WRITING
Books Authored by Lloyd Burlingame
Available in paperback, kindle version, and audio version recorded by the National Library Service of the Library of Congress
(click on book cover to order paperback or kindle version from amazon.com)
A Blessing Well Disguised, A Blinded Artist's Inner Journey Out of the Dark
Confronting the catastrophe of sight loss, an artist embarks on an inner Odyssey attempting to find new meaning for his life. Discovering the reality of the powers of the psyche, he is guided by dreams, whose healing images he paints as his sight fails. This long journey takes him from blackest depths of despair to bright heights of hope. He seeks answers to profound questions: "What good is a blind man?” on his quest to find his true self. Looking back on his long road of transformation, he realizes his journey is unique as an individual but also one he has in common with all men and women… his story is our story.
Excerpt from Kirkus Review: "In this candid memoir, Broadway and opera stage designer Burlingame shines the spotlight on his broken childhood and his painful—but enlightening—loss of eyesight . . . He first thought of his blindness as a curse from an evil god who poked out his eyes, and he wondered how a blind artist could be any good. Yet as he realized his own self-worth, he eventually considered his blindness to be a blessing . . . Burlingame admirably reinvented himself: Unable to design sets due to his failing eyesight, he embraced the art of quilting. Though at first he was afraid to walk with a cane through the sometimes-hostile streets of New York City, he eventually fell in love with two guide dogs who helped him navigate . . . An unblinking account of a man’s journey from despair to joy."
Sets, Lights, and Lunacy, A Stage Designer’s Adventures on Broadway and in Opera
Sets, Lights, and Lunacy, A Stage Designer’s Adventures on Broadway and in Opera, chronicles the bright sunset of ‘The Great White Way.’ Focusing on the ‘sixties and seventies,’ it illuminates a unique link in the long chain of theatre history. As a Broadway stage designer during the great heyday of prolific producer, David Merrick, Burlingame enjoyed more than his share of the spectacular ups and downs, hilarities and epiphanies of a theatre career. Collaborating with a variety of directors, including Franco Zeffirelli, George Abbott, Peter Brook, George Roy Hill, and Peter Hall, made for a wide spectrum of experiences to share. When he moved from the world of theatre to the realm of opera, he had the rare opportunity to design new productions for divas Beverly Sills, Martina Arroyo, Joan Sutherland, and Leontyne Price. The reader is invited to join him backstage to meet a colorful cast of characters, and to experience the roller-coaster ride of a show business career.
Excerpt from Kirkus Review: “Former stage designer Burlingame recalls the highs and lows of his time on Broadway . . . Much of the book reads like a Who’s Who of 1960s and ’70s theater, with appearances by such luminaries as Italian film director Franco Zeffirelli and English theater director Peter Brook. One pull-no-punches chapter is devoted to the author’s work with the "devil of Broadway," producer David Merrick . . . Overall, Burlingame is a skillful raconteur who transposes his experiences to the page with an understated wit, poise and grace. A consistently intriguing backstage glimpse of Broadway’s brighter past and a must for theater buffs.”
Two Seeing Eye Dogs Take Manhattan . . . a love story
To their owners all Seeing Eye dogs are miracle workers. However, there are the rare few, like the two exceptionally stalwart heroes of this book, who triumph brilliantly over the obstacles of a huge city. They are the canine equivalents of the intrepid “Navy Seals.” Undaunted, they meet the challenges of the “Big Apple.” Dodging cars, crowds, and one emergency situation after another, they guide their visually challenged partners safely to any destination. Two Seeing Eye Dogs Take Manhattan: A Love Story is a funny, fast-paced account of the true adventures -- and misadventures -- of one blind New Yorker and his two amazing Seeing Eye dogs. As his dogs tell their stories, author Lloyd Burlingame takes you behind the scenes at The Seeing Eye in Morristown, New Jersey, where Hickory and Kemp were bred and trained. Back in New York, the author resumes his active lifestyle and passionate attendance at opera and Broadway, as both dogs soon become regulars in the show business milieu. Burlingame’s career as a prominent stage designer led to Chairing the Design Department of NYU’s famed Tisch School of the Arts. He cheers that his guide dogs have “transformed life from a grainy black-and-white film, into a vivid Technicolor, 3-D spectacular!”
Excerpt from Kirkus Review: "Part of the intrigue comes from understanding how day-to-day life unfolds for the visually impaired and their helper dogs. Readers also get to learn about the process dogs go through to qualify as Seeing Eye companions. What makes these experiences even more fascinating is that they are told from the perspective of the two dogs. Burlingame plays “scribe” to Kemp and Hickory, who relay their experiences as only dogs can. While the book doesn’t hide the difficulties that result from loss of sight, it maintains an overall humorous, hopeful tone, thanks to the boundless cheerfulness of its canine narrators."