The Justice

Media Credit: The Associated Press Prof. Mark Feeney (AMST) won the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism in May 2008. Feeney has held various positions at the Boston Globe, including arts critic and book editor, since graduating from Harvard in 1979.

With his hands in his pockets, his posture relaxed and the air in his office dusted with the slightly sweet smell of ink, Prof. Mark Feeney (AMST) looks though a window onto the Boston Globe's slumbering, two-story printing press, and says, "It's cool to work somewhere that's both an office and a factory." The words resound with a sincerity that can only come from genuine fascination and enjoyment. After almost 30 years, Feeney still loves his job.

At least one should hope so. This past May, he took home the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism, the closest thing the profession of journalism has to the Nobel Prize. Yet even with the all the hoopla that comes with such an achievement, Feeney has stayed firmly grounded.

Leaning back in his office chair, Feeney jokingly described the professional perks of winning the prize: "I get asked to do interviews, talks. Not a ton, … but no one was asking me before."

Born in Winchester, Mass., and raised in Reading, Mass., Feeney's climb up the Globe's ladder began after his graduation from Harvard in 1979.

Ever the literary lightening rod, Feeney held a range of positions at the Globe, from library researcher to book editor to the head of the news analysis section, Focus, finally settling as a member of the Living & Arts staff.

He's also taught at Brandeis and Princeton Universities and published a book, Nixon at the Movies, an examination of Richard Nixon's career through the films he watched as president. The New York Times called the book "mystifying" and "formidably intelligent."

Though once nominated for the Pulitzer in Feature Writing in 1994, it was Feeney's work in the arts that finally brought home the trophy. True to his varied nature, his 10 pieces submitted for consideration touched on a variety of subjects such as photography, film and the paintings of Edward Hopper.

Though some might have let such an award spur their inner ego to heights of insanity, Feeney remains reserved, almost blasé, when pressed to reveal the personal significance of his critical recognition.

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