A Writer's Tale

Bruce Blackburn always wanted to write a book.

A journalist by trade in the rich arts community of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Blackburn chronicled the adventures of the artists, authors, playwrights, painters, sculptors, songwriters and cultural icons who emerged from the eclectic enclave in southern Pennsylvania. Author James Michener called Bucks County "the Genius Belt," in honor of the remarkable phalanx of creative talent the region has housed over the decades.

But after a long battle with chronic health problems, he passed away in December of 2005 without getting the chance to write his book. Only, not really.

As a tribute to his life and writing, his wife, Marie Izzo, assembled some of his favorite columns about the people and art of Bucks County and combined it with remembrances of Blackburn from dozens of the people he had interviewed over the years. The end result was A Bucks County State of Mind …in his words, from Inside Review (www.abuckscountystateofmind.com), a book that posthumously carries his byline.

"Bruce was a romantic soul who lived life on a more emotionally enriching plane and his link between the written word and love was undeniable," Izzo said. "An interview with Bruce Blackburn was like talking to your best friend. This insightful, brilliant man got you to reveal your soul and then when you read what he wrote, you realized he captured your essence in a comfortable way that connected you to him forever."

Blackburn's interview subjects were a collection of some of the most iconoclastic artists and creators in American culture, including Robert A. Beck, Irving Berlin, Dick Perez, Phillip Lloyd Powell, Michael Graves, Gordon Haas, Al Hirschfeld, Lilly Salvatore, Bob Krist, Foster Winans and many others. Nearly 40 of them contributed to the lush tome aimed at encapsulating not only Blackburn's professional life, but also his passion for this creative cooperative and its inhabitants.

In the book, master architect and Princeton professor Michael Graves remembered Blackburn's talent for capturing the moment.

"The day that Bruce Blackburn visited me for an interview, we were in the midst of an open house in our design studios in Princeton and he quite naturally joined in the camaraderie of the moment. Reading his essay again, I have to say that he gracefully captured the positive spirit of the place and my feelings about it, which I, as an architect, truly value as the sign of a good listener and a good writer."

The book also uses Blackburn's own words to reflect on his personal life, as he recalled how Izzo's inspiration gave him the strength to overcome his health issues.

"She regularly called from Florida and sent me books and tapes on positive thinking, love and healing, but they seemed to have little effect," he said. "I was slipping away. My status plummeted to terminal. I was in the hospital near death when she summoned all her courage and decided to visit me on my thirty-eighth birthday, May 23rd, 1991. The visit proved to be a turning point in both our lives. From then on a love stronger than we believed could happen—richer and more miraculous than we'd ever imagined possible suffused our lives and permeated our days. Marie soon returned to Florida, and our newly discovered love filled my heart with hope. The energy it created spurred an attitude shift that empowered me to fight for my health and our life together."

He enjoyed reasonably good health for another 14 years, eventually passing in December 2005, leaving a fissure in the Bucks County arts community, but also leaving behind a charming and poignant memoir that, at the time, he didn't even realize he was writing.

Marie Izzo, who was married to journalist Bruce Blackburn, is a consultant in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.