Legacy of Poetry

Alan Soldofsky, director of SJSU’s Creative Writing program, at the 2015 Legacy of Poetry event.
Alan Soldofsky, director of SJSU’s Creative Writing program, at the 2015 Legacy of Poetry event. Photo by Christina Olivas.

Legacy of Poetry

San Jose State's Legacy of Poetry began in the 19th century as students studied works of great poets and began to publish their own creative works in The Acorn (1867), the Normal Index (1885), The Quill (1925), and others. Literary societies have existed from at least the 1870s. Around the start of the 20th century, the Browning Society with about 60 members meeting weekly studied the works of Robert Browning and built community on campus. Since the 1920s, students have participated in campus poetry contests.