William Hobart Dickey (December 15, 1928 – May 3, 1994) was an American poet and professor of English and creative writing at San Francisco State University. He wrote 15 books of poetry over a career that lasted over 30 years.
Dickey was born in 1928 in Bellingham, Washington and was raised in Washington and Oregon. He attended Reed College, graduating in 1951. At Reed, he wrote a novel for his bachelor's thesis and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa Society.[1]
He was awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and studied at Harvard University (Master of Arts, 1955) and the University of Iowa (Master of Fine Arts, 1956). As a Fulbright scholar, he studied at Jesus College at the University of Oxford from 1959 to 1960.[1]
First to have been at Reed College as an undergraduate with Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen and Lew Welch, second to have been in John Berryman's extraordinary and intense poetry workshop with W.D. Snodgrass, Donald Justice, Philip Levine, Paul Petrie, Robert Dana, Constance Urdang, Jane Cooper, Donald Finkel, Henri Coulette—the list continues beyond the capacity of my memory, but it was a course I approached with rapture and fear, owing in part to Berryman's sometimes jagged abruptness, as when, having warned me beforehand that he was going to exhibit the profound mortality of one of my works, he held it out at arm's length in the class, looked at it with loathing, and said "Now, what are we to say about this ridiculous poem?"[2]
It is possible to show evidence of great intelligence and sensibility but to be lacking in the first power essential to poetry, the power to speak, Mr. Dickey's lines have both.[3]
Among Dickey's collections of poetry, More Under Saturn won a silver medal from the Commonwealth Club of California in 1972, and The Rainbow Grocery received the Juniper Prize from the University of Massachusetts Press in 1978.[4]
Dickey was an instructor in English at Cornell University from 1956 to 1959 and an assistant professor of English at Denison University from 1960 to 1962. In 1962, he joined the faculty of San Francisco State University and taught as a professor of English and creative writing until his retirement in 1991.[4]
Personal lifeedit
Dickey lived in San Francisco with his companion Leonard Sanazaro, a poet who taught English and creative writing at the City College of San Francisco.[3]
Dickey died in 1994 at Kaiser Hospital in San Francisco. The cause was complications from HIV-related surgeries.[3][5] Shortly before his death, Dickey finished the poem "The Death of John Berryman," about the suicide of his former teacher. It was published posthumously in Poetry (January 1996) and The Best American Poetry 1997.[5]
In 1996, a collection of Dickey's poems and books was deposited at the Gay and Lesbian Center at the San Francisco Public Library.[6]
Published workedit
Dickey's published works of poetry include:
Of the Festivity (Yale University Press, 1959)
Interpreter's House (Ohio State University Press, 1963)
Rivers of the Pacific Northwest (Twowindows Press, 1969)
More Under Saturn (Wesleyan University Press, 1971)
Sheena (Funge Art Centre, Gorey, Ireland, 1975)
The Rainbow Grocery (University of Massachusetts Press, 1978)
The Sacrifice Consenting (Pterodactyl Press, 1981)
Six Philosophical Songs (Pterodactyl Press, 1983)
Joy (Pterodactyl Press, 1983)
Brief Lives (Heyeck Press, 1985)
The King of the Golden River (Pterodactyl Press, 1985)
In the Dreaming (University of Arkansas Press, 1994)
The Education of Desire (University Press of New England, 1996)
His poems have also appeared in many anthologies, including:
Dickey also experimented with Hypercard poetry, which is available at the Maryland Institute of Technology in the Humanities (Mechanisms: new media and the forensic imagination By Matthew G. Kirschenbaum)
Referencesedit
^ abGoldstein, Thomas (1980). "William Dickey". In Greiner, Donald J. (ed.). Dictionary of Literary Biography. Vol. 5. Gale. pp. 191–195.
^Dinger, Ed, ed. (1986). Seems Like Old Times. University of Iowa.
