By Megan Robertson

Poet and visual artist Andrew Hoyem is no stranger to artistic communities in San Francisco.

He spent his early years in the City hanging out in North Beach with the Beat Generation in the ’60s and then finding a community of publishers and creatives at his print shop – Arion Press – from the ’70s onward. For the past 20 years or so, Hoyem has taken up the Inner Richmond as his artistic community, writing and creating in the neighborhood with his wife, Diana Ketcham.

Late last year, Hoyem debuted his fifth poetry collection, “Resurgence.” The collection, published by Artichoke Press and designed by Jonathan L. Clark, features 140 poems that he wrote from the spring of 2019 to the fall of 2024.

The collection “reflect(s) on current politics, memories of childhood and the art forms that have been a life’s passion,” the promotion for the book states.

“I wrote the first poem in the book in 2019, and I was astonished,” Hoyem said. “That first poem in the book really took me by surprise – it’s pretty good. I felt like I’d done something that was quite advanced.”

He wrote the poem in a style he began to call “pseudo-sestinas.” A sestina is a type of poem with six stanzas (paragraphs) comprising six lines each, with a three-line tag at the end of the work. Hoyem’s “pseudo-sestina” has 18 lines divided into six stanzas of three lines.

“It doesn’t follow all the rules and regulations,” he said.

After finding a form that worked for his artistic inklings, Hoyem continued to write. Each one of the 140 poems in the collection is a “pseudo-sestina.”

Since the publication of “Resurgence,” the collection has received much praise.

“(It’s) remarkable for its playfulness and its elegance,” poet Robert Hass wrote about the book.

In addition to its political commentary, the collection also includes memories of Hoyem’s youth. In the poem “Iowa,” he reflects on his family’s move from the American Midwest to California after World War II.

The collection shifts between writings based in the Midwest and the Bay Area. Hoyem’s current home in the Richmond District inspires many of his works in the book. In his poem titled “Declaration” – written on July 4, 2020 – Hoyem reflects on the state of democracy as he walks along Park Presidio Boulevard.

“We love this district and particularly this neighborhood,” he said.

Hoyem moved to San Francisco in 1961 after completing his naval service. He said the artistic spirit of the City called to him.

“I was very interested in the literary movement that was going on – the big generation of people, other modernists,” he said.

While in the Navy, Hoyem had submitted one of his poems for publication to Auerhahn Press, a publishing company that existed on Cathedral Hill from 1959 to 1965. The press was a hotspot for the Beat Generation literary movement of the time.

“(Auerhahn) said they were going to publish (my poem) but nothing had happened while I was in the Navy. So, I thought I’d just come up and check on it,” Hoyem said. “I found (the press) was even smaller than I had imagined. There was just one guy there, a fellow named Dave Hazelwood. The place was a mess. So, I said, ‘well, maybe you could use a little help.’ He said, ‘Yes, I could.’ I struck a bargain with him that, if I came to work, he would pay my room and board in San Francisco. So, I learned how to print.”

Hoyem quickly became immersed in the City’s literary community.

“There was a lot happening,” he said. “I felt like I knew or could recognize every person in the arts in San Francisco, who were generationally close to me.”

Hoyem published five books of poetry prior to “Resurgence:” in 1963, 1966, 1969, 1975 and 1987. Hoyem’s early work with Auerhahn eventually led to him founding the renowned Arion Press in 1974.

“Arion Press is the only printer in the United States to make books entirely by hand from comma to cover under one roof,” its website notes. “Each Arion title is crafted in the last unified hot-metal type foundry, letterpress workshop and book bindery in America.”

While Hoyem was building the printing press, which is now housed in Fort Mason, he had a packed schedule allotting time for his work on the business, poetry, painting and drawing.

“There was a period when I could work in my study in the morning and then go in and put in a pretty full day (at Arion),” he said. “I had enough time to do the printing and publishing work, but I also had this block of time in the morning when I was fresh to write poems. I guess I’m blessed with a lot of energy.”

While Hoyem never stopped creating his artistic work, the demands of the business took priority for a large period of time. After he retired from Arion Press in 2018, he began creating his “pseudo-sestinas” and his first collection in more than 37 years.

“It just began to feel like, this is me – this is my poetic form,” he said.

After releasing the collection late last year, Hoyem has continued to create, most recently working on a collection of poetry inspired by his and his wife’s recent “self-guided art tour” through Europe earlier this year.

“I don’t know what keeps me going, because here I am, 89 years old,” he said. “I’m still at it. I’m still enjoying. I hope I’ll carry on.”

“Resurgence” can be purchased at hoyemartichoke.com. More information about Arion Press can be found at arionpress.com.