New dedicated space honors longtime SDSU poetry professor

It was 1989 when Barbara Boxer, dean of the College of Arts and Letters, tapped Sandra Alcosser to lead the MFA in creative writing/poetry program in the Department of English and Comparative Literature.

Now, 36 years later, a study area on the second floor of the Arts and Letters building, adjacent to the MFA Resource Center and the Poetry International office is officially named the “Professor Sandra Alcosser Poetry Nook.” 

Sarah B. Marsh-Rebelo (‘12, English and comparative literature MFA), a generous donor who has created an endowed scholarship for MFA students, presented and funded the idea for a dedicated space in honor of her first poetry professor and now friend Professor Alcosser. She envisioned a place to celebrate Alcosser’s longtime commitment to students of poetry. 

“In 2007 I joined students under the tough guidance of our erudite Professor Sandra Alcosser.  And my five years here have been the most rewarding of my life,” Marsh-Rebelo shared with attendees. “Professor Alcosser’s guidance encourages her students to dig deep and be unafraid. These poets leave San Diego State University with tremendous personal growth, many going on to teach at the finest colleges in America and to have their poetry published all over the world. I thank Professor Alcosser for teaching me how to open my heart and mind on the page. And we, your students, honor you for the gift of your sagacity and caring. To my dear professor and beloved friend, in honor of you, today, we officially dedicate this space as the ‘Professor Sandra Alcosser Poetry Nook.’” 

At the surprise dedication ceremony, Dean Todd Butler noted that Alcosser has provided leadership through mentorship, labor, and commitment.

“It seems fitting that we should be gathered here in this area to celebrate Sandra,” English and Comparative Literature Chair Quentin Bailey said during the event. “While she’s been guiding and developing the program, Sandra has also been a pioneering and first-rate poet, a gentle warrior for poetry and the environment — the first conservation poet of the Wildlife Conservation Society and Poets House, and Montana’s first poet laureate.”

Alcosser has written seven books of poetry and is the recipient of numerous awards, among them: the Merriam Award for distinguished contributions to Montana literature; the Larry Levis Award; a Pushcart Prize, and a PEN syndicated fiction award.. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and was a writer in residence at Glacier National Park and the Central Park Zoo. 

“This might be a small space, but its reach is great, and we look forward to many more writers being nurtured in this nook in this house that Sandra built,” Bailey said.