Honorary Curator Alexis Rotella
Alexis Rotella
Honorary Curator, 2019-2020
Appointment Announcement
The American Haiku Archives advisory board is pleased to announce the appointment of Alexis Rotella as the 2019–2020 honorary curator of the American Haiku Archives at the California State Library in Sacramento.
This honor recognizes her longstanding and prominent contributions to the writing, editing, and publishing of haiku and related genres of poetry. Rotella was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 1947, and has lived in Washington, DC, the Piedmont region of Italy, California, New Jersey, and Maryland. She graduated in 1979 from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, with a BA in philosophy. For her degree, she wrote a paper on Zen Buddhism that led to a lifelong interest in haiku and related Japanese poetry genres.
She has authored or coauthored more than forty books and chapbooks, most of which have focused on haiku and related Japanese poetry in English, as well as longer poetry. Her poems have been translated into many languages, including Japanese, Polish, and Italian, and her work, often with a psychological edge to it, is widely anthologized. Rotella has been a member of the Haiku Society of America since the late 1970s and served as its president and editor of Frogpond in 1984. She has also started several haiku and senryu journals, including Brussels Sprout in 1984, The Persimmon Tree in 1990, and Prune Juice in 2009.
Rotella’s poems, essays, photography, and digital art have appeared in hundreds of publications, including Modern Haiku, Frogpond, New Letters, The Christian Science Monitor, Glamour, The Paterson Literary Review, Windhorse, Chiron Review, Blue Mesa Review, The Madison Review, Simply Haiku, Red Lights, Bottle Rockets, The New York Times, Hedgerow, Sonic Boom, Eucalypt, Skylark, A Hundred Gourds, The Heron’s Nest, Wind Literary Review, The Sow’s Ear, Poetry Nippon, Ko, Bones, Atlas Poetica, Liliput Review, Lynx, Presence, Blithe Spirit, Hummingbird, Frag Lit, American Tanka, Raw Nervz Haiku, Five Lines Down, Simply Haiku, Cicada, Inkstone, Wisteria, Woodnotes, Still, Stylus, New Jersey Art Forum Magazine, Moonset, Mainichi Daily News, Ito En Newspaper (New York), Ribbons, Ink Sweat and Tears, Haiga Online, Three Lights Gallery, Right Hand Pointing, Wales Haiku Journal, and KYSO Flash Fiction. Alexis also maintains a blog at https://alexisrotella.wordpress.com/.
We are pleased to celebrate Alexis Rotella, 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.
Late August
I bring him the garden
in my skirt
In the passing caboose Christmas lights
Last day at work—
already someone has taken
the stapler from my desk
Discussing divorce
he strokes
the lace tablecloth
At the top
of the Ferris wheel
lilac scent
The AHA advisory board is delighted to pay tribute to Alexis Rotella as the twenty-third honorary curator of the American Haiku Archives. To search the collections of the American Haiku Archives online, please visit http://www.library.ca.gov/. For information on donating material to the archives, or other information about its history and past honorary curators, please visit the American Haiku Archives website at www.americanhaikuarchives.org.
~Michael Dylan Welch, American Haiku Archives Advisory Board Co-chair
Selected Haiku
On the shortcut home
a pink candy heart
asks to be mine
Bringing with it
the smells of someplace else
spring rain
The lining
of an old woman’s jacket
earthworm pink
Wisteria
haunting
a house
Leaving
a light on
for the wind
Home alone
I put on
my peasant dress
Retirement
my husband watches
Donald Duck Cartoons
Driving a thousand miles to sit on plastic chairs
The garden
losing interest
in itself
Heron rising
silver bracelets
on the pond
Collared dove
a sermon
on melancholy
In the passing caboose Christmas lights
From her neon window
the crystal gazer
stares into winter rain
Quickly I powder my nose
my mother
staring back
Last day at work—
already someone has taken
the stapler from my desk
Chin on the broom floating petals
A butterfly lands on Park Place
Vase of peonies:
on a white bud
lipstick print
In the guest room
where my mother slept
I look for comfort
Discussing divorce
he strokes
the lace tablecloth
Trying to forget him
stabbing
the potatoes
Only I laugh
at his joke—
the silence
Late August
I bring him the garden
in my skirt
Lying—
I tell him I’m not
looking for a prince
Yachts all docked—
the tinkle
of ice
At the top
of the Ferris wheel
