Born in Baltimore, Maryland to engineer father Sidney Hausman and mother Dorothy "Little" Hausman, Gerald grew up in New Jersey and Massachusetts before moving to New Mexico for college. Along with brother, Sid Hausman, a songwriter, entertainer and artist, Gerald attended New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, New Mexico where he obtained his B.A. in English Literature.
After graduation, Gerald married Loretta "Lorry" Wright and moved to Lenox, Massachusetts, where he taught creative writing and English at the Windsor Mountain School. He also founded with his wife Lorry and David Silverstein, The Bookstore Press, which published some of the first paperback books for children. These included such authors Ruth Krauss, Maurice Sendak, Crockett Johnson, Aram Saroyan and Paul Metcalf. In 1977, Gerald and Lorry moved to Tesuque, New Mexico, where they lived for seventeen years, raising two daughters, Hannah and Mariah.
During this time, Gerald worked as poetry teacher, editor, publisher and English teacher at Santa Fe Preparatory School in nearby Santa Fe, going on to found the Blue Harbour School of Creative Writing on the former estate of playwright Noel Coward in Port Maria, Jamaica.. He has also served as Poet-in-residence at Central Connecticut State College. In addition, he worked as a poet in the schools in the city of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Gerald’s most recent works include The Boy From Nine Miles: The Early Life of Bob Marley, illustrated by daughter Mariah Fox and co-authored with Cedella Marley, the daughter of late musician Bob Marley; The Image Taker: The Selected Stories and Photographs of Edward S. Curtis with a foreword by Joe Medicine Crow; and Timeswimmer, the story of a young Jamaican boy who befriends an ancient storytelling sea turtle named Odysseus.
Gerald has performed readings and storytellings throughout the United States and Europe, and is known for his lively and engaging style. He has also been a presenter for National Public Radio, History Channel, Haunted History: Caribbean, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and American Library Association to name a few.
In 1994, Gerald and Lorry moved to Bokeelia, Florida on Pine Island, where they currently work and reside.
Fiction
The Shivurrus Plant of Mopant, Giligia Press, 1968New Marlboro Stage, Giligia Press, 1968New Marlboro Stage, Bookstore Press, 1971Circle Meadow, Bookstore Press, 1972The Boy with the Sun Tree Bow, Berkshire Traveller, 1973Beth: The Little Girl of Pine Knoll, Bookstore Press, 1974Sitting on the Blue-Eyed Bear: Navajo Myths & Legends, Lawrence Hill, 1975Night Herding Song, Copper Canyon Press, 1979The Day the White Whales Came to Bangor, Cobblesmith Books, 1979No Witness, Stackpole Books, 1980Runners, Sunstone Press, 1984Meditations with Animals, Bear & Co., 1986Meditations with the Navajo, Bear & Co., 1989Stargazer, Lotus Press, 1989Turtle Dream, Mariposa, 1991Turtle Island Alphabet, St. Martin’s Press, 1992The Gift of the Gila Monster, Simon & Schuster, 1993Ghost Walk, Mariposa, 1993Tunkashila, St. Martin’s Press, 1993Turtle Island ABC, HarperCollins, 1994Duppy Talk, Simon & Schuster, 1994The Sun Horse, Lotus Press, 1995Coyote Walks on Two Legs, Philomel, 1995How Chipmunk Got Tiny Feet, HarperCollins, 1995Doctor Moledinky’s Castle, Simon & Schuster, 1995Prayer to the Great Mystery, St. Martin’s Press, 1995Eagle Boy, HarperCollins, 1996Night Flight, Philomel, 1996The Kebra Nagast, St. Martin’s Press, 1997The Story of Blue Elk, Clarion, 1998Doctor Bird, Philomel, 1998The Coyote Bead, Hampton Roads, 1999Tom Cringle (Book One), Simon & Schuster, 2000Tom Cringle (Book Two), Simon & Schuster, 2001Castaways: Stories of Survival, Greenwillow, 2003Ghost Walk: Native American Tales of the Spirit, Irie Books, 2005Duppy Talk: West Indian Tales of Mystery & Magic, Irie Books, 2007How Chipmunk Got Tiny Feet, Irie Books, 2008Doctor Bird: Three lookin’ Up Tales from Jamaica, Irie Books, 2008Time Swimmer, Macmillan Caribbean, 2009The Image Taker: The Selected Stories and Photographs of Edward S. Curtis, World Wisdom, 2009
Collaborations
The Berkshire Anthology (with David Silverstein), Bookstore Press, 1972Wilderness (with Roger Zelazny), Tor Books, 1994African American Alphabet (with Kelvin Rodriques), St. Martin’s Press, 1996The Jacob Ladder (with Uton Hinds), Orchard Books, 2001The Boy From Nine Miles, (with Cedella Marley), Hampton Roads, 200256 Thoughts From 56 Hope Road, (with Cedella Marley), Tuff Gong Books, 2002The Jacob Ladder (with Uton Hinds), Scholastic paperback, 200360 Visions (with Cedella Marley), Tuff Gong Books, 2005Three Little Birds (with Cedella Marley), Tuff Gong Books, 2006
By Gerald and Loretta Hausman
The Pancake Book, Persea Books, 1975The Yogurt Book, Persea Books, 1976The Mythology of Dogs, St. Martin’s Press, 1997The Mythology of Dogs, Griffin paperback, 1998The Mythology of Cats, St. Martin’s Press, 1998The Mythology of Cats, Berkeley paperback, 2000Dogs of Myth, Simon & Schuster, 1999Dogs of Myth, Scholastic Book Club, 2001Cats of Myth, Simon & Schuster, 2000The Metaphysical Cat, Hampton Roads, 2001The Mythology of Horses, Three Rivers/Random House, 2003Escape From Botany Bay, Orchard/Scholastic, 2003Napoleon and Josephine, Orchard/Scholastic, 2004Horses of Myth, E.P. Dutton, 2005Henry David Thoreau, Shambhala/Random House, 2006The Healing Horse, Houghton Mifflin, 2006
Audio
Stargazer (audio), Sunset, 1991Turtle Island Alphabet (audio), Sunset, 1992Navajo Nights (audio), Sunset, 1993Native American Animal Stories (audio), Sunset, 1993The Turquoise Horse,(audio) Irie Books, 2006
