Studs Terkel: An Appreciation

Studs Terkel was the soul of the Windy City, the Chicago where people love to talk about politics, religion, their work and ultimately themselves. Terkel, a Pulitzer Prize-winner who died today at age 96, encompassed all of these passions in his journalistic career. As a college student three decades ago, I remember reading "Working", his fascinating compilation of everyday jobs. And in the early 1990s, I had the pleasure of being introduced to Studs Terkel at a New York Library party for the opening of The New Press, started by Terkel's long-time friend and publisher, Andre Schiffrin. Studs was a loyal sort and never forgot the gratitude that a writer has for working with a great publisher. In my 1994 book "Newhouse", Terkel described how he came to write "Division Street: America" with the help of Andre Schiffrin: