- Michael Blumenthal was a Briggs-Copeland Lecturer in Poetry at Harvard from 1983-1992 and ultimately became Director of their Creative Writing Program. He was a Senior Fulbright Scholar in residence for many years in Budapest Hungary and has been the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts and the Ingram Merrill Foundation. His many awards and accolades include the Ribalow Prize for Best Jewish Fiction judged by Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel and novelist Thomas Kenneally, author of Schindler's List.