Paul Engle


Paul Engle, was an American poet, editor, teacher, literary critic, novelist, and playwright. He is remembered as the long-time director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and as co-founder of the International Writing Program, both at the University of Iowa.

Life

Born Paul Hamilton Engle in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Thomas Allen, a livery stable owner, and Evelyn Engle, Engle grew up in the Wellington Heights section of Cedar Rapids. He graduated from Washington High School, and later attended Coe College, The University of Iowa, Columbia University, and Oxford University. As a student at Iowa, Engle was one of the earliest recipients of an advanced degree awarded for creative work: his first collection Worn Earth, which went on to win the Yale Series of Younger Poets. His second book, American Song, was given a rave front-page review in the New York Times Book Review and was even, briefly, a bestseller. From 1954 to 1959, Engle served as series editor for the O. Henry Prize.
During his tenure as director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, he was responsible for bringing some of the finest writers of the day to Iowa City. Robert Lowell, John Berryman, Robie Macauley, Kurt Vonnegut and many other prominent novelists and poets served as faculty under Engle. He increased enrollment and oversaw numerous students of future fame and influence, including Flannery O'Connor, Philip Levine, Mark Costello, Marvin Bell, Joe Nicholson, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Donald Justice, Raymond Carver, Douglas Kent Hall, Andre Dubus, and Robert Bly. During his tenure, Engle raised millions of dollars in support of the program whose shape and direction proved the model for hundreds of writing programs that have followed.
Vonnegut described Engle in a 1967 letter in this fashion: "The former head, Paul Engle, is still around, is a hayseed clown, a foxy grandpa, a terrific promoter, who, if you listen closely, talks like a man with a paper asshole."
In 1967, following his departure as director of the workshop, Engle and future second wife Nieh Hualing co-founded The University of Iowa's International Writing Program, which provided for dozens of published authors from around the world to visit Iowa City each year to write and collaborate. Engle left the Writer's Workshop permanently in 1969 to devote himself full-time to the international program.
At the time of his death, Engle was the author of more than a dozen collections of poetry, a novel, a memoir, an opera libretto, and even a children's book. Engle wrote numerous articles and reviews for many of the largest periodicals of his day.
His papers are held at the University of Iowa and Coe College.

Works

Poetry

NB: for further reference, Richard B. Weber has compiled a comprehensive bibliography entitled of books Paul Engle authored, as well as of publications he edited or to which he contributed.