Honorary Curator Gary Hotham
Gary Hotham
Honorary Curator, 2022-2023
Appointment Announcement
The American Haiku Archives advisory board is pleased to announce the appointment of Gary Hotham as the 2022-2023 honorary curator of the American Haiku Archives at the California State Library in Sacramento.
This honor recognizes his five decades of deep involvement with haiku, starting as a teenager in 1967. He has published numerous haiku books and is currently serving as a nominator for Red Moon Press annual anthologies and as the first vice president of the Haiku Society of America.
Gary grew up in Maine, now lives in Maryland, and has lived previously in Japan, Germany, and England.
We are pleased to celebrate Gary Hotham, and to bestow this honor from the American Haiku Archives, which seeks to preserve and promote haiku and related poetry throughout the North American continent. The following are five of Gary's haiku:
fog.
sitting here
without the mountains
music two centuries old—
the color flows
out of the teabag
as far as the light goes
my daughter goes—
after the firefly
hand to hand—
the unframed photos
of her life
distant thunder—
the dog's toenails click
against the linoleum
The AHA advisory board is delighted to pay tribute to Gary Hotham as the twenty-sixth honorary curator of the American Haiku Archives.
~Michael Dylan Welch, American Haiku Archives Advisory Board Co-chair
2022 Haiku Poets of Northern California Reading
Gary Hotham - October 16, 2022 (Haiku Poets of Northern California)
Please enjoy this video recording of the Zoom reading from October 16, 2022, hosted by the Haiku Poets of Northern California.
AHA sponsored a Zoom reading on Saturday, September 17, 2022 to celebrate Gary Hotham as the 2022–23 honorary curator of the American Haiku Archives. Gary read selections of his haiku from five decades of his haiku books.
Selected Haiku by Gary Hotham
fog.
sitting here
without the mountains
Without the Mountains (Yiqralo Press, 1976)
early morning breeze
the mountain's shadow
begins to move
The Fern's Underside (Juniper Press, 1977)
no place
to hide my hands—
the rain begins
Off And On Rain (High/Coo Press, 1978)
coffee
in a paper cup—
a long way from home
Against the Linoleum (Yiqralo Press, 1979)
rest stop—
in the darkness
grass stiff with frost
This Space Blank (Juniper Press, 1984)
music two centuries old—
the color flows
out of the teabag
Pulling Out the Bent Nail (Wind Chimes Press, 1988)
as far as the light goes
my daughter goes—
after the firefly
As Far as the Light Goes (Juniper, 1990)
another day of snow
the statue's fingers
broken off
The Wind's View (Juniper Press, 1993)
time to go—
the stones we threw
at the bottom of the ocean
Before All the Leaves Are Gone (Juniper Press, 1996)
shade trees on both sides—
the same road
Napoleon took
Hair's & Hawk Circles (Tel-Let, 1996)
early in the night—
the stars we can see
the space for more
Footprints and Fingerprints (Modest Proposal Chapbooks, 1999)
our bare feet
next to each other
next to the ocean
Bare Feet (Longhouse, 1998)
hand to hand—
the unframed photos
of her life
Breath Marks: Haiku to Read in the Dark (Canon Press, 1999)
in the toy bucket—
the part of the ocean
she carries
The Sky Stays Behind (Juniper Press, 2000)
evening loon call—
nothing makes it
call again
Missed Appointment (Modest Proposal Chapbooks, 2007)
near the museum—
children racing
the lawn sprinkler
Sand Over Sand (Longhouse, 2009)
more footsteps—
the broken branch
breaks again
Spilled Milk: Haiku Destinies (Pinyon Publishing, 2010)
dew hanging on the fence—
paint chips off
the danger sign
Nothing More Happens in the 20th Century (Pecan Grove Press, 2011)
home
for Dad's funeral—
not the same quiet in the kitchen
Our Waves Meet the Ocean Waves (Longhouse, 2013)
near dark—
the grand hotel drips
long after the rain
Stone's Throw: Promises of Mere Words (Pinyon Publishing, 2016)
Tintern Abbey
stones that didn't
rust
23 (Longhouse Poetry, 2019)
squeezing
into our universe
cherry blossoms
Rightsizing the Universe: Haiku Theory (Yiqralo Press, 2019}
hiding
all of mine
mountain silence
Park Bench Memories: Haiku Tailwinds (Yiqralo Press, 2020)
in the space
our light makes
moths
Mannequins Dressed for the Window (Yiqralo Press, 2021)
hiking
shade the sun hasn't
found
Playground Grass (Yiqralo Press, 2022)
lost
in the pond
the splash
Soft-Serve: Haiku Remains (Pinyon Publishing, forthcoming 2023)
Haiku Collections
Hotham, Gary. Against the Linoleum. Laurel, MD: Yiqralo Press, 1979.
Hotham, Gary. As Far as the Light Goes. La Crosse, WI: Juniper Press, 1990.
Hotham, Gary. Bare Feet: A Selection of Haiku. Green River, VT: Longhouse, 1998.
Hotham, Gary. Before All the Leaves Are Gone. La Crosse, WI: Juniper Press, 1996.
Hotham, Gary. Breathmarks: Haiku to Read in the Dark. Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 1999.
