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Leslie Epstein's novels have received wide acclaim, from his third, King of the Jews (1979), regarded as a classic of Holocaust fiction and published in eleven languages, to San Remo Drive (2003), which the Los Angeles Times called "wholly compelling."
But William Holodnak (GSM'76), whose daughter, Lili (GS'03), graduated from the Graduate School's Creative Writing Program two years ago, also admires Epstein for building and directing the program over twenty-seven years. In appreciation of Epstein's work, Holodnak recently helped establish the Leslie Epstein Fellowship Fund in Creative Writing with a $50,000 gift.
"The number of great writers who have come out of that program is staggering," says Holodnak. "Its students and faculty are excellent, and I wanted to give it a much-needed funding boost."
The program's award-winning faculty includes poet and playwright Derek Walcott, winner of the 1992 Nobel prize in literature, former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinksy, poet Rosanna Warren, recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and 1999 National Book Award winner Ha Jin (GRS'93).
Holodnak and Epstein point out that Creative Writing alumni steadily garner their own laurels. "In 1999 alone, graduates of the program swept every major literary award in the country," says Epstein. "Ha Jin, who went on to join our faculty in 2002, won the National Book Award and the P.E.N./Faulkner Award, Jhumpa Lahiri (GRS'93,'93; UNI'95,'97) won the P.E.N./Hemingway Award and a Pulitzer Prize."
There were local awards that year as well, among them an Independent Reviewers of New England "best new play" for Observatory, by playwriting professor Kate Snodgrass (GRS'90), artistic director of BU's Boston Playwrights' Theatre.
"That was a great year for us," says Epstein. "Of course, it was always a fine program, but that was when the larger world began to see what we've always known." The stream of accolades continues to flow: last spring Jin won another P.E.N./Faulkner Award for his novel War Trash, and Lahiri is getting rave reviews for her 2004 novel, The Namesake.
To increase support for the program-and celebrate its achievements-Holodnak plans a gala reception at his home in Wellesley, Massachusetts, in the fall.
"William has been generous," says Epstein. "He knows our biggest need is fellowship aid for graduate students. The competition among universities for this kind of funding is intense."
"Leslie is modest and self-effacing enough to be uncomfortable being in the limelight of having a fellowship named after him," says Holodnak, "but he deserves some credit."
"Leslie has provided uncommon inspiration in my life as both an artist and teacher," Lili Holodnak says. "Here's a man in simultaneous possession of elevated taste, humanistic values, and a sense of humor." Epstein had encouraged her to apply to the Creative Writing Program after he read her novel manuscript. "Like many of our graduates, Lili is trying to make her way as a writer," says Epstein. "I have a hunch she will."
Says her father, founding president of the executive search firm J. Robert Scott, "In the Boston cultural landscape, where there is so much richness, the Creative Writing Program doesn't get enough attention. This is a jewel of a program that deserves publicity and support."
—Brian Fitzgerald |
