John Felstiner (1936-2017) , professor emeritus of English who taught at Stanford for almost half a century. Felstiner is best known for his translations and analysis of the work of German-speaking Jewish poet Paul Celan. His 1995 book, Paul Celan: Poet, Survivor, Jew, was awarded the Truman Capote Award for Literary Criticism.
He was also recognized for his translations of famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda in Translating Neruda: The Way to Macchu Picchu, which he wrote after spending a year in Chile teaching North American poetry in the late 1960s.
Felstiner’s latest work focused on the intersection of environmental issues with poetry in his 2009 book Can Poetry Save the Earth?: A Field Guide to Nature Poems.
Originally from Mount Vernon, New York, Felstiner graduated from Harvard College in 1958. After college, he served in the U.S. Navy for three years and then earned his doctorate at Harvard University in 1965. The same year, he came to Stanford, where he worked and lived for decades. He became an emeritus professor in 2009.
He loved being involved in the community at Stanford. He helped found Stanford’s Jewish Studies program, served on the board of Hillel at Stanford and spoke up about different hot-button issues on campus.
