The Leslie Scalapino Scholarship was established to support graduate students in the writing program at CCA focusing on poetry. Leslie Scalapino was born in Santa Barbara, California and raised in Berkeley. She traveled throughout her youth and adulthood to Asia, Africa, and Europe – including Tibet, Bhutan, Japan, India, Mongolia, Yemen, Libya, and elsewhere – and her writing was intensely influenced by these experiences. She published her first book, O and Other Poems, in 1976. In 1986, she founded O Books, dedicated to publishing innovative works by young and emerging poets, as well as prominent and established writers. She also taught writing for nearly 25 years at various institutions, including CCA, Bard College, Mills College, and the San Francisco Art Institute. Leslie Scalapino passed away in 2010 and this scholarship honors her memory and impact on poetry.

For more information contact the Financial Aid Office.