Alan Pizzarelli (born 1950) is an American

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, songwriter, and musician. He was born of an Italian-American family in Newark, New Jersey, and raised in the first ward’s

Little Italy Little Italy is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an Urban area, urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian cul ...

. He is a major figure in

English-language haiku A haiku in English is an English-language poem written in a form or style inspired by Japanese haiku. Like their Japanese counterpart, haiku in English are typically short poems and often reference the seasons, but the degree to which haiku in Engl ...

and

Senryū is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 (or , often translated as syllables, but see the article on for distinctions). tend to be about human foibles while haiku tend to be about nature, and a ...

Poetry

Pizzarelli has performed numerous poetry readings and has taught poetry workshops in the US and internationally, including the International School of

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

, Switzerland, The

Nick Virgilio Nicholas Anthony Virgilio (June 28, 1928 – January 3, 1989) was an internationally recognized haiku poet who is credited with helping to popularize the Japanese style of poetry in the United States. Early life Virgilio was born in Camden, New ...

Haiku Association in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

, and The

Newark Museum The Newark Museum of Art, formerly known as the Newark Museum, in Newark, New Jersey is the state's largest museum. It holds major collections of American art, decorative arts, contemporary art, and arts of Asia (including a large collection of T ...

. From 2005 until 2009 he was senryū editor for the online poetry journal, ''Simply Haiku''. He is co-producer and co-host of the podcast, ''Haiku Chronicles''.

Tom Lynch Thomas or Tom(my) Lynch may refer to: Politics * Thomas Lynch (statesman) (1727–1776), South Carolina delegate to the Continental Congress * Thomas Lynch Jr. (1749–1779), signer of the Declaration of Independence * Thomas Lynch (congressman) (1 ...

writes of the following Pizzarelli haiku: "This last poem is as profound and literal an evocation of '' sabi'', the incessant rusting of existence wrought by time, as exists in Western haiku."

Works

Books

Pizzarelli is the author of 12 books of haiku and related poems including: * ''The Flea Circus'' (Islet Books, 1989) * ''City Beat'' (Islet Books, 1991) * ''Senryū Magazine'' (River Willow, 2001) * ''The Windswept Corner'' (Bottle Rockets Press, 2005) * ''Frozen Socks'' (House of Haiku, 2015) * ''Mind Zaps'' (House of Haiku, 2019)

Anthologies

Pizzarelli's poetry has appeared in many anthologies and books including: *''The Teachers & Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms'' (Teachers & Writers Collaborative, New York, 1987) *''The Haiku Handbook'', William J. Higginson and Penny Harter (Kodansha, 1989) *''Haiku'', edited by Czesław Miłosz (Wydawnictwo, Kraków Poland, 1992) *''Haiku Moment'', edited by Bruce Ross (Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1993) *''Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac'', edited by W.J. Higginson (Kodansha International Ltd., 1996) *''Literature of Nature, An International Sourcebook'', edited by Patrick D. Murphy (Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1998) *''The Haiku Anthology'', 3rd edition, edited by

Cor van den Heuvel Cor Van den Heuvel (March 6, 1931 – September 12, 2024) was an American haiku poet, editor and archivist. Biography Van den Heuvel was born in Biddeford, Maine, and grew up in Maine and New Hampshire. He spent most of his life in New York Ci ...

(W. W. Norton & Company, 2000) *''Stone Bench in an Empty Park'', edited by Paul B. Janeczko (Orchard Books, 2000) *''The New Pond'', edited by Emiko Miyashita (Hokumei-sha, Japan, 2002) *''How to Haiku'', edited by Bruce Ross (Tuttle Publishing, 2002) *''Erotic Haiku'', edited by Hiroaki Sato (IBC publisher, Japan, 2004) *''Kiss and Part'', edited by Gail White (Doggerel Daze, 2005) *''Baseball Haiku'', edited by Cor van den Heuvel (W. W. Norton & Company, 2007) *''Haiku on 42nd St.: A Celebration of Urban Poetry and Art'' (Clerisy Press, 2008) Pizzarelli was a consultant for

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian ...

’s '' Book of Haikus'', edited by Regina Weinreich (Penguin Poets, 2003)

Periodicals

Pizzarelli's poems and essays have appeared in numerous publications, such as: *Longshot *Simply Haiku: Essays, ''Modern Senryu'' and ''The Serious Side of Senryu'' *

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

Poetry in Slo-Mo
by Holly Brubach, New York Times, March 11, 2007. * Tricycle: The Buddhist Review

Electronic media

Pizzarelli has been featured on podcasts, radio, video and film:
Haiku Chronicles
a podcast (co-producer and co-host) *

Chautauqua Institution The Chautauqua Institution ( ) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education center and summer resort for adults and youth located on in Chautauqua, New York, northwest of Jamestown, New York, Jamestown in the western southern tier of New York (state), N ...

’s Hall of Philosophy, June 26, 2008, FORA.tv video. *The Jim Roselle Show,

WJTN WJTN (1240 AM) is a radio station licensed to Jamestown, New York. The station is owned by Media One Radio Group. On December 31, 1924, the station signed on, making the station the oldest in southwestern New York and third-longest lived in all ...

News Talk, June 26, 2008. *Pizzarelli's haiku “the shoeshine boy” is featured in the documentary film,

The Source The Source may refer to: Film and television * ''The Source'' (1918 film), 1918 American drama directed by George Melford * ''The Source'' (1999 film), a 1999 documentary film about the Beat generation * ''The Source'' (2002 film), a 2002 scienc ...

(1999), about the

Beat Generation The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-World War II era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by members o ...

References

External links

Pizzarelli's websiteHaiku Chronicles website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pizzarelli, Alan 1950 births Living people English-language haiku poets American male poets American writers of Italian descent Poets from New Jersey Writers from Newark, New Jersey