Paul Engle
Paul Engle was a notable American poet and educator from Iowa, recognized for his significant contributions to the literary world, particularly in the realm of poetry. He began writing poetry in high school and furthered his education at Coe College and the University of Iowa, where he became the first student to publish a poetry thesis as a book. Engle's academic journey included a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford, where he published additional poetry collections. In 1937, he joined the English faculty at the University of Iowa and later took charge of the Iowa Writer's Workshop in 1942, shifting his focus from writing poetry to mentoring emerging writers. He co-founded the International Writing Program in 1966, which became a pioneering platform for international writers to collaborate and share their work. Throughout his career, Engle was instrumental in training countless poets, earning him a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976. He received multiple accolades, including the Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts in 1990, and was awarded three Guggenheim fellowships for his contributions to poetry. Engle's legacy continues to influence the literary community.
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Paul Engle
Fiction and Nonfiction Writer and Poet
- Born: October 12, 1908
- Birthplace: Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Died: March 22, 1991
- Place of death: Chicago, Illinois
Biography
The son of farm folk, Paul Engle was an Iowan all his life, and he was a poet for almost as long. He began writing poetry in high school. He studied at Coe College in Iowa, where he flirted briefly with the idea of studying for the ministry. Instead, though, he went on to do graduate work at the University of Iowa, where he received his M.A. in 1932 after submitting a collection of his poetry as his thesis. One Slim Feather went on to win the Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize and was published by the Yale University Press as Worn Earth (1932); it was the first University of Iowa poetry thesis to be published as a book. Engel’s study of literature and anthropology at Columbia University led in 1933 to a Rhodes Scholarship to Merton College, Oxford, where he remained until 1936, publishing two more collections of his poems. In 1936, he married Mary Nominee Nissen, a fellow Iowan and the mother of his only child, a daughter. After traveling in Europe, Engle returned to Oxford to complete yet another program of study before he and his wife went back home. In 1937, Engel joined the English faculty at the University of Iowa, which would be his home base for the remainder of his career. Shortly thereafter, Engle began teaching a series of poetry workshops, and in Chicago he encountered Gwendolyn Brooks, one of the first of his many students who went on to become acclaimed poets.
In 1942, Engle took charge of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop and shifted his focus from creating his own poetry to training other writers. In the 1966, Engle and his future wife, the writer Nieh Hualing (whom he married in 1971), transformed their creative writing workshops into the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, the first program in the country to bring together writers from all over the world to discuss their works and share their ideas. The program was self-supporting, so much of Engle’s time was spent fundraising, an activity he mastered quickly. The program received support from the U.S. Department of State, as well as from foundations, corporations, and individuals. Engle and Hualing raised two hundred fifty thousand dollars a year for the program, and their efforts on behalf of the worldwide community of writers were rewarded by a nomination in 1976 for the Nobel Peace Prize. That same year Engle retired, handing his administrative duties over to Hualing and leaving behind a notable legacy. Arguably, Engle trained more poets than any other individual in history. In addition to honors such as the Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts, which he received from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1990, Engle’s personal contributions to poetry were acknowledged by three Guggenheim fellowships.