On the occasion of the 136th birthday of Donald A. Kennicott, the long-time editor of Blue Book magazine, I'm happy to present to you this article written by him in the November 1954 issue of Blue Book magazine, 2 years after he had stopped editing the magazine. It's a great companion to Mike Ashley's article about Blue Book which covers the magazine during Kennicott's tenure.
ADVENTURES IN EDITING
DONALD A. KENNICOTT
The gentleman and scholar who was a Bluebook editor during 42 of this magazine's 50 years looks back on an exciting and distinguished career.
First issue of the magazine that became Blue Book |
After a long experience in magazine editing, Burgess Johnson wrote an autobiography which he called “As Much as I Dare, ” taking his title from Montaigne: “I speak the truth, not so much as I would, but as much as I dare; and I dare a little more as I grow older. ” Ellery Sedgwick, recalling his 30 years of “adventuring in human nature” as editor of the Atlantic, chose “The Happy Profession” as the title for a memoir of those years. After my 42 years with Bluebook, I am inclined to think that Burgess Johnson chose the better title.