Noel Rubinton ‘73 Visits Deerfield to Talk About John McPhee ‘49

COURTESY OF DEERFIELD COMMUNICATIONS

On February 15 and 16, Noel Rubinton ’73 returned to Deerfield Academy as part of his national book tour for Looking for a Story: A Complete Guide to the Writings of John McPhee. A former reporter for Newsday and contributor to The New Yorker, Mr. Rubinton has long admired fellow alumnus John McPhee ’49, whom he credits with having “revolutionized the genre of nonfiction” over a 70-year career. During his visit, Mr. Rubinton spoke at a community-wide event about Mr. McPhee’s literary influence and the craft of nonfiction writing, and he also met with members of The Deerfield Scroll for a more focused conversation about journalism and storytelling. 

Head of School John Austin had been in contact with Mr. Rubinton about his book since the beginning of the 2025-26 school year, and later connected Assistant Head of School for Student Life Amie Creagh with Mr. Rubinton to coordinate the details of his visit to the Academy. Knowing that students in English Teacher and Deerfield Scroll advisor Justin Romick were reading Mr. McPhee’s The Headmaster for his Senior Creative Nonfiction class, Ms. Creagh and Mr. Romick arranged for Mr. Rubinton to visit the class. During the session, students had the opportunity to ask questions directly about his new book and the process of effective nonfiction storytelling. 

Having known and read Mr. McPhee’s works, Mr. Romick “could tell that [Mr. McPhee’s] writing voice reflects this intelligent, curious person.” Yet, with the lack of details about Mr. McPhee’s personal life, Mr. Romick had never thought about who Mr. McPhee is as an individual beyond his writing.

Through Looking for a Story, which primarily covered Mr. McPhee’s writing life, Mr. Romick was able to gather thorough information about his writing career, including that he worked as a screenwriter in his first job and that he wrote for Time Magazine under an anonymous pseudonym. 

In addition to participating in class discussions, Mr. Rubinton spoke at a community-wide event on February 15, where he offered a deeper look into the life and legacy of Mr. McPhee. Mr. Rubinton shared that he was first introduced to Mr. McPhee’s writing at just ten years old, drawn especially to his essays about canoeing and geology. Mr. McPhee’s vivid depictions of the natural world stayed with him throughout his time at the Academy and for thirty more years. 

Mr. Rubinton also emphasized the importance of certain teachers in Mr. McPhee’s writing journey, noting that two Deerfield faculty members encouraged him to pursue writing, and that a professor later in his career at Princeton University ultimately pushed him to commit to it professionally. 

Charles DeSorcy ’28, who attended Mr. Rubinton’s event, was particularly impressed by his “wealth of knowledge and caring devotion for one single person in a world of billions of people who have so many things one can take from.” DeSorcy commended Mr. Rubinton’s dedication to documenting both the personal and professional lives of Mr. McPhee, who is turning 95 next month. 

In response to DeSorcy’s question about the role of journalism in the topic of activism, Mr. Rubinton stressed that “writing about the truth is more important than anything. Articles should be factual and, without the truth, real journalism cannot exist.” From this statement, DeSorcy reflected, “[Mr. Rubinton] taught me to follow my ambitions, have confidence in myself, and express my true, genuine feelings while also writing the truth through journalism.” 

During a more intimate conversation with writers from the Scroll, Mr. Rubinton shared his own

beginnings in journalism, starting as a staff writer for the Scroll and eventually becoming News Page Editor for the XLVIII Board. This experience motivated him to continue reporting in college at Brown University, where he joined The Brown Herald and eventually rose to serve as Editor-in-Chief. “The Scroll was my first time being on a newspaper staff, and becoming News Page Editor my senior year was a great part of my journey training to be a professional journalist,” Mr. Rubinton said. 

Mr. Rubinton described Mr. McPhee as the “powerhouse of good writing,” and explained how “[he] makes people interested in what their interests are, and his ability to write about so many subjects in such a compelling way makes people interested in things that they never knew they were interested in.” 

Like how Mr. McPhee had taught Mr. Rubinton about how to become a good writer and thinker, Mr. Rubinton advised current Deerfield students to “read and write as much as they can and keep trying to find the right words to tell the stories that are important.”