^ abc"William Dickey, Poet and Teacher, Is Dead at 65". The New York Times. 1994-05-11. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
william, dickey, poet, william, hobart, dickey, december, 1928, 1994, american, poet, professor, english, creative, writing, francisco, state, university, wrote, books, poetry, over, career, that, lasted, over, years, contents, early, life, education, literary. William Hobart Dickey December 15 1928 May 3 1994 was an American poet and professor of English and creative writing at San Francisco State University He wrote 15 books of poetry over a career that lasted over 30 years Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Literary and academic career 3 Personal life 4 Published work 5 References 6 External linksEarly life and education editDickey was born in 1928 in Bellingham Washington and was raised in Washington and Oregon He attended Reed College graduating in 1951 At Reed he wrote a novel for his bachelor s thesis and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa Society 1 He was awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and studied at Harvard University Master of Arts 1955 and the University of Iowa Master of Fine Arts 1956 As a Fulbright scholar he studied at Jesus College at the University of Oxford from 1959 to 1960 1 Dickey was a student of John Berryman at the Iowa Writers Workshop He later recalled First to have been at Reed College as an undergraduate with Gary Snyder Philip Whalen and Lew Welch second to have been in John Berryman s extraordinary and intense poetry workshop with W D Snodgrass Donald Justice Philip Levine Paul Petrie Robert Dana Constance Urdang Jane Cooper Donald Finkel Henri Coulette the list continues beyond the capacity of my memory but it was a course I approached with rapture and fear owing in part to Berryman s sometimes jagged abruptness as when having warned me beforehand that he was going to exhibit the profound mortality of one of my works he held it out at arm s length in the class looked at it with loathing and said Now what are we to say about this ridiculous poem 2 Literary and academic career editDickey s first collection of poetry Of the Festivity was selected by W H Auden as the winner of the Yale Series of Younger Poets Competition in 1959 In the foreword to the book Auden wrote It is possible to show evidence of great intelligence and sensibility but to be lacking in the first power essential to poetry the power to speak Mr Dickey s lines have both 3 Among Dickey s collections of poetry More Under Saturn won a silver medal from the Commonwealth Club of California in 1972 and The Rainbow Grocery received the Juniper Prize from the University of Massachusetts Press in 1978 4 Dickey was an instructor in English at Cornell University from 1956 to 1959 and an assistant professor of English at Denison University from 1960 to 1962 In 1962 he joined the faculty of San Francisco State University and taught as a professor of English and creative writing until his retirement in 1991 4 Personal life editDickey lived in San Francisco with his companion Leonard Sanazaro a poet who taught English and creative writing at the City College of San Francisco 3 Dickey died in 1994 at Kaiser Hospital in San Francisco The cause was complications from HIV related surgeries 3 5 Shortly before his death Dickey finished the poem The Death of John Berryman about the suicide of his former teacher It was published posthumously in Poetry January 1996 and The Best American Poetry 1997 5 In 1996 a collection of Dickey s poems and books was deposited at the Gay and Lesbian Center at the San Francisco Public Library 6 Published work editDickey s published works of poetry include Of the Festivity Yale University Press 1959 Interpreter s House Ohio State University Press 1963 Rivers of the Pacific Northwest Twowindows Press 1969 More Under Saturn Wesleyan University Press 1971 Sheena Funge Art Centre Gorey Ireland 1975 The Rainbow Grocery University of Massachusetts Press 1978 The Sacrifice Consenting Pterodactyl Press 1981 Six Philosophical Songs Pterodactyl Press 1983 Joy Pterodactyl Press 1983 Brief Lives Heyeck Press 1985 The King of the Golden River Pterodactyl Press 1985 In the Dreaming University of Arkansas Press 1994 The Education of Desire University Press of New England 1996 His poems have also appeared in many anthologies including The Best American Poetry 1996 The Arrival of the Titanic The Best American Poetry 1997 The Death of John Berryman Dickey also experimented with Hypercard poetry which is available at the Maryland Institute of Technology in the Humanities Mechanisms new media and the forensic imagination By Matthew G Kirschenbaum References edit a b Goldstein Thomas 1980 William Dickey In Greiner Donald J ed Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol 5 Gale pp 191 195 Dinger Ed ed 1986 Seems Like Old Times University of Iowa a b c William Dickey Poet and Teacher Is Dead at 65 The New York Times 1994 05 11 Retrieved 2009 06 21 a b William H Dickey 1928 1994 Poetry Foundation Retrieved 2009 06 21 a b Lehman David Tate James eds 1997 The Best American Poetry 1997 Scribner pp 209 210 ISBN 9781439105979 William Dickey Poems 1981 1995 PDF San Francisco Public Library Retrieved 2009 06 21 External links editWilliam H Dickey 1928 1994 Poetry Foundation William Dickey Poems 1981 1995 San Francisco Public Library William Dickey HyperCard Poems Vol 1 Internet Archive William Dickey HyperCard Poems Vol 2 Erotica Internet Archive Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Dickey poet amp oldid 1145024376, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
