Benjamin Hoff

Benjamin Hoff (born 1946) is an author based in the United States. Two of his books on Taoism, The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet, were on best seller lists. Hoff grew up in Sylvan, Oregon, where he acquired a fondness of the natural world that has been highly influential in his writing.

Hoff obtained a B.A. in Asian Art from The Evergreen State College in 1973. Prior to his career in writing, he worked as a tree pruner, antiques restorer, hospital orderly, investigative reporter, photojournalist, recording musician, singer, and songwriter. In his spare time, he practices Taoist Qigong and T'ai chi ch'uan.

In 2006, Hoff published an essay on his website titled Farewell to Authorship, in which he denounced the publishing industry and announced his resignation from book-writing. This is the only website he has officially endorsed or been involved with. As of August 2010 the website displayed a series of letters sent between Hoff and staffers from the Oregon Historical Society, where Hoff criticizes the OHS produced, Oregon Experience: Opal Whiteley, claiming that many of the facts were ignored or untrue. Hoff wrote the 1986 book, The Singing Creek Where the Willows Grow, a biography about Opal Whiteley which also includes her diary.

Awards

Hoff was awarded the American Book Award in 1988 for The Singing Creek Where the Willows Grow: The Rediscovered Diary of Opal Whiteley.

Bibliography

• 1981 The Way to Life (Weatherhill)
• 1982 The Tao of Pooh (Dutton)
• 1986 The Singing Creek Where the Willows Grow (Houghton Mifflin)
• 1993 The Te of Piglet (Dutton)
• 2002 The House on the Point (Minotaur Books)

References

• Source: Contemporary Authors Online, Thomson Gale, 2004.