Finding aid to the William Dickey Poems and His Correspondence to Lenore Weiss, 1977-1995
Prepared by Tim Wilson
James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center, San Francisco Public Library
1998
Title: William Dickey Poems and His Correspondence to Lenore Weiss
Date (inclusive): 1977-1995
Identifier/Call Number: GLC 22
Creator:
Dickey, William
Physical Description:
8 folders and 1 oversized folder
Contributing Institution:
James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-557-4567
info@sfpl.org
Abstract: The collection contains letterpress and computer-generated prints of poetry by William Dickey, and some by Dickey and Leonard
Sanazaro. Some pieces are exmples of fine printing by Lee Engdahl (Engdahl Typography), hit & run press, and the Pterodactyl
Press. The collection also contains 7 postcards and 15 letters from Dickey to Lenore Weiss, a creative writing student and
friend. The letters include his feedback on poems by Weiss, and also include details about his personal life.
Physical Location: The collection is stored onsite.
Language of Material: Collection materials are in English.
The collection is open for research.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.
[Identification of item], William Dickey Poems and Correspondence (GLC 22), LGBTQIA Center, San Francisco Public Library.
Poems and books donated by the estate of William Dickey, 1996. Lenore Weiss donated 15 letters and 7 postcards from Dickey,
February 20, 2022.
Four bound volumes of Dickey's work have been transferred to the library's book collection. They are:
Joy
by William Dickey (Cumberland, Iowa: The Pterodactyl Press, 1983);
The King of the Golden River
by William Dickey (Cumberland, Iowa: The Pterodactyl Press, 1986);
In the Dreaming: selected poems
by William Dickey (Fayetteville, Arkansas: The University of Arkansas Press, 1994);
The Sacrifice Consenting
by William Dickey (San Francisco: The Pterodactyl Press, 1981).
William Dickey (1928-1994) was born in Bellingham, Washington, and educated at Reed College, Harvard University, the Writer's
Workshop of the University of Iowa, and Jesus College, Oxford. He was a professor of English and creative writing at San Francisco
State University. He wrote and published prize-winning poetry for over thirty years.
The collection contains letterpress and computer-generated prints of poetry by Dickey. Some are examples of fine printing.
Of these letterpress items, two were printed by Lee Engdahl (Engdahl Typography), one by hit & run press, and two by the Pterodactyl
Press. There are a few holiday greeting cards which contain poems by Dickey and Leonard Sanazaro.
In addition, there is correspondence from Dickey to Lenore Weiss, a creative writing student and friend. The letters contain
Dickey's constructive criticism of her poems and occasionally contain poems of his own. They demonstrate his sense of humor
and his subjects include musings on poetry and writing, the San Francisco Poetry Center, his travel to Liverpool, dogs (Imogen),
and a romantic partner named Tommy. Later letters touch on alcoholism and getting sober, having children, and teaching. One
letter references printing/distributing anti-Briggs initiative flyers at San Francisco State University where he taught.
The folder of letters includes copies of poems by Lenore Weiss: "Sweater Girl," "Thunderclap," "Rosalyne of the Fifth Floor,"
"Language Laboratory #1," "Noon Procession in White T-Shirt," and, "Language Laboratory #2." It also includes poems by William
Dickey: "Dear Evelyn: Remember What I Told You," "Knowing How It Will Go: The Maltese Falcon," and, "At the River of Indecision."
The collection is arranged into two series: Series 1: Poems; and, Series 2: Correspondence. The poems are arranged alphabetically
by title. The correspondence is arranged chronologically.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Poems.
American poetry -- 20th century.
Dickey, William -- Archives
Pterodactyl Press
Hit & Run Press
Engdahl, Lee
Engdahl Typography (Firm)
Sanazaro, Leonard
Weiss, Lenore
Series 1 Poems, 1981-1995
Physical Description:
9 items
Oversize-folder 1
Folder 1
Folder 2
Oversize-folder 1
Folder 4
Folder 5
Folder 6
Folder 7
Snow undated
Holiday greeting card. Also contains "San Francisco Neighborhood" by Leonard Sanazaro. "This card was designed and produced
by William Dickey on a Macintosh computer using PageMaker 4.2. The graphic is a Viking dragon head from the Oseberg ship-burial,
ca.825, reprinted from Richard Huber,
Treasury of Fantastic and Mythological Creatures
(Dover, 1981). The types are Cochin and Charlemagne."
Folder 8
Series 2 Correspondence to Lenore Weiss, 1977-1981, undated
Physical Description:
1 folder
(15 letters, 7 postcards)