Hotham, Gary. The Fern's Underside. La Crosse, WI: Juniper Press, 1977.
Hotham, Gary. Fifteen Haiku. Charleston, IL: Otata's Bookshelf, 2021. Online pdf edition.
Hotham, Gary. Footprints & Fingerprints. Pittsburg, PA: Lilliput Review, 1999.
Hotham, Gary. Mannequins Dressed for the Window: Haiku Secrets. Scaggsville, MD: Yiqralo Press, 2021.
Hotham, Gary. Missed Appointment. Pittsburg, PA: Lilliput Review, 2007.
Hotham, Gary. Nothing More Happens in the 20th Century: Haiku Dangers. San Antonio, TX: Pecan Grove Press, 2011.
Hotham, Gary. Odor of Rain. La Crosse, WI: Juniper Press, 2004.
Hotham, Gary. Off and On Rain. Battle Ground, IN: High/Coo Press, 1978.
Hotham, Gary. Park Bench Memories: Haiku Tailwinds. Scaggsville, MD: Yiqralo Press, 2020.
Hotham, Gary. Playground Grass: Haiku Options. Scaggsville, MD: Yiqralo Press, 2022.
Hotham, Gary. Rightsizing the Universe: Haiku Theory. Montrose, CO: Yiqralo Press, 2019.
Hotham, Gary. Spilled Milk: Haiku Destinies. Scaggsville, MD: Pinyon Publishing, 2010.
Hotham, Gary. This Space Blank. La Crosse, WI: Juniper Press, 1984.
Hotham, Gary. Take-out Window: 2014 Haiku Society of America Members' Anthology. New York; Haiku Society of America, 2014.
Hotham, Gary. 23. Green River, VT: Longhouse, 2019.
Hotham, Gary. The Wind's View: A Selection of Haiku. La Crosse, WI: Juniper Press, 1993.
Hotham, Gary. Without the Mountains. Laurel, MD: Yiqralo Press, 1976.
Haiku in Anthologies
The Haiku Anthology (Doubleday/Anchor Press, 1974)
The Haiku Anthology (Simon and Schuster, 1986)
The Haiku Anthology (W. W. Norton Company, 1999)
Haiku Moment: An Anthology of Contemporary North American Haiku (Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1993)
Global Haiku (Niagara Falls: Mosaic Press, 2000)
Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years (W. W. Norton and Company, 2013).
The Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku by William J. Higginson (McGraw-Hill, 1985/ Kodansha International, 1989)
Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac (Kodansha International, 1996)
The Haiku Seasons: Poetry of the Natural World, second edition (Kodansha International, 1996/ Stone Bridge Press, 2008).
Favorite Haiku Volume 2 by H. F. Noyes (Red Moon Press, 1999)
Haiku: A Poet's Guide by Lee Gurga (Modern Haiku Press, 2003)
Essays & Prefaces by Gary Hotham
"Why Haiku?" ~ afterword to Breath Marks: Haiku to Read in the Dark
"Why Poetry?" ~ preface to Breath Marks: Haiku to Read in the Dark
"God Bless You, Mrs. Maloney, Wherever You Are" ~ preface to Spilled Milk: Haiku Destinies
"Short Word Prejudice" ~ afterword to Spilled Milk: Haiku Destinies
"Preface" ~ Stone's Throw: Promises of Mere Words
"Dixie Cups: History and Haiku" ~ afterword to Mannequins Dressed for the Window: Haiku Secrets
Essays on Gary Hotham
Avis, Nick. Book review of Pulling Out the Bent Nail. Inkstone 5.2, 1992.
Ballentine, Vicki. "Gary Hotham's Haiku." Millikin University Haiku, (2004): n. pag. Web. 6 March 2016.
Gamble, Mary. "Comparing Nature in Haiku: Kobayashi Issa Versus Gary Hotham." Millikin University Haiku, (2001): n. pag. Web. 6 March 2016.
Gamble, Mary. "Gary Hotham: Haiku Genius." Millikin University Haiku, (2001): n. pag. Web. 6 March 2016.
Web Links
Pinyon Publishing Interview
http://www.pinyon-publishing.com/gary%20hotham%20interview.html
Judge's Comments: 2018 Peggy Willis Lyles Haiku Awards
https://theheronsnest.com/awards/awards_2018.html
Eliot Society presentation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St0U21T40F0
Gary Hotham - Haikupedia
https://haikupedia.org/article-haikupedia/gary-hotham/
Gary Hotham - Touchstone Distinguished Books Honorable Mention 2019
https://thehaikufoundation.org/gary-hotham-touchstone-distinguished-books-honorable-mention-2019/
Gary Hotham - Amazon Author's Page
https://www.amazon.com/Gary-Hotham/e/B00IWOIZ9E/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1
Gary Hotham - Poets & Writers Directory
https://www.pw.org/directory/writers/gary_hotham
Gary Hotham - Haiku Poet Podcast Interview by Josh Cleveland & family - March 21, 2021
https://anchor.fm/haiku-poet-101/episodes/Gary-Hotham-Haiku-Poetry-and-Interview-esu3gv
Gary Hotham - featured guest poet - Upstate Dim Sum - Autumn 2017
https://upstate-dim-sum.com/autumn-2017/
