Bernice F. Holmes K51 of Hendersonville, North Carolina, was the sister of Theodore H. Holmes ’51, a biology major who became a poet. After graduation, he earned an MFA at the University of Iowa, and in 1957 he published his first book of poetry, The Harvest and the Scythe.
When her brother died in 1971 at the age of 42, Bernice established a charitable remainder trust at Princeton and a bequest to the University in his memory. These gifts fund the annual Theodore H. Holmes ’51 and Bernice Holmes Poetry Prize for a Princeton undergraduate; a national prize for a poet selected by creative writing faculty and staff; and a fund to bring a practicing poet to campus to teach and give a public lecture as part of the Creative Writing Program, now in the Lewis Center for the Arts.
When she died in 2007, the trust and bequest provided more than $1 million to the University. “The generosity of Bernice Holmes is truly exemplary,” said Paul Muldoon, the Howard G.B. Clark ’21 University Professor in the Humanities and chair of the Lewis Center. “Her beautifully thought-through bequest will allow student poets remarkable opportunities to work with short-term visitors, as well as allowing poets right through the country to benefit from her munificence.”
Holmes also donated her brother’s books and papers to Firestone Library. During her lifetime Holmes received payments from the charitable remainder trust she set up with the University. Now her generosity will continue to benefit generations of Princetonians.
