From left: Lycoming President Dr. James Douthat, Pennsylvania First Lady Marjorie O. Rendell, Dr. Sascha Feinstein and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Chairperson Diane Dalto Woosnam '73

Dr. Sascha Feinstein, a professor of English and co-director of the Creative Writing Program at Lycoming College, has been named the 2008 Governor’s Awards for the Arts Artist of the Year. The announcement of the award was made by Judge Marjorie O. Rendell, First Lady of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on Sept. 16, at the Community Arts Center in downtown Williamsport. Gov. Ed Rendell will present the awards on Nov. 12 at the Community Arts Center.

The annual awards are a 28-year gubernatorial tradition honoring the outstanding Pennsylvania artist, arts organizations and patrons who have made significant contributions to the advancement of the arts.

Feinstein is a poet, essayist and editor who has been an innovator in the field of jazz-related literature. His poetry has appeared in numerous national publications, including “American Poetry Review,” “North American Review,” “Ploughshares” and “The Penguin Book of the Sonnet.” His full-length poetry collection, “Misterioso,” won the Hayden Carruth Award.

"I think the title of this award is far too grand for what I’ve accomplished, but I am, of course, thrilled to have my work recognized in such a public way,” said Feinstein. “All writers wonder about audience: did others find what you’ve created interesting, if not important? Obviously, that shouldn’t be an artist’s central goal; one’s primary concern has to be the art itself—making something of lasting value. But it’s wonderful to receive encouragement, too.”

Feinstein’s critical work has appeared in such publications as “The Southern Review,” “Paideuma,” “The Chronicle of Higher Education” and “The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz.” His most recent book is a collection of personal essays, “Black Pearls: Improvisations on a Lost Year,” which is scheduled to be published in October by Eastern Washington University Press.

While teaching at Lycoming, he has received the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church Teaching Excellence Award and the Constance Cupp Plankenhorn Alumni Award for Faculty Excellence. He has also brought several distinguished artists to campus, including Pulitzer Prize-winning poet C.K. Williams and jazz pianist Bill Charlap.

In 1996, Feinstein founded “Brilliant Corners: A Journal of Jazz & Literature,” which is the only journal in the United States with that thematic focus. Published twice annually, Brilliant Corners always features a lengthy interview that he conducts with a major artist. The first 10 years of interviews were recently collected in “Ask Me Now: Conversations on Jazz & Literature.”

Feinstein earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Rochester, a M.F.A. in poetry and Ph.D. in American literature from Indiana University.

The Governor’s Awards for the Arts are administered by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. The council’s mission is to foster the excellence, diversity and vitality of the arts in Pennsylvania and to broaden the availability and appreciation of those arts throughout the state.

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