W. Joe Hoppe

Who is W. Joe Hoppe?

W. Joe Hoppe is an American poet, short story writer and filmmaker who was at the forefront of the performance poetry scene in Austin, Texas.

He grew up in Jackson, Michigan, where he worked as a janitor in a tool & die shop and as a gas station attendant. He received a degree in communications from the University of Michigan in 1984 then headed to Minneapolis to pay off his debt to society by working in shelters. In Minneapolis he also got into the international Xerox zine scene co-editing Bitter Obscurity, Journal of Erickson's Stage 61/2, and Pocketful of Mirrors. He was a regular at readings and performances at the Rifle Sport Gallery, Circus to the Trade, and Speedboat Gallery.

He married P.S. Monear in 1990, one year after coming to Austin, Texas. Hoppe quickly became an important member of the nascent performance poetry scene that grew up around Chicago House coffee house, where Hedwig Gorski, the originator of performance poetry, and Raul Salinas often performed together. He was a student of famed poet Albert Huffstickler and a member of one of Austin’s premier poetry groups, The Blue Plate Poets, which included Marlys West, Pasha, Tammy Gomez, Mike Henry and Robert Lee. Hoppe received a master’s degree in English with a concentration in creative writing from the University of Texas in 1994, and subsequently received a James A. Michener Post-Graduate Fellowship from the Texas Center for Writers. Through excellent timing, he was able to use the fellowship to stay home and be a house dad to his son Max, born in 1995.