Patric Dickinson
Patric Dickinson was a British poet, playwright, translator, and academic, born on December 26, 1914, in Nasirabad, India. He began his professional life as a schoolmaster after graduating from St. Catharine's College, Cambridge, in 1936, before joining the British Army at the onset of World War II. After a brief military service, he transitioned to the BBC, where he worked from 1942 to 1948, initially as a producer and later as a poetry editor. Dickinson published his first poetry collection, *The Seven Days of Jericho*, in 1944 and edited *Soldiers' Verse*, showcasing poetry from veterans. He became the Gresham Professor of Rhetoric in London in 1948 and gained recognition for his translations of classical works, particularly those of Aristophanes and Plautus. His literary contributions included various plays and librettos, with notable works like *Stone in the Midst* and *Ode to St. Catherine*. Throughout his career, Dickinson remained active in the literary scene, editing numerous poetry collections alongside his wife and publishing extensively until the late 1980s. He passed away in 1994, and his papers are preserved at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas.
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Patric Dickinson
Writer
- Born: December 26, 1914
- Birthplace: Nasirabad, India
- Died: January 28, 1994
Biography
Patric Dickinson was born on December 26, 1914, in Nasirabad, India, the son of army officer Arthur Thomas Dickinson and Eileen Kirwan Dickinson. After graduating from St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge University, in 1936, Dickinson became a schoolmaster until 1939, at which time he entered the British Army to serve in World War II. However, he was quickly invalided out of the service and worked in the features and drama department of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) from 1942 to 1948. At the BBC, Dickinson initially was a producer and later became a poetry editor until, by 1945, he was a free-lance broadcaster and critic. He was married to Sheila Shannon on December 19, 1947; they eventually had two children. In 1948, Dickinson became the Gresham Professor of Rhetoric at City University in London, winning the Atlantic Award in literature in the same year. Throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s he translated a number of classical works, notably those of Aristophanes and Plautus.
During his time with the BBC, Dickinson brought out his first collection of poetry, The Seven Days of Jericho (1944); he also edited a collection of poetry from veterans, Soldiers’ Verse (1945). A play written for BBC Radio, Theseus and the Minotaur (1945), was published in his second volume of poetry, Theseus and the Minotaur, and Poems (1946). Dickinson also wrote drama for the stage; Stone in the Midst, for example, was produced in London in 1951 after being published in 1948 in the volume Stone in the Midst, and Poems. In addition to his literary output, Dickinson’s great interest in golf led to a nonfiction work, A Round of Golf Courses: A Selection of the Best Eighteen (1951). His Selected Poems appeared in 1968.
In the 1970’s he became involved in writing librettos, including Ode to St. Catherine, Creation, and The Miller’s Secret, all produced in 1973. In that same year he won the Cholmondeley Award. With his wife (also a capable editor), Dickinson edited numerous books of poetry while continuing to publish more than a dozen of his own well into the 1980’s.
Dickinson died in 1994. An extensive collection of his papers from around 1933 through 1970 is held at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas.