Deborah P Kolodji, August 11, 1959 - July 21, 2024
my steps
your steps
morning sand
In an article from Colorado Boulevard published in 2017, Deborah P Kolodji described her thoughts on the haiku genre as such: “Haiku is the perfect poetry for me because I can catch glimmers of inspiration in the moments between catching flights, deadlines, drives to clients, etc.”
Kolodji used this same poetic philosophy all her life to share her love of the haiku form. Over the course of her life, she wrote and published over a thousand haiku.
Her love of poetry began before she even learned to read, as she enjoyed the rhythm of poems found in children’s books and nursery rhymes recited aloud.
A life long poet focused on giving all moments enduring pause and meaning, she gave much of her time to teaching and sharing the importance of short verse. A long time writer of and advocate for scifaiku and speculative haikus, the Dwarf Stars Award came out of Kolodji’s efforts to promote short form verse. She edited several volumes of the Dwarf Stars Anthology.
stolen cruiser
quick hyper-jump
over the moon
President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association from 2006 to 2011, she also maintained positions as a moderator for the Southern California Haiku Study Group and was the California Regional Coordinator for the Haiku Society of America.
As president of SFPA, she created Eye to the Telescope in collaboration with Samantha Henderson and created the vice president position for the organization. SFPA held its first poetry contests while under her administration.
Bryan Thao Worra, president of SFPA from 2016-2022, said it best: “That she leaves this world in the Year of the Dragon, the only mythological creature of the Asian zodiac has a profound poetry to it. A model I'll remember with gratitude and a sense of joy regarding all that we might try to create and share with each other.”
Deborah P Kolodji will be remembered as a giant in speculative poetry who gave every moment of lived experiences profound and enduring meaning.
rust in the cedars
the quiet interrupted
by heron-cry