lilac scent
The wind
this morning
violins
Across the lake
an owl rides
its echo
Around the corner
summer waits
in a yellow dress
Sunday afternoon
no mother
to call
Between waves
of grief
I season the lamb
Hanging on
by a thread
last pomegranate
Pushing winter
in deeper
hoot owl
Born with snowflakes
on its back
the fawn
Massage therapist
tired of winter
takes it out on me
A tiny wave
to the gardener
I fired
Daisy
repeating
itself
Cranking up
the sky
the geese
Books by Alexis Rotella
Author or Co-Author:
Clouds In My Teacup. Wind Chimes Press, 1982 (ISBN 0-941190-04-8)
Tuning the Lily. High/Coo Press mini-chapbook #18, 1983 (ISBN 0-913719-61-7)
After an Affair. Merging Media, 1984 (Haiku Society of America Merit Book Award Runner-Up)
ASK! Muse Pie Press, 1984
Camembert Comes from the Sea. White Peony Press, 1984 (ISBN 978-0917951008)
Harvesting Stars. Jade Mountain Press, 1984
On a White Bud. Merging Media, 1984 (ISBN 978-0934536202)
Closing the Circle. Muse Pie Press, 1985
Polishing a Ladybug. Swamp Press, 1985
Rearranging Light, Muse Pie Press, 1985 (ISBN 978-0918453013) (Haiku Society of America Merit Book Award Runner-Up)
Beards and Wings. White Peony Press, 1985 (ISBN 978-0917951015)
Middle City, Muse Pie Press, 1986 (New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship)
Moonflowers. Jade Mountain Press, 1987
Drizzle of Stars. (renga with Scott Montgomery and Bob Boldman) Jade Mountain Press, 1988
The Lace Curtain, Jade Mountain Press, 1988 (ISBN 978-0917951039)
Antiphony of Bells: A Haiku Journey Through Italy in Simultaneous English and Italian. Jade Mountain Press, 1989
How Words and Thoughts Affect Your Body: The Book of Affirmations. (nonfiction) Jade Mountain Press, 1989 (ISBN 978-0917951107)
An Unknown Weed. King’s Road Press, 1991 (Haiku Society of America Merit Book Award Runner-Up)
Carousel: 30 Senryu. Juniper Press, 1991 (Third Place, Haiku Society of America Merit Book Awards)
Looking for a Prince. White Peony Press, 1991 (ISBN 978-0917951251)
Voice of the Mourning Dove: An Anthology of Haiku. White Peony Press, 1991 (ISBN 978-0917951138)
The Essence of Flowers. (nonfiction) Jade Mountain Press, 1991 (ISBN 978-0917951114)
Eleven Renga. (with Florence Miller) Jade Mountain Press, 1993 (ISBN 978-0917951275)
Musical Chairs: A Haiku Journey Through Childhood. Jade Mountain Press, 1994
Yes: A Dozen Linked Poems. (with Florence Miller) Jade Mountain Press, 1994 (ISBN 978-0916133993)
A String of Monarchs: Thirteen Linked Poems. (with Florence Miller) Jade Mountain Press, 1995 (ISBN 978-0917951497)
No One Inside. (linked poem with Carlos Colón) Proof Press, 1996
Sassy. (with Carlos Colón) Tragg Publishing, 1998
Eavesdropping: Seasonal Haiku. Modern English Tanka Press, 2007 (ISBN 978-0615162010
Lip Prints. (tanka) Modern English Tanka Press, 2007 (ISBN 978-0615165011)
Ouch: Senryu that Bite. Modern English Tanka Press, 2007 (ISBN 978-0615163185)
A Sprinkle of Glitter. (a solo illustrated renga) Rosenberry Books, 2008
Ask! Again: Rotellagrams. Rosenberry Books, 2008
Looking for a Prince. Modern English Tanka Press, revised second edition, 2008 (ISBN 978-0-981769-15-8)
Elvis in Black Leather. Modern English Tanka Press, 2009
Black Jack Judy and the Crisco Kids. Modern English Tanka Press, 2010
Between Waves. Red Moon Press, 2015
The Color Blue. Red Moon Press, 2017
Old Diaries: Short Poems and Literary Fragments. Kindle, 2018
Different Conversations: Short Poems and Literary Fragments. Kindle, 2018
Dancing the Tarantella: Short Poems. Jade Mountain Press, 2019
Scratches on the Moon: A Haibun Collection. Jade Mountain Press, 2019
(Touchstone Book Award, 2019
As Editor:
Butterfly Breezes: An Anthology of Haiku. Jade Mountain Press, 1981
The Rise and Fall of Sparrows: A Collection of North American Haiku. Los Hombres Press, 1990 (ISBN 978-0962349720)
Ash Moon Anthology: Poems on Aging in Modern English Tanka. (coedited with Denis M. Garrison) Modern English Tanka Press, 2008 (ISBN 978-0615196411)
Unsealing Our Secrets: A Short Poem Anthology About Sexual Abuse. Jade Mountain Press, 2018 (Touchstone Distinguished Book Award)
Anthology Inclusions:
Haiku in English: A Poetic Form Expands. Hiroaki Sato. Simul Press, Japan, 1987
The Haiku Handbook. William J. Higginson with Penny Harter. Kodansha, 1989
Synesthesia in Haiku and Other Essays. Toshimi Horiuchi. University of Philippines Press, 1990
Beneath a Single Moon: Buddhism in Contemporary American Poetry. Kent Johnson and Craig Paulenich, editors. Shambhala, 1991.
