Distinguished Alumni Award
Paul H. Engle 32MA
Paul H. Engle has made internationally acclaimed contributions to creative poetry and writing during his lifetime. He is responsible for inventing and running the creative writing program at the University of Iowa, which became the famous Iowa Writer's Workshop in 1941. He also directed the International Writing Program for ten years, after founding it with his wife, Hualing Nieh. The Engles were responsible for raising $2 million to keep the programs going, and provided the catalyst to bring novelists and poets from all over the world to the University.
In addition, Engle has nurtured his own writing career. He has published books of poetry, a novel, and opera libretto which was seen on television, and many prose works. His books of reminiscence include "A Prairie Christmas" and "An Old Fashioned Christmas."
Engle received and M.A. in English from the University of Iowa in 1932, and after further work at Columbia and as a Rhodes Scholar, returned to Iowa as a professor of English and creative writing. He retired in 1977.
Engle has served on the Advisory Committee on Arts of the John F. Kennedy Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., and is the only poet on the White House National Council on the Arts.
The Engles live in Iowa City, where Mrs. Engle is the director of the International Writing Program. Engle is a Life Member of the University of Iowa Alumni Association.
About Distinguished Alumni Awards
Since 1963, the University of Iowa has annually recognized accomplished alumni and friends with Distinguished Alumni Awards. Awards are presented in seven categories: Achievement, Service, Hickerson Recognition, Faculty, Staff, Recent Graduate, and Friend of the University.