Charles B. Dickson
(June 14, 1915 - May 12, 1991)
Charles B. Dickson from Georgia, US was born on 14 June 1915. He worked as a freelance writer and professional journalist whose poetry, articles and short stories were published both in the United States and abroad. His interest in haiku began in 1984 when Charles was almost 70 years old but his haiku became widely published almost immediately in various journals and anthologies. He won several awards including The Museum of Haiku Literature Award and first place in the Harold G. Henderson Memorial Awards.
In “Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years” Jim Kacian writes: “Charles B. Dickson came to haiku relatively late in life, but his long-standing familiarity with the natural landscapes of his environment proved a fertile ground for his primarily traditional haiku, characterized by close observation and a strong sense of seasonality.”
Some awards:
First place in the Harold G. Henderson Memorial Awards - 1990
HSA Merit Book Award 1991: Posthumous Award for Haiku Excellence
HSA Merit Book Award 1994: Second Prize
Published books:
· Fragrance of Frost Grapes. Deer Island, Maine: Skyefield Press, 1986
· Appalachian Twilight. Aylmer, Que.: Haiku Canada, 1987
· Taste of summer, American Haiku Archives, Skyefield Press 1988
· Round Renga Roundby Paul Williams, Seuzan Aikins, Charles B. Dickson, Brent Patridge, Francine Porad, Jane Reichhold, Werner Reichhold, Ken'ich Sato, Ruby Spriggs, Aha Publishing, 1990
· Out of Cassiopeia: Haiku and Senryu. Deer Isle, Maine: Skyefield Press, January 1990
· A Moon in Each Eye. Gualala, Calif.: AHA Books, 1993
Selected haiku:
time to board the plane
after so many handshake years
dad and I embrace
(Fragrance of Frost Grapes, Skyefield Press, 1986)
*
Up from the coal mine the sun the wind
(Frogpond IX:2, 1986)
*
twilight storm
another stone topples
from the pasture wall
(Kô, 1987; Haiku Moment: An Anthology of Contemporary North American Haiku, Bruce Ross, editor, Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc., 1993; Modern Haiku XXIX:3, 1998; Snow on the Water, The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku, Jim Kacian, Editor, Red Moon Press, 1998)
*
Pink clouds at dusk
in shallows among the reeds
a dead heron bobbing
(Modern Haiku, 1985; Woodnotes 3, 1989)
*
silent cathedral
stained-glass apostles
dimming with dusk
(First place - the Harold G. Henderson Memorial Awards - 1990)
*
a waterfall glints
over the gristmill dam
summer stars
(Haiku Quarterly 2:2, 1990)
*
winter beach . . .
tinkling trills
of water pipits
(Woodnotes 7, autumn 1990)
*
reed-fringed shore,
an otter glistens
into its burrow
(A Moon in Each Eye, Charles B. Dickson, AHA Books, 1993; South by Southeast 1:1, 1994; Favorite Haiku 4, H.F. Noyes, Red Moon Press, 2001)
*
Flickering campfire--
I kneel by the mountain spring
For a drink of stars.
(Haiku: The Poetry of Zen, Hyperion, 1996; Woodnotes 31, 1997)
*
cajun cabin …
the aroma of hot gumbo
floats on the bayou
(Frogpond XII:4)
*
dense fog
a mocking bird
fills it
shrill midnight cries
of low-flying snow geese
a meteor flares
(Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years ed. by Jim Kacian, Philip Rowland and Allan Burns, W. W. Norton & Company, 2013)
Sources:
http://home.gci.net/~alaskahaiku/guestpoet.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiku_in_English
http://poetrysociety.org.nz/olingerfavourites
http://www.hsa-haiku.org/frogpond/museumawardscollection.html
http://www.hsa-haiku.org/hendersonawards/henderson.htm
http://californiastatelibrary.tumblr.com/post/102369297279/glimpses-from-the-american-haiku-archives
http://www.modernhaiku.org/essays/RossEssay.html