Paul Dickey (born 1948 in Hardtner, KS) is an

American poet The poets listed below were either born in the United States or else published much of their poetry while living in that country. A B C D E F G H I–J K L M N O P Q *George Quasha (born 1942 in poetry, 1942) R ...

, author, philosophy instructor, and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

who has published three books of poetry and a full-length play, ''The Good News According to St. Dude,'' that analyzes and dramatizes the disillusion of the 1960s youth counter-culture.

Career

His poetry appears in three textbook anthologies and approximately 150 literary journals, both in print and online. His ten-minute plays (or

flash drama Flash drama is a type of theatrical play that does not exceed ten minutes in duration, hence the name. Groups of four to six flash drama plays are popular with school, university and community drama companies since they offer a wide variety of role ...

) and comedy skits have been performed onstage at the

Shelterbelt Theatre The Shelterbelt Theatre is a nonprofit theater organization located in Midtown Omaha, Nebraska that specializes in producing original works for the stage. The theatre won best musical and nine more awards at the 2007 Omaha Metropolitan Area Theatr ...

in Omaha, NE, and in theatres in Dover, NJ, and New York City. Dickey has published fiction (including

flash fiction Flash fiction is a fictional work of extreme brevity that still offers character and plot development. Identified varieties, many of them defined by word count, include the six-word story; the 280-character story (also known as " twitterature"); ...

), short plays,

creative nonfiction Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction or narrative nonfiction or literary journalism or verfabula) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contra ...

, and poetry in multiple genres, including

prose poetry Prose poetry is poetry written in prose form instead of verse form, while preserving poetic qualities such as heightened imagery, parataxis, and emotional effects. Characteristics Prose poetry is written as prose, without the line breaks associ ...

, formal verse—both serious and comic, and

free verse Free verse is an open form of poetry, which in its modern form arose through the French ''vers libre'' form. It does not use consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any musical pattern. It thus tends to follow the rhythm of natural speech. Definit ...

. Of their publications for the year 2011,

Mayapple Press Mayapple Press is a literary small press originally from Bay City, Michigan, but now based in Woodstock, New York. Founded by poet and translator Judith Kerman. Mayapple Press has produced more than 70 titles, primarily poetry by single authors, b ...

selected Dickey's first book ''They Say This is How Death Came Into the World'' to be nominated for the

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

in Poetry. Dickey won the 2015 Master Poet Award from the

Nebraska Arts Council The Nebraska Arts Council is a state agency that seeks to promote, cultivate and sustain the arts in Nebraska. The organization in its present form was established in 1974, and is funded by the state of Nebraska, the National Endowment for the Arts, ...

Michel Delville Michel Delville (born 1969) is a Belgian musician, writer and critic. Delville teaches literature at the University of Liège. He is the author of books about comparative poetics and interdisciplinary studies. He was awarded the 1998 SAMLA Book ...

, the author of a major critical work on prose poetry, ''The American Prose Poem: Poetic Form and the Boundaries of Genre'' (

University Press of Florida The University Press of Florida (UPF) is the scholarly publishing arm of the State University System of Florida, representing Florida's twelve state universities. It is located in Gainesville near the University of Florida, one of the state's maj ...

, 1998), said of Dickey: "Whether it’s a poem about (or around) Mark Rothko’s painting Yellow Band or a prose poem about 'Mowing the Lawn' that pauses with Husserl’s phenomenology, Dickey’s poetry is grounded in a recognition that, to quote Sherwood Anderson, 'each truth sa composite of a great many vague thoughts,' all equally beautiful and disturbing, somber and happy." Prose poet Nin Andrews (author of twelve poetry collections) writes of Dickey's ''They Say This Is How Death Came into the World'' that it is "seductively inventive, charmingly clever and seriously witty. The pleasures offered by Paul Dickey’s quirky and irreverent meditations are utterly irresistible." Dickey has a Master of Art’s degree from

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...

, in the

History and Philosophy of Science The history and philosophy of science (HPS) is an Discipline (academia), academic discipline that encompasses the philosophy of science and the History of science and technology, history of science. Although many scholars in the field are trained ...

. In the 1970s, while a graduate student at

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

, he published poetry in ''The Kansas Quarterly, Quartet,'' and ''Nimrod''. At Wichita State, he was a student of the American-Filipino poet, novelist, and short story author

Bienvenido Santos Bienvenido N. Santos (March 22, 1911 – January 7, 1996) was a Filipino-American fiction, poetry and nonfiction writer. He was born and raised in Tondo, Manila. His family roots are originally from Lubao, Pampanga, Philippines. He lived in the ...

. Dickey currently teaches philosophy in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

Metropolitan Community College (Nebraska) Metropolitan Community College (Metro or MCC) is a Public college, public community college in Omaha, Nebraska. It has multiple campuses throughout the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. MCC serves residents of Dodge County, Nebraska, Dodge ...

Bibliography

Books

*''Wires Over the Homeplace'' (Pinyon Publishing, 2013) *''Liberal Limericks of 2012'' (The Missouri River Review Press, 2012) (e-book). Illustrated by Ira Joel Haber. ASIN: B008MP9POM *''They Say This is How Death Came Into the World'' (Mayapple Press, 2011) *''What Wisconsin Took'' (Parallel Press, 2006)

Anthologies

*"In a Country Where Everything Has Spin" in Santi, Alexis Enrico (Editor), ''Best of Our Stories, Volume 3'', CreateSpace, 2010. *"When It All Comes Down to the Last Resort" in Clements, Brian & Jamey Dunham (Editors), ''An Introduction to the Prose Poem'', Firewheel Editions, 2010. *"Constellation" in Kosmicki, Greg & Mary K Stillwell (Editors), ''Nebraska Presence: An Anthology of Poetry'', (Omaha, NE: The Backwaters Press, 2007.)

Poetry, Fiction, Drama, and Creative Nonfiction

32 Poems ''32 Poems Magazine'' (''32 Poems'') is a literary magazine, founded in the American states of Maryland and Texas in 2003, that has published poems from writers around the world. About This independent magazine, founded by Deborah Ager and John Po ...

, Anti-,

Bellevue Literary Review ''Bellevue Literary Review'' (''BLR'') is an independent literary journal that publishes fiction, nonfiction and poetry about the human body, illness, health and healing. It was founded in 2001 in Bellevue Hospital and was published by the Divisi ...

, Cider Press Review,

Concho River Review ''Concho River Review'' is an American literary magazine based in San Angelo, Texas. The magazine was founded by Terry Dalrymple in 1987''Austin American-Statesman'', August 23, 1992 and publishes short stories, poetry, creative nonfiction, inter ...

, Crab Orchard Review, Cue: A Journal of Prose Poetry, diode, failbetter,

The Freeman ''The Freeman'' (formerly published as ''The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty'' or ''Ideas on Liberty'') was an American libertarian magazine, formerly published by the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE). It was founded in 1950 by John Chamberl ...

, Chamber Four, Laurel Review,

Light (journal) ''Light'' (formerly ''Light: A Quarterly of Light Verse'') is an online journal which bills itself as "America's oldest and best-known journal of light verse." History and profile ''Light'' was founded as a print journal in 1992 by retired postal ...

, Linebreak, Memoir (and),

Mid-American Review ''Mid-American Review'' (''MAR'') is an international literary journal dedicated to publishing contemporary fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and translations. Founded in 1981, ''MAR'' is a publication of the Department of English and the College of Ar ...

, Nimrod,

Pleiades (journal) ''Pleiades: Literature in Context'' is a biannual literary journal that publishes contemporary poetry, fiction, essays, and book reviews. It was founded by undergraduate students at the University of Central Missouri in 1981. The non-profit jour ...

Poet Lore ''Poet Lore'' is an English-language literary magazine based in Bethesda, Maryland. Established in 1889 by Charlotte Porter and Helen Archibald Clarke, two progressive young Shakespeare scholars who believed in the evolutionary nature of literatur ...

Potomac Review ''Potomac Review'' is a bi-annual American literary journal based in Rockville, Maryland. It publishes fiction, poetry, and nonfiction from established as well as emerging writers. Writers who have contributed to this journal include Amina Gau ...

Prairie Schooner ''Prairie Schooner'' is a literary magazine published quarterly at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with the cooperation of UNL's English Department and the University of Nebraska Press. It is based in Lincoln, Nebraska and was first publish ...

, Rattle, Sentence, and Southern Poetry Review."

References

External links

*
Wichita State University Poetry Reading 10/6/2011

Rattle editor Tim Green interviews Dickey

Waldorf College Library Guide

John H. Ames Reading Series (Lincoln)

What Wisconsin Took (view online)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickey, Paul 1948 births Living people Wichita State University alumni Writers from Wichita, Kansas Poets from Kansas Poets from Nebraska Writers from Omaha, Nebraska Indiana University Bloomington alumni