In Memoriam: Saskia Hamilton, 1967-2023

Saskia Hamilton, a poet, professor of English, and vice provost for academic programs and curriculum at Barnard College in New York City, has died in New York. She was 56 years old.

A native of Washington, D.C., Dr. Hamilton was a graduate of Kenyon College in Ohio. She held a master’s degree from New York University and a Ph.D. in English from Boston University, where her research focused on the work of Emily Dickinson.

Dr. Hamilton joined the English department faculty at Barnard College in 2002 and she was named vice provost in 2018.

Professor Hamilton was the author of five collections of poetry including the forthcoming All Souls (Graywolf Press, October 2023). In addition to her poetry, Dr. Hamilton was a scholar of American literature and poetry. She was co-editor of The Dolphin Letters, 1970-1979: Elizabeth Hardwick, Robert Lowell, and Their Circle (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019) and Words in Air: The Complete Correspondence Between Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008).

Linda A. Bell, provost and dean of the faculty at Barnard College, noted that “as a faculty member, Saskia worked to make Barnard a stronger academic community, teaching courses in poetry and editing and directing Women Poets at Barnard. She was an indefatigable participant in college life and an award-winning teacher who always made herself available for service to this community where it mattered. She was tireless in her advocacy and support for faculty and for students, stewarding Barnard’s academic curriculum and coordinating new programs and initiatives. Barnard College is a more intellectually rich and exciting place due to her ideas, efforts, and gentle leadership.”