Author, int'l writing program founder Hualing Nieh Engle dies at 99

Taipei, Oct. 22 (CNA) Hualing Nieh Engle (聶華苓), a Chinese-language novelist and co-founder of the University of Iowa's International Writing Program, has died at the age of 99.

Nieh's death on Oct. 20 was confirmed to CNA by the poet Lin Chi-yang (林淇瀁), known by the pen name Xiang Yang (向陽), who received the news in a text message from Nieh's daughter Lan-Lan Wang (王曉藍).

Hualing Nieh was born in 1925 in Wuhan, China. She came to Taiwan with her family in 1949, and later began publishing books while holding teaching positions at National Taiwan University and Tunghai University.

In 1964, Nieh moved to the United States after accepting a position as a visiting writer at the University of Iowa's Iowa Writers' Workshop.

Three years later, Nieh, along with her future husband, the poet Paul Engle, co-founded the university's International Writing Program.

In the nearly 40 years since then, the program has offered writing residencies for over 1,600 writers from 160 countries, including Pai Hsien-yung (白先勇) and Taiwanese poets Xiang Yang, Wu Sheng (吳晟) and Cheng Chou-yu (鄭愁予).

Nieh's own writing included the publication of novels, short stories, essays and literary translations from English to Chinese and Chinese to English.

She received the American Book Award in 1990 for the English translation of her novel "Mulberry and Peach" (桑青與桃紅).

Originally published in Chinese in 1976, the book recounts the story of a woman and a second personality she develops, and is set against a background of historical events, including the Japanese occupation of China, the Chinese Civil War, and the White Terror period in Taiwan.

In her 2004 memoir "Three Lives" (三生三世), which covers the story of her life through 1991, Nieh likened herself to a tree with "roots in China, a trunk in Taiwan and branches and leaves in Iowa."

Following Paul Engle's death in 1991, Nieh remained an "active and vivid" presence in the International Writing Program's planning and a "gracious host" for visiting Sinophone writers until only a few years ago, the program said in a statement Monday.

In Taiwan, Culture Minister Li Yuan (李遠) offered his condolences upon hearing of Nieh's passing. He noted that during Taiwan's martial law period, Nieh offered residencies to talented Taiwanese writers regardless of their background, political views or party membership.

In doing so, Nieh gave these Taiwanese writers a chance to interact with the world and raise the profile of Taiwanese literature, Li said.