Deborah P Kolodji
(née Deborah Pauline Anderson; 11 August 1959 – 21 July 2024)
Deborah P Kolodji (née Deborah Pauline Anderson) was an American haiku poet born on 11 August 1959, in Long Beach, California, and passed away on 21 July 2024, at the age of 64 in her home in Temple City, California. She is survived by two sons and a daughter.
Kolodji developed an interest in poetry from a young age, enjoying nursery rhymes even before she learned to read. She began writing poetry as a teenager, with some of her early Star Trek-inspired works appearing in fanzines during the 1970s. In 1981, Kolodji earned a Bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Southern California and she pursued a career in information technology alongside her passion for poetry.
Kolodji's professional poetry career began in 1992, and she quickly became prolific in the field of haiku and short-form poetry. After attending a local haiku group meeting, Kolodji's perception of haiku was transformed. She began writing haiku almost exclusively, with her earliest haiku publications appearing around 2002. Kolodji became well-known for her work in science fiction poetry circles, particularly for her "scifaiku". Over her lifetime, she published more than 1,000 haiku in various journals and anthologies incl. Red Moon Anthologies, New Resonance 4, Kyoto Journal, The Rhysling Anthology, Modern Haiku, Frogpond, The Heron’s Nest, etc. Her work spanned both mainstream and speculative poetry, with a particular focus on science fiction themes.
Career Highlights:
- Served as president of the Science Fiction Poetry Association from 2006 to 2011;
- Moderated the Southern California Haiku Study Group at the USC Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena;
- Acted as California Regional Coordinator for the Haiku Society of America;
- Co-founded and edited poetry magazines including "Amaze: The Cinquain Journal" and "Eye to the Telescope";
- Founded the Dwarf Stars Award for short poems and edited several volumes of the Dwarf Stars anthology series.
Deborah P Kolodji made significant contributions to the Haiku Society of America (HSA) throughout her career. She served as the California Regional Coordinator for the HSA, a role in which she promoted and organized haiku activities in the region. Kolodji was instrumental in organizing the 2013 Haiku North America Conference held in Long Beach, California, which brought together poets, scholars, and enthusiasts from across North America. Her involvement extended to serving on the Board of Directors for Haiku North America from 2016 to 2024, further solidifying her commitment to the haiku community.
As a prolific haiku poet herself, Kolodji contributed to the HSA's mission of promoting haiku poetry in English. Her dedication to nurturing new talent and engaging in haiku outreach aligned closely with the HSA's goals of education and promotion of the haiku form. Through these various roles and activities, Deborah P Kolodji played a crucial part in fostering the growth and vitality of the haiku community in America, leaving a lasting impact on the HSA and its members.
Awards and Other Honours:
- 2nd Place WHC Global Haiku Tournament (2002);
- Virgil Hutton Haiku Memorial Award (2004);
- 2nd Place Kiyoshi & Kiyoko Tokutomi Memorial Contest (2009);
- First place in the 2013 Dwarf Stars Awards and was later included in the Nebula Awards Showcase 2015;
- Honourable Mention Tokutomi Haiku Contest (2014);
- Touchstone Distinguished Books Award for 2016 for ‘highway of sleeping towns’ (Shabda Press, 2016);
- Kolodji's poem "Wildfire," written in collaboration with Billie Dee, won in the Rengay category of the Haiku Poets of Northern California contest in 2020. The following year, her poem "Perseverance," another collaboration with Billie Dee, placed third in the Haiku Society of America Rengay Awards;
- 2nd Place in the chapbook category of the 2022 SFPA Elgin Awards.
Books Published:
- Seaside Moon (Saki Press, 2004);
- Symphony of the Universe (Sam's Dot Publishing, 2006);
- unfinished book (Shadows Ink Publications, 2006);
- Red Plant Dust (Gromagon Press, 2006);
- Halloween Haiku (Popcorn Press, 2011);
- Highway of Sleeping Towns (Shabda Press, 2016);
- Tug of a Black Hole (e-book, 2021);
- Distance: Tan-ku Sequences & Sets [with Mariko Kitakubo] (Shabda Press, 2023);
- Vital Signs (Cuttlefish Books, 2024);
- Eternal: Tan-ku Sequences & Sets II [with Mariko Kitakubo] (Shabda Press, 2025); [Posthumous Publication due to be released in 2025].
Selected poems:
morning tidepools
a hermit crab tries on
the bottle cap
(2nd Place, World Haiku Tournament, 2002)
white marble
I am small at the feet
of Lincoln
(The Heron’s Nest, 2003)
pulsing sea jellies
a symphony orchestra
on mute
(Modern Haiku, Fall 2004)
Malibu sunset
my goddaughter’s red hair
streams in the breeze
(Seaside Moon, Saki Press, 2004)
birdsong
I begin the paragraph
for the third time
(Frogpond 30-1, 2007)
dark chocolate
the radius
of your smile
(The Mainichi, 24 July 2014)
moon bridge
a woman broken
by spring ripples
(Highway of Sleeping Towns, Shabda Press, 2016)
power outage
the spread of neighborhood
quiet
(Rattle #62, Winter 2018)
time travel therapy
a time before
this cancer
(Star*Line, 43.1, (2020); Tug of a Black Hole, e-book, 2021)
ginkgo leaves
the first slow steps
without a walker
(Kingfisher #1; Haiku 2021)
scented breeze
her life
in brush strokes
(The Heron's Nest Vol. XXVI, No 1: March 2024)
Sources:
http://www.deborahpkolodji.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deborah_P_Kolodji
https://thehaikufoundation.org/new-to-haiku-advice-for-beginners-deborah-p-kolodji/
https://www.nahaiwrimo.com/meet-the-prompters/deborah-p-kolodji
https://haikupedia.org/article-haikupedia/deborah-p-kolodji/
https://thehaikufoundation.org/poet-details/?IDclient=261
https://speceditor666.livejournal.com/6548.html
https://www.rattle.com/four-haiku-by-deborah-p-kolodji-3/
https://locusmag.com/2024/08/deborah-p-kolodji-1959-2024/
https://www.hsa-haiku.org/meritbookawards/merit-book_archive.htm