Image by MacArthur Foundation

Ben Lerner, 36, began his writing career as a poet, but his two debut novels, one published in 2011 and the other last year, quickly gained critical acclaim and have both been called “brilliant” and “revolutionary,” among other praise.

This year Lerner received a MacArthur “genius” fellowship of $625,000 for his work.

Though he has turned to fiction in recent years, his novels mirror aspects of his own experiences and integrate his background in poetry.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“Poets really haven’t gotten the news that the novel is also dead,” said Lerner in an interview with The Guardian after his second book, “10:04,” came out. “It’s like some weird homeopathic myth, that you avoid the novel but you are allowed to write one.”

When his first novel, “Leaving the Atocha Station,” came out, he told the Poetry Society of America that the main character finds prose beautiful when it has “poetic possibility.”

“A poem in a novel, or the idea of poetry in a novel, can similarly glimmer, I think,” he said.

Lerner was born and raised in Topeka, Kansas, and won his first award — from the National Forensic League’s speech and debate tournament — the year he graduated high school. Since then, he has secured far more prestigious recognitions, such as a Fulbright scholarship and Guggenheim fellowship before the MacArthur.

“Of course one feels grateful and unworthy and weirded out all at once,” he wrote to the Forward in an email.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount