Fielding Dawson (August 2, 1930 – January 5, 2002, aged 71) was a
Beat
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery (c ...
-era author of short stories and novels, and a student at
Black Mountain College
Black Mountain College was a private liberal arts college in Black Mountain, North Carolina. It was founded in 1933 by John Andrew Rice, Theodore Dreier, and several others. The college was ideologically organized around John Dewey's educational ...
. He was also a painter and collagist whose works were seen in several books of poetry and many literary magazines.
Born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, Dawson was known for his stream-of-consciousness style. Much of his work was lax in punctuation to emphasize the immediacy of thought. Additionally, dialogue would often be used to break this up. His lack of deference toward tradition in writing, other than that of the necessity to evoke humanity, often painfully raw, is what puts him in the category of many of his better-known contemporaries, such as
Jack Kerouac or
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...
.
Dawson was still writing up until his unexpected death in January 2002. He had become a teacher, first in prisons like
Sing Sing
Sing Sing Correctional Facility, formerly Ossining Correctional Facility, is a maximum-security prison operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York. It is about north of ...
, at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at the
Naropa Institute in Boulder, where he taught regularly, and continuing on to work with at-risk students at
Upward Bound High School
Upward Bound High School in Hartwick, New York was the first alternative education program in Otsego County, New York
Otsego County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,524. The county ...
in
Hartwick, New York.
He was recently called "The Best St. Louis Writer You've Never Read" by David Clewell, a professor of history at Webster University.
Partial bibliography
*''Elizabeth Constantine'',
Biltmore Press (1955)
*''An Emotional Memoir of Franz Kline'',
Pantheon Books (1967)
*''Krazy Kat/The Unveiling and Other Stories from 1951-1968'',
Black Sparrow Press
Black Sparrow Press is a New England based independent book publisher, known for literary fiction and poetry.
History
Black Sparrow was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1966 by John Martin in order to publish the works of Charles Bukowski ...
(1969)
*''The Black Mountain Book'',
E.P. Dutton
E. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company. It was founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. Since 1986, it has been an imprint of Penguin Group.
Creator
Edward Payson Dutton (January 4, ...
(1970)
*''Open Road: A Novel'',
Black Sparrow Press
Black Sparrow Press is a New England based independent book publisher, known for literary fiction and poetry.
History
Black Sparrow was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1966 by John Martin in order to publish the works of Charles Bukowski ...
(1970)
*''The Mandalay Dream'',
Bobbs-Merrill
The Bobbs-Merrill Company was a book publisher located in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Company history
The company began in 1850 October 3 when Samuel Merrill bought an Indianapolis bookstore and entered the publishing business. After his death in 1 ...
(1971)
*''The Dream/Thunder Road'', Stories and Dreams 1955-1965,
Black Sparrow Press
Black Sparrow Press is a New England based independent book publisher, known for literary fiction and poetry.
History
Black Sparrow was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1966 by John Martin in order to publish the works of Charles Bukowski ...
(1972)
*''The Greatest Story Ever Told: A Transformation'',
Black Sparrow Press
Black Sparrow Press is a New England based independent book publisher, known for literary fiction and poetry.
History
Black Sparrow was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1966 by John Martin in order to publish the works of Charles Bukowski ...
(1973)
*''A Great Day for a Ballgame'',
Bobbs-Merrill
The Bobbs-Merrill Company was a book publisher located in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Company history
The company began in 1850 October 3 when Samuel Merrill bought an Indianapolis bookstore and entered the publishing business. After his death in 1 ...
(1973)
*"Penny Lane"
Black Sparrow Press
Black Sparrow Press is a New England based independent book publisher, known for literary fiction and poetry.
History
Black Sparrow was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1966 by John Martin in order to publish the works of Charles Bukowski ...
(1977)
*"Two Penny Lane"
Black Sparrow Press
Black Sparrow Press is a New England based independent book publisher, known for literary fiction and poetry.
History
Black Sparrow was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1966 by John Martin in order to publish the works of Charles Bukowski ...
(1977)
*"Three Penny Lane"
Black Sparrow Press
Black Sparrow Press is a New England based independent book publisher, known for literary fiction and poetry.
History
Black Sparrow was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1966 by John Martin in order to publish the works of Charles Bukowski ...
(1981)
*"Krazy Kat And 76 More"
Black Sparrow Press
Black Sparrow Press is a New England based independent book publisher, known for literary fiction and poetry.
History
Black Sparrow was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1966 by John Martin in order to publish the works of Charles Bukowski ...
(1982)
*"Tiger Lilies-an American childhood"
Duke University Press
Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 D ...
(1984)
*"The Black Mountain Book: Expanded and revised edition"
North Carolina Wesleyan College Press (1991)
*"Introduction" ''Charles'' ''Olson'' ''in'' ''Connecticut'', Charles Boer, North Carolina Wesleyan College Press (1991)
*"The Orange in the Orange"
Black Sparrow Press
Black Sparrow Press is a New England based independent book publisher, known for literary fiction and poetry.
History
Black Sparrow was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1966 by John Martin in order to publish the works of Charles Bukowski ...
(1995)
*"Three Penny Lane"
Black Sparrow Press
Black Sparrow Press is a New England based independent book publisher, known for literary fiction and poetry.
History
Black Sparrow was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1966 by John Martin in order to publish the works of Charles Bukowski ...
*"The Trick: New Stories"
Black Sparrow Press
Black Sparrow Press is a New England based independent book publisher, known for literary fiction and poetry.
History
Black Sparrow was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1966 by John Martin in order to publish the works of Charles Bukowski ...
(1990)
*"Virginia Dare, Stories 1976-1981"
Black Sparrow Press
Black Sparrow Press is a New England based independent book publisher, known for literary fiction and poetry.
History
Black Sparrow was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1966 by John Martin in order to publish the works of Charles Bukowski ...
*"Will She Understand?"
Black Sparrow Press
Black Sparrow Press is a New England based independent book publisher, known for literary fiction and poetry.
History
Black Sparrow was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1966 by John Martin in order to publish the works of Charles Bukowski ...
*"The Land of Milk & Honey
XOXOXpress(2001)
*"The Dirty Blue Car
XOXOXpress(2004)
Sources
*
Fielding Dawson's bio and books at xoxoxpress.comDawson: The Best St. Louis Writer You've Never Read
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Fielding
20th-century American novelists
1930 births
2002 deaths
Black Mountain College alumni
American male novelists
American male short story writers
20th-century American short story writers
20th-century American male writers