The Death of the Lion

Posted by J. Mark Bertrand
on Sunday, January 28, 2007
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Daniel Stern, my thesis director at University of Houston and a writer whose teaching had a profound impact on my thought, passed away last Wednesday at age 79. I hadn't been in touch with him for a few years, so the news came as a bit of a shock. Fittingly enough, his last story to be published (in the Kenyon Review) was about an obituary writer. His own obituary, a resume of a remarkable life, is in the New York Times:

"Daniel Stern, Short Story Writer, Dies at 79"

I took my first workshop with Dan before entering the UH grad program, and I've always suspected his liking me had something to do with my eventual acceptance. A couple of years ago, I blogged about a novel workshop I took with Dan. It was then he introduced me to one of my favorite novelists, Graham Greene, and to the artist stories of Henry James -- including "The Death of the Lion." By the time he directed my thesis a few years later, he'd become the closest thing I've ever had to a writing mentor. After graduation, I'd often thought of dropping by his office to say hello, but I always put it off because I hadn't "done" anything yet -- I wanted to show up after publishing a novel, something to show that all the effort he'd invested in me wasn't wasted. Now I wish I hadn't waited.