To contact Howard Schwartz:
Email: hschwartz@umsl.edu
Current position:
Professor of English
University of Missouri-St. Louis
Books Published:
Fiction
A Blessing Over Ashes.
Berkeley: Tree Books, 1974.
Midrashim: Collected Jewish
Parables. London: The Menard Press, 1976.
The Captive Soul of the
Messiah: New Tales About Reb Nachman. New York: Schocken Books,
1983.
Rooms of the Soul. New
York: Rossel Books, 1984.
Adam’s Soul: The
Collected Tales of Howard Schwartz. Northvale, New Jersey: Jason
Aronson, 1993.
The Four Who Entered
Paradise. Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson, 1995. Paperback
edition, New Jersey: Jason Aronson, 2000.
Poetry
Vessels. Greensboro:
Unicorn Press, 1977.
Gathering the Sparks.
St. Louis: Singing Wind, 1979.
Sleepwalking Beneath the
Stars. Kansas City: BkMk Press, 1992.
Books Edited
Imperial Messages: One
Hundred Modern Parables. New York: Avon Books, 1976. Second
Edition: New York, Overlook Press, 1992. Third Edition: New York,
Random House, 1996. Retitled Tales of Modern Wisdom.
Voices Within the Ark: The
Modern Jewish Poets (with Anthony Rudolf). New York: Avon Books and
Pushcart Press, 1980.
Elijah’s Violin &
Other Jewish Fairy Tales. New York: Harper & Row, 1983.
Published in Canada by Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Ltd. British edition:
London: Penguin Books, Ltd., 1987. New edition: New York and Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1994. A Dutch translation, Joodse Sprookjes,
was published by Sirius en Siderius in the Hague in 1986.
Gates to the New City: A
Treasury of Modern Jewish Tales. New York: Avon Books, 1983. Second
edition: Northvale, New Jersey: Aronson Books, 1991.
Miriam’s Tambourine:
Jewish Folktales from Around the World. New York: The Free Press,
1986. Paperback edition: New York and Oxford, Oxford University Press,
1988.
Lilith’s Cave: Jewish
Tales of the Supernatural. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988.
Paperback edition: New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.
The Dream Assembly: Tales
of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. Warwick: Amity House, 1987.
Second edition: Nevada City, California: Gateways, 1990.
Gabriel’s Palace:
Jewish Mystical Tales. New York and Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1993. Paperback edition: New York and Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1994.
First Harvest: Jewish
Writing in St. Louis: 1991-1996 (with Barbara Raznick). St.
Louis: The Brodsky Library Press, 1997.
Guest Editor, Natural
Bridge #9, Special issue on Genesis. Published in April, 2003.
Tree of Souls: The
Mythology of Judaism. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2004. Paperback edition, Oxford University Press, 2007.
New Harvest: Jewish Writing
in St. Louis: 1998-2005 (with Barbara Raznick). St. Louis:
The Brodsky Library Press, October, 2005.
Guest Editor, Natural
Bridge #15, special issue on Dreams. June, 2006.
Soul Candles: One Hundred
Classic Jewish Tales. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press,
forthcoming Fall, 2009.
Essays
Reimagining the Bible: The
Storytelling of the Rabbis. New York and Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1998 (hardcover and paperback editions).
Children’s Books
The Diamond Tree: Jewish
Tales from Around the World (with Barbara Rush). New York:
HarperCollins, 1991. Paperback edition: New York: HarperCollins, 1998.
A French translation, Contes Juifs Du Monde Entier was
published by Pere Castor/Flammarion in Paris, France in 1999.
The Sabbath Lion (with
Barbara Rush). New York: HarperCollins, 1992. Paperback edition: New
York: HarperCollins, 1997.
Next Year in Jerusalem: 3000 Years of Jewish Stories. New York: Viking Children’s Books, 1996. Paperback edition: New York: Viking Children’s Books, 1998. Second edition:
Jerusalem of Gold: Jewish
Stories of the Enchanted City. Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights 2003.
The Wonder Child &
Other Jewish Fairy Tales (with Barbara Rush). New York:
HarperCollins, 1996.
Ask the Bones: Scary
Stories from Around the World (with Arielle North Olson). New York:
Viking, 1999.
