Stephen F. Austin State University

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The late Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and local author Karle Wilson Baker will be honored Dec. 14 when the Texas State Historical Commission and the Nacogdoches County Historical Commission dedicate a Texas Historical Marker on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University.

The ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m. in front of SFA’s Austin Building. Sarah Jackson, a retired member of SFA’s Department of English and Philosophy, will present Baker’s biography. A reception will follow in the Pearman Alumni Office.

Baker was known both statewide and nationally as one of Texas’ most talented writers of poetry, essays and fiction. She taught contemporary poetry at SFA from 1924 to 1934. Her poem, “The Pine Tree Hymn,” was put to music and adopted as the school song. Three of her most important books were written during her tenure at SFA: “The Birds of Tanglewood,” “Dreamers on Horseback” and “Family Style.”

Baker received more recognition and honors than any other female poet in Texas during the 20th century. She belonged to the Institute of Letters, the Poetry Society of Texas and the Philosophical Society of Texas. She also was the first woman and third person to be named a Fellow of the Texas Institute of Letters.

Yale University Press published Baker’s first four books, and Southern Methodist University awarded her an honorary Doctorate of Letters in 1924. She was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1931 and died in 1960 at the age of 82.