Park Welcomes Lawrence Burney as the 2026 Peter Baida ’68 Writer-in-Residence
Last week, Park welcomed author Lawrence Burney to campus as the 2025-26 Peter Baida ’68 Writer-in-Residence. Burney is a writer, editor, critic, and the founder of True Laurels, an independent magazine covering Baltimore’s music and culture scene. His work has appeared in publications such as New York Magazine, GQ, Washington Post, and Pitchfork. He has also worked as an editor at The Fader, a staff writer at VICE, and an editor/reporter at The Baltimore Banner. His first book, No Sense in Wishing, a collection of essays, was published in July 2025.
During his visit, Burney spoke at assembly with the entire upper school, answering questions from a student panel. He also held two seminars and met with students for lunch. The first session explored “the anatomy of criticism”— what makes a critique both interesting and meaningful — while the second focused on listening to albums tied to specific cities, unpacking the lyrics, and analyzing the artist’s intent and experience versus public perceptions.
We are grateful to Peter Baida’s family for generously supporting the Resident Writer. Peter, Class of 1968 at Park, won the prestigious O. Henry Award in 1999 for the title story in his collection, A Nurse’s Story.
Click here to learn more about about Park’s Visiting Scholars Program.
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