Two creative writing professors and a biology professor at the University have been awarded grants from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship competition in honor of outstanding work in their respective fields.
The Guggenheim awards are given to scholars and artists based on past and present work. The 183 recipients will receive awards totaling more than $6 million, which will provide winners with the opportunity to take time off from their jobs and work on their research and ongoing projects. At this time it is not certain how much money each recipient will receive, but individual awards usually range from $20,000 to $30,000.
Ehud Havazelet and Dorianne Laux, associate professors in the creative writing program, and Monte Westerfield, biology professor, were among the winners, chosen from nearly 3,000 applicants.
Havazelet’s novels and Laux’s poems earned acclaim, and Westerfield was chosen for the award based on his research involving the human nervous system.
Havazelet is currently working on a novel about a Holocaust survivor growing up in the 60s and 70s with his two sons, and said he plans to use his grant to finish the book.
“What’s nice is the program recognizes people in all academic fields,” he said. “But I’m proud of our department and the recognition it’s getting.”
Havazelet said learning to write was a personal struggle he had to overcome.
“I didn’t always do it, and I certainly didn’t always do it well,” he said, “but I always wanted to.”
Havazelet said the turning point in his career came when he began studying music in college. He said after a couple years he realized writing was more important to him.
“I finally found the patience to master the craft,” he said.
Havazelet said patience is something he stresses to his writing students.
“Most young writers just want to be good immediately, but it doesn’t always happen that way,” he said.
Westerfield plans to use his grant to continue the research he’s been doing for the last two decades.
He spent the last 20 years at the University studying nervous system development in humans, and is currently working with zebrafish to study certain human syndromes because the two species have similar genes.
“Discovering new things and making new discoveries is what’s exciting,” he said.
He said he plans to take off time from the University to continue his zebrafish work in Germany along with some former students.
Laux, who has written several poems and poetry books, was out of town and unavailable for comment.
Garrett Hongo, professor in the creative writing program, was a Guggenheim recipient in 1991 and also hired both Havazelet and Laux.
“They’re wonderful writers,” he said. “They’re both well deserving, and I’m very proud of them.”
Hongo, who is from Hawaii, said his award money helped him finish a book he had been working on about his family history. He said he was able to go to Hawaii and explore the volcanoes that he used in his story.
“It was a great career validation and confidence booster for me,” he said.