Faculty Spotlight

Pulitzer Prize Nominee Michael Comerford ’77 Publishes First Book

What do you do next when your resume includes entries such as being an awardwinning journalist, studying Buddhism in the Himalayas, winning a heavyweight boxing championship in Ireland, swimming the headwaters of the Nile, fighting off a hippo attack, and touring ecological disaster areas in the Amazon? For Michael Sean Comerford ’77 the answer was obvious – spend a year hitchhiking across North America working in carnivals from Alaska to Florida. Why? To write a book and satisfy an urge that had lingered throughout an international journalism career that took him around the globe as a business writer.

As a journalist, Comerford’s career included bylines in the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, While traveling with the carnivals Comerford worked rides, ran Budapest Sun, Budapest Business Journal, Prague Post, Moscow games and even hosted the freak show. He learned that many Times and in syndication at Tribune Media and Copley News carnies are run-aways, leaving behind bad family situations. He Service newspapers. He was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and learned about the loneliness of the road, about violence and received Peter Lisagor, AP and Best Series in Chicago awards, dependency, and much about the human condition. “One of my and is a former board member of the Chicago Journalists goals was to ask the most intimate questions I could. That was Association and the American Society of Journalists and Authors. both good and a huge mistake. Grown men and women would cry And now, he’s been a carny, too. as they told their stories and I had to balance my desire to know Comerford explained the transition from journalist to author noting the freedom from being objective. “In the book I can take Regarding his Saint Viator influences, Comerford’s LinkedIn a point of view,” he explained. “In a book like this I can write about profile includes this snippet in the Education section. “I’m a visceral things that journalists can’t – things like dealing with former STAR student of St. Viator literature guru Bro. Ruhl. death, falling in love and greed. It broadened the range of what I Mentored by former Viator President Bro. Leo Ryan, whose could write about.” titles range from Dean of Business at “One of my goals was to ask Notre Dame and DePaul to Nigerian “American Oz” grew out of Comerford’s year on the road where he posted written the most intimate questions tribal chief in the Peace Corps. (that’s right Bro. Ruhl in heaven, I said and video blogs as he worked in 10 different I could. That was both good STAR student!).” He still relishes the carnivals touring the United States. Having already hitchhiked the U.S. multiple times, and a huge mistake.” Shakespeare lessons taught by Br. Robert Ruhl, CSV, and was thrilled Comerford returned to the open road because when an instructor he had while the wages he made working in carnivals didn’t allow for other pursuing his Masters at Northwestern University told him forms of transportation. The people he met while hitchhiking “Business is like Shakespeare. It’s about greed, misunderstanding became a part of the story, too. “The people that picked me up and high stakes. If you look at it as a Shakespearean play it will represent the America that carnivals are going through; they are never cease to be incredibly comedic and dramatic.” the carnival customers.” It wasn’t long before Comerford realized that his intention wait to start life; it’s already started,” he said. “People around to experience immersion journalism wouldn’t work. “My first you, including your friends, are influencing who you are going to carnival was in Silicon Valley,” he said. “The richest people in the be. The most important thing you will learn is how to learn. Pay world live there but so do some of the poorest; it’s known as the attention to everything and be open to adjusting.” Silicon Chasm.” When his intentions became known, “The carnival manager sophomore who recently had her own book published, is working told me it was a dumb idea and fired me two weeks in. He said on a second and hosts her own podcast. most workers are from Mexico and I didn’t speak Spanish and against the pain they felt in sharing.” As for current students, Comerford freely shared advice. “Don’t He has imparted that knowledge to his daughter, a high school no owner would hire me if they knew I was writing a book.” With his first book published, Comerford is at work on a new According to Comerford the setback was the best thing that series about a teenage girl who travels the world with her dad could have happened. “Herein lies the solution. Learn some fighting for climate change and solving mysteries along the Spanish, go to multiple carnivals. Intellectually it was the only way. Find “American Oz: An Astounding Year Inside Traveling way I could do this.” Carnivals at State Fairs & Festivals: Hitchhiking California to New York, Alaska to Mexico” on Amazon (amzn.to/2Ojoh3w).