William Dickey (poet)
Encyclopedia
William Hobart Dickey was an American
poet
and professor of English and creative writing at San Francisco State University
. He authored 15 books of poetry over a career that lasted three and a half decades.
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 the Phi Beta Kappa Society
.
He was awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship
and went on to study at Harvard University
(M.A.
, 1955) and the University of Iowa
(M.F.A.
, 1956). As a Fulbright scholar
he studied at Jesus College
at the University of Oxford
from 1959 to 1960.
Dickey was a student of John Berryman
at the Iowa Writers' Workshop
. He later recalled:
in 1959. In the foreword to the book, Auden wrote:
Among Dickey's subsequent 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.
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
as a professor of English and creative writing, teaching there until his retirement in 1991.
.
Dickey died in 1994 at Kaiser Hospital
in San Francisco. The cause was complications from HIV
-related surgeries. Shortly before his death, Dickey finished a 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
.
In 1996 a collection of Dickey's poems and books was deposited at the Gay and Lesbian Center at the San Francisco Public Library
.
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)
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and professor of English and creative writing at San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
. He authored 15 books of poetry over a career that lasted three and a half decades.
Early life and education
Dickey was born in 1928 in Bellingham, WashingtonBellingham, Washington
Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
and was raised in Washington and Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. He attended Reed College
Reed College
Reed College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in southeast Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus located in Portland's Eastmoreland neighborhood, featuring architecture based on the Tudor-Gothic style, and a forested canyon wilderness...
, graduating in 1951. At Reed he wrote a novel for his bachelor's thesis and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society
Phi Beta Kappa Society
The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an academic honor society. Its mission is to "celebrate and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences"; and induct "the most outstanding students of arts and sciences at America’s leading colleges and universities." Founded at The College of William and...
.
He was awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship
Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation is a private non-profit foundation based in Princeton, New Jersey. It administers programs that support leadership development and build organizational capacity in education. Its current signature program is the...
and went on to study at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
, 1955) and the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
(M.F.A.
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
, 1956). As a Fulbright scholar
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
he studied at Jesus College
Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...
at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
from 1959 to 1960.
Dickey was a student of John Berryman
John Berryman
John Allyn Berryman was an American poet and scholar, born in McAlester, Oklahoma. He was a major figure in American poetry in the second half of the 20th century and was considered a key figure in the Confessional school of poetry...
at the Iowa Writers' Workshop
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Program in Creative Writing, more commonly known as the Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, is a highly regarded graduate-level creative writing program in the United States...
. He later recalled:
Literary and academic career
Dickey's first collection of poetry, Of the Festivity, was selected by W.H. Auden as the winner of the Yale Series of Younger Poets CompetitionYale Series of Younger Poets Competition
The Yale Series of Younger Poets Competition is an annual event of Yale University Press aiming to publish the first collection of a promising American poet...
in 1959. In the foreword to the book, Auden wrote:
Among Dickey's subsequent collections of poetry, More Under Saturn won a silver medal from the Commonwealth Club of California
Commonwealth Club of California
The Commonwealth Club of California is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization based in Northern California. Founded in 1903, it is the oldest and largest public affairs forum in the United States...
in 1972, and The Rainbow Grocery received the Juniper Prize from the University of Massachusetts Press
University of Massachusetts Press
The University of Massachusetts Press is a university press that is part of the University of Massachusetts. The press was founded in 1963, publishing scholarly books and non-fiction. The press imprint is overseen by an interdisciplinary faculty committee....
in 1978.
Dickey was an instructor in English at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
from 1956 to 1959, and an assistant professor of English at Denison University
Denison University
Denison University is private, coeducational, and residential college of liberal arts and sciences founded in 1831. It is located in Granville, Ohio, United States, approximately 30 miles east of Columbus, the state capital...
from 1960 to 1962. In 1962 he joined the faculty of San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
as a professor of English and creative writing, teaching there until his retirement in 1991.
Personal life
Dickey lived in San Francisco with his companion Leonard Sanazaro, a poet who taught English and creative writing at the City College of San FranciscoCity College of San Francisco
City College of San Francisco, or CCSF, is a two-year community college in San Francisco, California. The Ocean Avenue campus, in the Ingleside neighborhood, is the college's primary location...
.
Dickey died in 1994 at Kaiser Hospital
Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is an integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield...
in San Francisco. The cause was complications from HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
-related surgeries. Shortly before his death, Dickey finished a poem, "The Death of John Berryman
John Berryman
John Allyn Berryman was an American poet and scholar, born in McAlester, Oklahoma. He was a major figure in American poetry in the second half of the 20th century and was considered a key figure in the Confessional school of poetry...
," about the suicide of his former teacher. It was published posthumously in Poetry
Poetry (magazine)
Poetry , published in Chicago, Illinois since 1912, is one of the leading monthly poetry journals in the English-speaking world. Published by the Poetry Foundation and currently edited by Christian Wiman, the magazine has a circulation of 30,000 and prints 300 poems per year out of approximately...
(January 1996) and The Best American Poetry 1997
The Best American Poetry 1997
The Best American Poetry 1997, a volume in The Best American Poetry series, was edited by David Lehman and by guest editor James Tate.-Poets and poems included:-External links:* , with links to each publication where the poems originally appeared...
.
In 1996 a collection of Dickey's poems and books was deposited at the Gay and Lesbian Center at the San Francisco Public Library
San Francisco Public Library
The San Francisco Public Library is a public library system serving the city of San Francisco. Its main library is located in San Francisco's Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street at Grove. The first public library of San Francisco officially opened in 1879, just 30 years after the California Gold...
.
Published work
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:
- The Best American Poetry 1996The Best American Poetry 1996The Best American Poetry 1996, a volume in The Best American Poetry series, was edited by David Lehman and by guest editor Adrienne Rich.-Poets and poems included:-External links:...
("The Arrival of the Titanic") - The Best American Poetry 1997The Best American Poetry 1997The Best American Poetry 1997, a volume in The Best American Poetry series, was edited by David Lehman and by guest editor James Tate.-Poets and poems included:-External links:* , with links to each publication where the poems originally appeared...
("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)
External links
- William H. Dickey (1928 - 1994), Poetry FoundationPoetry FoundationThe Poetry Foundation is a Chicago-based American foundation created to promote poetry in the wider culture. It was formed from Poetry magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist Ruth Lilly....
- William Dickey, Poems 1981-1995, San Francisco Public LibrarySan Francisco Public LibraryThe San Francisco Public Library is a public library system serving the city of San Francisco. Its main library is located in San Francisco's Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street at Grove. The first public library of San Francisco officially opened in 1879, just 30 years after the California Gold...