A Coat for the Moon &
Other Jewish Tales (with Barbara Rush). Philadelphia: Jewish
Publication Society, 1999. Paperback edition: Philadelphia, Jewish
Publication Society, 2000.
A Journey to Paradise &
Other Jewish Tales. Jerusalem: Pitspopany Press, 2000 (hardcover
and paperback editions).
The Day the Rabbi
Disappeared: Jewish Holiday Tales of Magic New York: Viking, 2000.
Paperback edition: Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2003.
Invisible Kingdoms: Jewish
Tales of Angels, Spirits and Demons. New York: HarperCollins, 2002.
Before You Were Born. New
York: Roaring Brook Press, 2005.
More Bones: Scary Stories from Around the World (with Arielle North Olson). New York: Viking, forthcoming 2008.
Gathering Sparks. New
York: Roaring Brook Press, forthcoming 2009.
Distinctions:
1) First Place Award, Academy
of American Poets poetry contest Washington University, 1969.
2) Poetry Fellowship of the
St. Louis Arts and Humanities Commission, 1981.
3) Elijah’s Violin
& Other Jewish Fairy Tales was selected by the New York Public
Library as one of the One Hundred Best Children’s Books of 1983.
4) American Book Award of the
Before Columbus Foundation for The Captive Soul of the Messiah,
1984.
5) American Librarian
Association (ALA) Notable for The Diamond Tree: Jewish Tales from
Around the World, 1991.
6) The Diamond Tree:
Jewish Tales from Around the World was nominated for the National
Jewish Book Award for 1992 in the category of children’s
literature.
7) The Diamond Tree:
Jewish Tales from Around the World received The Sydney Taylor Book
Award for 1992 from the Association of Jewish Libraries.
8) The Diamond Tree:
Jewish Tales from Around the World was selected as one of
best children’s books of 1991 by the Library of Congress.
9) The Diamond Tree:
Jewish Tales from Around the World was selected as one of the
Notable 1991 Children’s Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC).
10) The Sabbath Lion: A
Jewish Folktale from Algeria was selected as a Sydney Taylor Honor
Book by the Association of Jewish Libraries in 1992.
11) Lilith’s Cave: Jewish Tales of the Supernatural and Miriam’s Tambourine: Jewish
Folktales from Around the
World are both Reader’s Catalog Selections. The Reader’s
Catalog is a selection of the best 40,000 books in print.
12) Honorary Doctorate awarded
to Howard Schwartz by Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, 1996.
13) The Sabbath Lion
was made into a cartoon feature broadcast on BBC television in 1996.
14) A play based on stories
from Gabriel’s Palace: Jewish Mystical Tales was
performed throughout Britain in 1996 by The Besht Tellers, a performing
company. The play was also entitled Gabriel’s Palace.
15) Next Year in
Jerusalem: 3000 Years of Jewish Stories won the National Jewish
Book Award in the category of Children’s Literature for 1996. The
prize was awarded at Hebrew Union College in New York City on December
3, 1996.
16) Next Year in
Jerusalem: 3000 Years of Jewish Tales won the Aesop Prize of the
American Folklore Society for 1996. The prize was awarded in
Washington, D.C. in February, 1997.
17) The Wonder Child &
Other Jewish Fairy Tales was selected by the New York Public
Library as one of the One Hundred Best Children’s Books of 1996.
18) Smithsonian Magazine
(Vol. 27, No. 8, November 1996) selected Next Year in Jerusalem:
3000 Years of Jewish Tales as one of the Smithsonian’s
Notable Books for Children, 1996.
19) Next Year in
Jerusalem: 3000 Years of Jewish Tales received a 1997 Honor Title
from the Storytelling World Awards, in the category of Story
Anthologies, given by Storytelling World. The prize was awarded
in Atlanta, Georgia on May 7, 1997.
20) Voices Within the Ark:
The Modern Jewish Poets was selected as one of the 100 books
included in 100 Essential Books for Jewish Readers, edited by
Rabbi Daniel B. Syme and Cindy Frenkel Kanter (Secaucus, N.J.: Citadel
Press, 1998), pp. 29-30.
21) The Wonder Child &
Other Jewish Fairy Tales won the Anne Izard Storytellers’
Choice Award for 1998. The prize was awarded in Mamaroneck, New York on
June 16, 1998.
22) Reimagining the Bible:
The Storytelling of the Rabbis was a finalist for the National
Jewish Book Award for 1999 in the category of Jewish Thought.
