Professor Emeritus
415 Lucas Hall
314-516-5599
hschwartz@umsl.edu
Personal Webpage
Honorary Doctorate, Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies
MA, Washington University in St. Louis
BA, English, Washington University in St. Louis
Howard E. Schwartz writes and edits fiction, children's books, essays, and poetry. His book The Day the Rabbi Disappeared: Jewish Holiday Tales of Magic has won several awards, including the Aesop Prize for 2000 in the Children's Folklore Section of the American Folklore Society for 2000, Smithsonian Magazine Notable Books for Children, 2000, for 2000 in the Children's Folklore Section of the American Folklore Society for 2000.
Professor Schwartz teaches in the Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing, and offers such courses as the Poetry Workshop, Magical Realist Fiction, Mythology of Judaism, Advanced Poetry, Fiction Writing, and the Natural Bridge course. He says, "As a creative writing teacher, my first goal is not to discourage any student in their development and to recognize that there are many stages they have to go through as apprentice writers. My greatest skill is teaching how to revise poems and stories, as well as how to interpret them. The important thing about teaching is not the specific information we impart, but teaching the students how to learn. Intellectual curiosity has to last a lifetime, and who knows where a person's path will lead them?"
