Diane Alleva Cáceres was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Maryland and Virginia. She lives with her husband and daughter in Smyrna, Georgia.
Her poems capture the interplay between the natural and human worlds, exploring a range of daily observations and emotions, often within the broader context of disruption. In doing so, she finds unexpected truths and beauty.
Her debut book of haiku - North Star quivering, published in 2021 and reviewed by Frogpond - is informed by childhood memories in Maryland, exploring with her siblings the woods next to her family home and the beaches of Assateague Island; daily life in Georgia over the last few years; and annual summer visits to Lewes, Delaware, with extended family. Her poetry is inspired by the works of Matsuo Basho, Jane Reichhold, Robert Hass, Jane Hirshfield, and Emily Dickinson.
Chaconne - published in 2025 by Dust Collective - is her second collection of haiku. The poems trace the emotional aftermath of her mother’s stroke and onset of vascular dementia. Included throughout the book are drawings by her mother, a lifelong artist. While grief is a constant thread, Chaconne reveals a wider spectrum: the rawness of a changed life, the fragile beauty of connection, and the truths of a new reality. Through its spare, attentive language, the collection offers a powerful meditation on love, memory, and the ways we navigate change.
Diane is co-founder of the annual Atlanta Haiku Festival in partnership with the Atlanta Botanical Garden and is a judge for its haiku competition. She is also a member of Samara - Atlanta Haiku Group and the Haiku Society of America.
Diane teaches topics of international affairs and technological innovation at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She lives with her husband and daughter in Smyrna, Georgia.
cool June day —
some tendrils refuse to drop
a dead branch