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Father Raymond Roseliep ’39 was an award-winning haikuist who taught at Loras from 1946 to 1966. Widely published and recognized as a master of traditional English verse forms, Roseliep began experimenting with haiku in 1960 and published eleven collections of haiku between 1976 and his death in 1983. Roseliep won the Harold G. Henderson Award from the Haiku Society of America in 1977 and 1982, and the Shugyo Takaha Award (grand prize) from the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society of the United States and Canada in 1980. Sailing Bones earned him first place in the Merit Book Awards from the Haiku Society of America in 1981.

campfire extinguished,
the woman washing dishes
in a pan of stars
-Raymond Roseliep (from Listen to Light, p. 62)

Haiku poetry is a form of poetry originating in Japan. The traditional form has three lines that consist of 17 syllables in a 5/7/5 pattern. However, as it has evolved from its 16th-century beginnings, poets have routinely broken those rules while focusing on its main tenants: focus on a brief moment in time; use of provocative, colorful images; ability to be read in one breath; a sense of sudden enlightenment.

fish hawk on white pine

by water: man with pencil

waiting for the word
-Raymond Roseliep (from Flute Over Walden, p. 11)

Roseliep was a voracious reader and letter writer and when he died in 1983, he donated his library and correspondence to the Library. Copies of all of his poetry books are available for check out and are located on the 3rd floor of the Library. You can learn more about him at https://library.loras.edu/special/roseliep. Contact Heidi Pettitt to see his personal library collection.

"The Morning Glory"

takes in
the world
from the heart out

funnels
our day
into itself

closes
on its own
inner light

-Raymond Roseliep (New York City buses, 1981)

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National Chocolate Lover’s Month

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Sports Memorabilia

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Loras College's Famous Haikuist

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