Documentary dignitary Ken Burns, best known for his evocative PBS productions, accepted the Enoch Pratt Library’s Lifetime Literary Achievement Award Saturday in Baltimore.
You’ve won an Emmy and received an Oscar nomination, but this award is especially meaningful to you, why?
My father grew up in Baltimore. And for a very long time, my grandparents’ house [at Kelly Avenue and Cross Country Boulevard] was my family’s center of gravity. My mother died when I was 12 years old, she was sick with cancer all my life. It was a long and horrible process and left us all pretty much adrift. My grandmother [Emily Lucile Moore Burns] took over a major role in my life. I’m not sure if you’d be talking to me if it wasn’t for her.
Do you think there is a resurgence in documentaries’ popularity?
Absolutely. You can almost count back to “The Civil War” [by Burns, which debuted in 1990] as accidentally the beginning of that resurgence. People sat up and took notice that a documentary could have a wide-ranging effect. It was a huge event. Johnny Carson talked about it in his monologue every night. People realized documentaries weren’t just homework or films that taught you something. Documentaries have the artistry and power of a feature film. After seeing “The Civil War,” we all had our molecules rearranged and realized there could be a power to nonfiction presentations.
What’s your next project?
We just finished a massive series on the history of National Parks. [The U.S.] made the first [national park] in the world and set aside land not for kings or nobleman but for everyone. After working on “The War,” I thought nothing would stir my emotions like that but the parks surprisingly touch us in many ways. I was unprepared for that strong spiritual and emotional connection people have with them.
