Acclaimed writer directs FIU’s top-ranked Creative Writing Program

The “Miami New Times” hails his book, “Washington Burning,” best of 2009 by a local author.

 When Les Standiford became director of FIU’s Creative Writing Program in 1985, he wondered if he could make the program a success.

“At the time, Miami wasn’t really a book town,” he recalled. “There were a lot of people driving in fast cars with their shirts open to their navels, but there wasn’t a lot of reading going on. The real challenge was to make what we do seem important to the community and to the rest of the country.”

All that has changed, thanks in part to FIU’s top-ranked Creative Writing Program. During his tenure as director, Standiford recruited a stellar faculty of accomplished writers and attracted top-notch students, including noted authors Barbara Parker, Denis Lahane, and Vicky Hendrix. The accomplishments of the faculty and alumni helped put Miami on the map as a literary center.

In addition to his work as director, Standiford has authored numerous critically acclaimed, best-selling books. He recently wrote “The Man who Invented Christmas,” a story about Charles Dickens, which was named a New York Times Editors’ Choice. He also penned “Last Train to Paradise” and “Meet You in Hell.”

The “Miami New Times” voted his work “Washington Burning: How a Frenchman’s Vision for Our Nation’s Capital Survived Congress, the Founding Fathers, and the Invading British Army,” the best book by a local author of 2009.

As a professor, Standiford shapes and develops students’ writing talent and teaches them how to avoid common mistakes. But they must have innate talent to succeed.

“I’d compare it to being a voice coach,” he said. “If a person can’t carry a tune, there’s not much you can do. But if you have someone with a good voice, you can teach him or her to sing opera and a lot of other things.”

He adds: “You can take a look at The New York Times Bestseller List on any given Sunday, and it appears that talent has almost nothing to do with achieving success. But by and large, that’s what it takes for most of us.”

Standiford is at work on his next book, “Desperate Sons.” He expects the creative writing faculty to balance their teaching responsibilities with developing their own work, which enhances their credibility as teachers of writing.

 “There’s an old saw: ‘Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach,'” he said. “But in the case of our creative writing program, ‘those who can, teach.'”