Howard Schwartz | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1945-04-21)April 21, 1945 (age 80) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author,professor,editor |
| Genre | myth,poetry,fiction |
| Website | |
| howardschwartz | |
Howard Schwartz (born April 21, 1945) is an American folklorist, author, poet, and editor of dozens of books. He has won the internationalKoret Jewish Book Award,[1] for the bookBefore You Were Born, and won a 2005National Jewish Book Award forTree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism.[2][3] He has been featured in the Jewish Children's Book Project,[4] local media in his hometown of Saint Louis,[5]The Jerusalem Post,[6] andThe Canadian Jewish News,[7] as well as in many other publications.
Schwartz was born April 21, 1945, to Nathan and Bluma (Rubin).
Schwartz's later work in Jewishfolklore, fiction, poetry, and children's literature has been recognized by more than forty organizations and literary bodies. He won the Aesop Prize from theAmerican Folklore Society, theAmerican Book Award from theBefore Columbus Foundation, and theSydney Taylor Book Award, among others.
More recently, the author was awarded the 2005National Jewish Book Award for his reference bookTree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism,[3] an extensive attempt—almost 700 pages—to demonstrate the existence of a Jewish mythology.
His children's story,Before You Were Born, was named one of the top ten children's books of 2005[8] and was given the Koret International Jewish Book Award from theKoret Foundation in 2006.Before You Were Born describes the angelLailah, who shares all the secrets of life with children while they are still inside the womb.
Schwartz has been nominated for theNational Jewish Book Award six times and has won the award three times.[9][10]
Schwartz works with oral and written sources as a collector and re-teller of Jewish stories andmidrash. In this capacity, he has collected more than a thousand unique tales from around the world in several major collections.
