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Sarah Lawrence College mourns the loss of longtime faculty member, former New York State Poet, and National Book Award winner Jean Valentine, who passed away on December 29, 2020.
Valentine first came to Sarah Lawrence as a faculty member in the College’s study abroad programs in the early 1970s. She arrived on the Bronxville campus as a “rotating poet” in September 1974, and became a tenured member of the faculty in 1981. She remained an esteemed member of the writing faculty for another two decades, leaving the College in 2003.
A prolific and highly-lauded poet, Valentine’s achievements and honors were many throughout her career. She received the National Book Award in 2004 for Door in the Mountain; was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2011 for Break the Glass; and served as the New York State Poet from 2008-2010.
Read more about Jean Valentine’s storied life in The New York Times obituary dated January 7, 2021.