23) A play based on six
stories from Lilith’s Cave: Jewish Tales of the Supernatural
was produced in Los Angeles, directed by Stuart Gordon. It was
performed in December, 1999 and in January and February, 2000 at the
Lex Theatre in Los Angeles. The play was entitled Kabbalah: Scary
Jewish Tales. This play, retitled The Speaking Head: Scary
Jewish Stories was performed again by Red Hen Productions in
Chicago in November 2003.
24) Ask the Bones: Scary
Stories from Around the World was nominated by the Disney
Adventures Book Awards as one of the five best books of 1999 in the
category of Mystery/Horror.
25) A Coat for the Moon
& Other Jewish Tales won the Anne Izard Storytellers’
Choice Award for 1998.The prize was awarded in Mamaroneck, New York on
June 20, 2000.
26) A Coat for the Moon
& Other Jewish Tales received a 1999 Honor Title from the
Storytelling World Awards, in the category of Story Anthologies, given
by Storytelling World
27) Three folktales from the
collections of Howard Schwartz were selected for broadcast as part of a
radio series, “One People, Many Stories.” These stories
were broadcast on radio station KCSN in Los Angeles and distributed as
an audio recording. The stories are “The Sabbath Lion” from
The Sabbath Lion (HarperCollins, 1992), “The Bird of
Happiness” from Next Year in Jerusalem (Viking, 1996),
and “Drawing the Wind” from The Day the Rabbi
Disappeared (Viking, 2000).
28) The Sabbath Lion
(HarperCollins 1992) was singled out by The National Children’s
Literacy Campaign, sponsored by the Bureau of Jewish Education of
Greater Los Angeles. Their statement reads: “Families and
children should all know a Chelm, or the Algerian folktale, The
Sabbath Lion and other fabulous Jewish folktales from around the
globe. Our campaign will shine the spotlight on the importance of
children’s Jewish literature and media.”
29) The Day the Rabbi
Disappeared: Jewish Holiday Tales of Magic won the Aesop Prize for
2000 in the Children’s Folklore Section of the American Folklore
Society for 2000. The Aesop Prize is awarded to the book that best
presents folklore to you readers. The award committee commented about
the book: “Members of the committee were in unanimous
agreement that this book shows a wonderful blending of ethnic folklore
and folklore scholarship for young readers. The Day the Rabbi
Disappeared is precisely the type of book that the Aesop Prize was
established to encourage.”
30) The Day the Rabbi
Disappeared: Jewish Holiday Tales of Magic won the National Jewish
Book Award for 2000 in the category of Children’s Literature. The
award committee commented about the book: “Weaving delightful
tales of magic, mystery, mayhem, and triumph over evil, Howard Schwartz
provides an engaging collection of tales that moves through twelve
holidays in the Jewish calendar.”
31) The Day the Rabbi
Disappeared: Jewish Holiday Tales of Magic was listed as one of the
Smithsonian Magazine Notable Books for Children, 2000. The
announcement appears in the November 1999 issue of Smithsonian
Magazine. The citation reads: “Beneficent sorcery resides in
these stories, culled from sources around the world and replete with
shoes that fly into the Garden of Eden and a wanderer who is guided out
of a snowstorm by the light of an enchanted menorah.”
32) The Day the Rabbi
Disappeared: Jewish Holiday Tales of Magic was selected as one of
the Notable Books for Older Children for 2000 by the Association
of Jewish Libraries.
33) Ask the Bones: Scary
Stories from Around the World won the Keystone State Reading
Association’s 2001-02 Young Adult Book Award. Young adult readers
(grades 6-8) throughout Pennsylvania selected this book from a list of
12 titles. The award was presented in Hershey, PA on October 24, 2001.
34) Howard Schwartz was
selected for inclusion in the University City High School Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame is a recognition program designed to salute graduates
who have made significant contributions to their professions or
communities, and in doing so have brought honor to their alma mater. A
committee of community members, educators and students made this
section. The Hall of Fame dedication took place on October 6, 2001.
35) Gabriel’s
Palace: Jewish Mystical Tales was selected for inclusion as one of
“The One Hundred Best Contemporary Jewish Books.” This list
of appears in Best Contemporary Jewish Writing, edited by
Michael Lerner (San Francisco: Josey-Bass, 2001), pp. 417-421. The list
was created and finalized by a committee of Jewish writers, thinkers,
rabbis, academics, and community leaders, based on the best Jewish
books written since 1985.
