NER is grieved to note the passing of author Ehud Havazelet, who died November 5, 2015.  He was, in the words of Stephen Donadio, “an altogether unique author and friend.” We published his work in NER a number of times over the years, including his essay “To Live in Tiflis in Springtime” in 1993 and his remarkable novella “Leah” in 1997. He also contributed to our feature on Ted Solotaroff in 2009.

Havazelet taught fiction at the University of Oregon in Corvallis since 1999. He was a two-time Oregon Book Award winner—in 1999, for his short-story collection, Like Never Before, and again in 2008 for his novel Bearing the Body. His work was also nationally acclaimed, with honors such as the Guggenheim Fellowship, Rockefeller Fellowship, Whiting Writers Award, and Pushcart Prize. Two of his books were named New York Times Notables and his story “Gurov in Manhattan” was included in The Best American Short Stories 2011.

Tributes from his colleagues and friends can be found on the UO Creative Writing Program page.