable Michael I. Sovern, 17th president of Columbia. Before summoning the winners to the podium one by one, he gives special recognition to Robin Kuzen, who was departing after many years as assistant administrator of the prizes.
The prize lunch has changed since 1987, but not much. As Sovern explains in the video, it was added to the Pulitzer scheme to recognize the winners publicly beyond the annual announcement of the prizes. It was a low-key event and remains one.
The slideshow here, with images from the video, is meant to give any interested viewer a partial who’s-who of the cast. It is not a complete list, but all winners are named in the video.
Roger Wilkins, Pulitzer Board chair for 1987
Michael I. Sovern, President, Columbia University
Emily Rauh Pulitzer (wife of Joseph Pulitzer, Jr.) and Peter Gorner of the Chicago Tribune, Explanatory Journalism winner
Alex S. Jones of The New York Times, Specialized Reporting winner
Meg Greenfield, Pulitzer Board member
Charles Krauthammer of The Washington Post Writers Group, Commentary winner
Richard Eder of the Los Angeles Times, Criticism winner
Kim Komenich of the San Francisco Examnier, Spot News Photography winner
Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., retiring Board chairman
August Wilson, Drama winner for Fences
David J. Garrow, Biography winner for Bearing the Cross
Rita Dove, Poetry winner for Thomas and Beulah
David K. Shipler, General Nonfiction winner for Arab and Jew
We are grateful to Rita Dove and Fred Viebahn for sharing this window into the past.
Here is a full list of the 1987 winners:
- Public Service: The Pittsburgh Press (10:30)
- Breaking News Reporting: Staff of the Akron Beacon Journal (12:22)
- Investigative Reporting (2 Prizes): Daniel R. Biddle, H.G. Bissinger and Fredric N. Tulsky of The Philadelphia Inquirer (13:16); and John Woestendiek of The Philadelphia Inquirer (14:36)
- Explanatory Reporting: Jeff Lyon and Peter Gorner of the Chicago Tribune (14:43)
- Specialized Reporting: Alex S. Jones of The New York Times (15:44)
- National Reporting (2 Prizes): Staff of the Miami Herald (16:32) and Staff of The New York Times (17:35)
- International Reporting: Michael Prks of the Los Angeles Times (18:35)
- Feature Writing: Stee Twomey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (19:58)
- Commentary: Charles Krauthammer of The Washington Post (20:41)
- Criticism: Richard Eder of the Los Angeles Times (20:40)
- Editorial Writing: Jonathan Freedman of The Tribune, San Diego, CA (22:15)
- Editorial Cartooning, Berke Breathed of The Washington Post Writers Group (23:10)
- Spot News Photography: Kim Komenich of the San francisco Examiner (24:02)
- Feature Photography: David Peterson of the Des Moines Register (24:45)
- Special Citation: Joseph Pulitzer Jr. (25:34)
- Fiction: Peter Taylor (26:18)
- Drama: August Wilson (27:17)
- History: Bernard Bailyn (28:10)
- Biography: David J. Garrow (29:05)
- Poetry: Rita Dove (29:42)
- General Nonfiction: David K Shipler 30:32)
- Music: John Harbison (31:25)