Sasha West

Dr. Sasha West serves as Associate Professor of Creative Writing in the Department of Literature, Writing and Rhetoric at St. Edward's University's School of Arts and Humanities, where she coordinates the Environmental Humanities minor. Recognized with the St. Edward's University Distinguished Teaching Award (2020) and Hudspeth Innovative Teaching Award (2022), her interdisciplinary work bridges literary and environmental scholarship.

Her academic credentials include:

• PhD in Creative Writing & Literature from University of Houston
• MA in Poetry, Writing Seminars from Johns Hopkins University
• BAs in General Literature and Psychology from University of California San Diego

West's research specializes in poetry, hybrid genres, creativity studies, and eco-poetics, with particular emphasis on ecological narratives and cross-medium artistic expression. Her scholarship actively contributes to environmental humanities through innovative literary forms that challenge conventional genre boundaries and explore human-nature relationships.

Her publications demonstrate sustained engagement with contemporary American poetry, featuring the National Poetry Series-winning 'Failure and I Bury the Body' (2013) and the imminent 'How to Abandon Ship' (2024). These works, alongside publications in The American Poetry Review and The Southern Review, reveal consistent thematic focus on environmental consciousness, experimental structure, and interdisciplinary dialogue between visual and textual art forms.

Her accolades span creative and pedagogical domains:

• National Poetry Series Winner
• Texas Institute of Letters Bob Bush First Book of Poetry Award
• St. Edward's University Distinguished Teaching Award
• Hudspeth Innovative Teaching Award
• Bread Loaf Writers' Conference Fellowship
• Bread Loaf Writers' Conference Louis Untermeyer Scholarship
• Houston Arts Alliance Establish Artist Grant
• Rice University Parks Fellowship
• Inprint's Verlaine Prize

As an educator, West mentors students in creative writing and environmental humanities while securing competitive research support including the Houston Arts Alliance Establish Artist Grant and Rice University Parks Fellowship. Her teaching innovations integrate visual arts and ecological studies through collaborative projects like the Environmental Humanities minor.

West maintains significant literary community engagement through Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts, evolving from Editor-in-Chief (2003-2006) to current Advisory Board Member (2015-present) after serving as President of the Board (2007-2012). Her curation work for Menil Collection Publications (2009, 2012) further demonstrates commitment to advancing interdisciplinary artistic discourse.