36) Invisible Kingdoms:
Jewish Tales of Angels, Spirits and Demons was listed as one of
the Smithsonian Magazine Notable Books for Children,
2002, vol. 33, no. 9, p. 25. The citation reads: “Spanning 1,500
years and regions from Eastern Europe to the Middle East, legends
rooted in the mystic tradition of Judaism evoke angels, spirits and
demons.”
37) Invisible Kingdoms:
Jewish Tales of Angels, Spirits and Demons was selected as a
“Best Children’s Book of the Year” for 2003 by the
Children’s Book Committee at Bank Street College of Education.
38) Invisible Kingdoms:
Jewish Tales of Angels, Spirits and Demons was selected as the sole
finalist for the National Jewish Book Award for 2002-2003 in the
category of Children’s Literature. The award ceremony took place
on December 11, 2003 in New York City. The citation reads: “With
his vivid retelling of magical tales of angels, spirits and demons,
Howard Schwartz captivates young and old alike in Invisible Kingdoms.
. . . Based primary on oral traditions from around the world, these
stories remind us of the power of good people in the world.”
39) Invisible Kingdoms:
Jewish Tales of Angels, Spirits and Demons received an Aesop
Accolade for 2003 from the Children’s Folklore Section of the
American Folklore Society. The citation reads: “The Committee
recognized Schwartz’s beautifully told stories that introduce
children to many esoteric Jewish beliefs and rituals set in a variety
of European and Middle Eastern settings. . . . Invisible Kingdoms
advances the responsible use of and sensitivity to folk materials that
the Aesop Prize was established to encourage.”
40) Invisible Kingdoms:
Jewish Tales of Angels, Spirits and Demons was named a 2002 Notable
Children’s Book of Jewish Content by the Association of Jewish
Libraries
41) Tree of Souls: The
Mythology of Judaism was selected as one of the Best Books of 2004
by The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The citation reads: “This
reference book of Jewish mythology is accessible to nonspecialists as
well as scholars, Jews and non-Jews. It is the result of more than 12
years of research by Howard Schwartz, a folklorist and English
professor at the University of Missouri at St. Louis.”
42) Tree of Souls: The
Mythology of Judaism was nominated for the first Moment Magazine
Book Award, 2005 in the category of Non-Fiction.
43) Before You Were Born
was named a Top 10 Religion Book for Youth by Booklist, October
1, 2005. The citation reads: “Schwartz reshapes a rabbinic legend
about the angel Lailah leading babies to earth and telling them
‘all the secrets of the world.’ Ethereal mixed-media
illustrations illuminate the spirituality of the telling.”
44) Before You Were Born
was selected by The Forward as one of the Ten Best
Children’s Books of 2005 on December 30, 2005.
45) Before You Were Born was Named a 2006 Notable Children’s Book by the Association of Jewish Libraries.
46) Before You Were Born was the first selection of the PJ Library (www.pjlibrary.org), which sends Jewish-content books and music on a monthly basis to families with children through age five. This books is sent to every child as the introductory book.
47) Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism received the 2005 National Jewish Book Award in the category of Reference. The award was presented at a ceremony at the Center for Jewish History in New York City on April 26, 2006. The citation reads: “Every now and then a work of reference comes along that can be utilized and welcomed by the widest categories of readers. Howard Schwartz’s Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism is precisely such a book. It belongs on the reference shelf of every public or college library, in synagogue libraries as well, and finally in the home of every individual seeking to build a library of essential Jewish books. Schwartz has covered an enormous amount of ground, drawing upon biblical, Midrashic, Talmudic, kabbalistic, and Hasidic texts as well as oral lore, to put together this comprehensive and extremely readable collection. Part of what makes the work so impressive is his detailed identification of sources, as well as the way in which he cross-references the almost 700 myths that the book contains. The book is also marvelously indexed, first by biblical verses and then by subject matter; includes an excellent glossary; and contains a superb bibliography for those wishing to do further research.”
48) Before You Were
Born won the Koret International Jewish Book Award in the
Children’s Literature category. The award was presented on
November 15, 2006 in San Francisco.
