As a first-year student at Gustavus, Matt Rasmussen had his eyes set on a major in Computer Science, but like the typical college student, he soon found greater passions elsewhere. Unlike the average college student, those passions have brought him back to the Gustavus community more than 20 years later as Visiting Assistant Professor in English and a highly decorated poet.

“Matt was in my American Literature class when he was a student here, a very good student. Matt was then, as he is now, quiet, but smart and deeply thoughtful. Because I don’t teach creative writing, I don’t remember being aware of quite how good a poet Matt was when he was student here, but I was blown away by his book, ‘Black Aperture,’ which is a stunning collection,” Associate Professor and Department Co-Chair in English Florence Amamoto said.v

Matt began writing poetry in high school, but it wasn’t until receiving encouragement from his psychiatrist after his brother’s suicide that he began to turn more seriously to poetry at the age of sixteen. Even then, it took another ten years for him to write the first poem about the incident, which became part of his award winning book, “Black Aperture”.

“Even though I had to return to the subject matter over and over, I do think the writing process helped me deal with the grief of my brother’s suicide and control it in a way. When something happens that is out of your control you feel powerless, but when you use it in some sort of art form, you gain a sense of power over it. The book’s about his suicide, but I had the agency to make it an artful representation which is the most cathartic aspect about it,” Matt said.

“His unique, yet  rewarding teaching style is what, I believe, makes him an exceptional candidate for Gustie of the Week.”—Kelly Davis

Since its publication, the book has won the 2014 Minnesota Book Award for Poetry and the 2012 Walt Whitman Award. Additionally, it was a 2013 finalist for the National Book Award and just this year Matt was selected as the fourth recipient of the Holmes National Poetry Prize winner, which is awarded to new poets.      

Although he feels deeply honored to have received all of the recognition he has, Matt never looses modesty or the ability to connect with his students at Gustavus.

“A friend and I went to the reception in the Bookmark when his book was nominated for the National Book Award and there were all of these distinguished people who were celebrating and toasting him. But right after the toast Matt came up to us and started talking. He has a way of making students always feel so comfortable,” Junior Alaina Rooker said.

As a young professor, Matt admits that he still finds himself nervous and over prepared as a result, but students of his say that his fun attitude paired with his obvious desire for their success has made him as good a professor as those with more experience.

“In creative writing during my freshman year, Matt made me laugh a lot and I remember being curious how a professor could be so goofy. With time, that goofiness came with a real passion for developing writers and a desire to shape things that really matter like our creativity and thought processes rather than perfect writing structure,” Senior Nate Paulsen said.

As he continues to grow both as poet and professor, Matt has a couple goals. His writing projects include elegies to ordinary things and even a children’s book. As far as his teaching career, Matt says that he sees himself as a young writer in a lot of his students and his biggest goal is to help them progress.

“I think the best quality of Matt as a professor is his ability to lower the hierarchy in a class room. He’s just one of us. His unique, yet rewarding teaching style is what, I believe, makes him an exceptional candidate for Gustie of the Week. Wherever Matt ends up in the future, I’m sure he will be out there inspiring many, such as he did myself,” Junior Kelly Davis said.

-Jaurdyn Dobler