Remembering Dr. Jerome Lowenstein

To say that the editors of Bellevue Literary Review were saddened to learn of the passing of Jerome Lowenstein, MD, is an understatement. Jerry was our founding nonfiction editor, one of the original sparks that led to BLR’s creation.

An eminent nephrologist in the Department of Medicine at NYU, Jerry started the Program for Humanistic Aspects of Medical Education in 1979, which became a model for similar programs focused on humanities and reflection at other medical schools. Over the years, he taught thousands of medical students and residents, including both BLR’s editor-in-chief, Danielle Ofri, and BLR’s founding publisher, Martin J. Blaser. As his obituary notes, “He not only taught medicine, but introduced them to the art of medicine.”

Jerry was the author of six books, ranging from the human side of medicine (The Midnight Meal and Other Essays about Doctors, Patients, and Medicine) to a novel (Henderson’s Equation) to a nephrology classic (Acid and Basics).

He understood deeply the valuable connection between medicine and literature. In addition to being one of the founders of BLR, he also was the founding publisher of Bellevue Literary Press, which is dedicated to publishing literary fiction and nonfiction at the intersection of the arts and sciences.

“Over the twenty years that I served as nonfiction editor of BLR, I never lost my passion for preserving the voice of our authors,” Jerry noted in BLR’s 20th anniversary editor roundtable. We are grateful for that passion and will miss him very much.

A note from Danielle Ofri, BLR Editor-in-Chief

Jerry was a mensch extraordinaire, truly one-of-a-kind. He cared deeply about the experience of the reader at every level. I remember sitting with him in my clinic office at Bellevue as we planned the first issue of BLR, weighing different samples of paper in our hands, trying to decide which would feel the nicest in our readers’ hands. And, of course, I recall our many discussions about the importance of stories in medicine. The success of BLR led him to start the Bellevue Literary Press.

Years earlier, though, Jerry was another type of mentor for me. I was a resident in internal medicine at Bellevue on the 16-North ward, and Dr. Lowenstein was my attending. He was a meticulous physician—as nephrologists are wont to be—but he also connected with patients in a remarkable way. His respect, clinical curiosity, and caring were so apparent.

We owe Jerry a debt of gratitude for helping BLR as well as BLP get off the ground. He devoted his life to humanistic medicine, as all of his patients, his trainees, and his many readers can attest. He will be missed.

A note from Martin J. Blaser, BLR Founding Publisher

In his own way, Jerry was a modern renaissance figure—physician, writer, teacher, scientist, outdoorsman, and with great joie de vivre. He was both sweet and humble. Wherever he went, he made friends—based on his intrinsic warmth and interest in other people. Jerry was an idealist, who loved his family, friends, the institutions he believed in, and the spirit of creativity. Even in old age, he kept his impish quality. To me, he was a true friend and a model of how to live a life well-spent.