Haiku. Czeslaw Milosz, editor. Wydawnictwo, Krakow, Poland, 1992
Simple Treasures: Practicing Mindfulness with Children. Deborah Hopkinson. Parallax Press, 1992
Haiku Moment. Bruce Ross, editor. Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1993
Wind Five Folded: An Anthology of English-Language Tanka. Jane Reichhold and Werner Reichhold, editors. Aha Books, 1994
Step Lightly: Poems for the Journey. Nancy Willard, compiler. Harcourt Brace, 1998
The Haiku Anthology. Cor van den Heuvel, editor. W.W. Norton & Company, third edition, 1999
How to Haiku. Bruce Ross. Charles E. Tuttle Company, 2002
Haiku: Poésies Anciennes et Modernes. Jackie Hardy, editor. Éditions Véga, 2003
Haiku for Lovers. Manu Bazzano, editor. MQ Publications, 2003
The Tanka Anthology. Michael McClintock, Pamela Ness Miller, and Jim Kacian, editors. Red Moon Press, 2003
Haiku on 42nd Street: A Celebration of Urban Poetry and Art. Clerisy Press, 2008
Haiku Mind: 108 Poems to Cultivate Awareness and Open Your Heart. Patricia Donegan. Shambhala, 2008
Bright Stars: An Organic Tanka Anthology. M. Kei, editor. Kei Books, 2008
Starlights: Poetry of Urban Life in Modern English Tanka. Dennis M. Garrson and Michael McClintock, editors. Modern English Tanka Press, 2009
Global Haiku: Twenty-five Poets World-wide. George Swede and Randy Brooks, editors. Mosaic Press, 2010
Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years. Jim Kacian, Philip Rowland, and Alan Burns, editors. W.W. Norton, 2013
Essays & Feature Stories About Alexis Rotella
Bernard, Natalie. “A Comparison of Haiku by Margaret Chula and Alexis Rotella.” Millikin University Haiku, (2001): n. pag. Web. 6 March 2016.
Boynton, Bruce. "Meeting . . . Alexis Rotella.” Prune Juice 6, (2011): n. pag. Web. 11 March 2016.
Boynton, Bruce. "Featured Poet Alexis Rotella.” Prune Juice 7, (2012): n. pag. Web. 11 March 2016.
Haile, Kristen. “Alexis Rotella: Simple Complexity.” Millikin University Haiku, (2008): n. pag. Web. 5 March 2016.
Perry, Rachel. “Breaking the Rules for Love or Haiku: Masajo Suzuki and Alexis Rotella.” Millikin University Haiku, (2002): n. pag. Web. 6 March 2016.
Rotella, Alexis. “Alexis Rotella: Haiku Testimony.” Living Haiku Anthology, (no date): n. pag. Web. 18 March 2016.
Rotella, Alexis. “The Wishing Stone (In Memoriam Herman Ward 1914-2007).” Modern English Tanka 2.1, (2007): 196-202. Web. 20 March 2016.
Sheirer, John. “An Interview with Alexis Rotella.” Oak Grove 1 (1986): 1-9.
Saubers, Nicholas. “Raymond Roseliep and Alexis Rotella: Zen in Haiku Versus a Christian Perpective.” Millikin University Haiku, (2001): n. pag. Web. 6 March 2016.
Schleppenbach, Jay and Lynn Wayne. “Just Friends: A One Act Play Based on Relationship Haiku of Alexis Rotella.” Millikin University Haiku, (2000): n. pag. Web. 6 March 2016.
Sullivan, Jim. “Alexis Rotella’s ‘Canoe Through Water Lilies’.” A Hundred Gourds 2.1, (2012): n. pag. Web. 10 March 2016.
Web Links
Web links:
https://alexisrotella.wordpress.com
http://www.haigaonline.com/issue8-2/experimental.html
https://terebess.hu/english/usa/rotella.html
http://www.into.demon.co.uk/linked/coloreng.htm
http://bayweekly.com/old-site/year08/issuexvi9/leadxvi9_1.html
Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEr-hEDiT2U
