Melvin Dixon
(May 29, 1950 - October 26, 1992) U.S.A.
Writer, scholar
Melvin Dixon is perhaps most well-known as a writer who spoke and wrote about his homosexuality very openly, for which he was both criticized and celebrated. Born in Stamford, Connecticut, he was educated at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut where he gained a BA in 1971, and at Brown University, providence, Rhode Island where he completed first his MA in 1973 and then his PhD in 1975.
He then became assistant Proessor of English at Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts where he taught between 1976 and 1980 when he moved to Queen's College of the City University of New York, Flushing, where he was a member of the English department until his premature death from an AIDS-related illness. Also his partner, Richard Horowitz, died.
During his short writing career Dixon produced works in several genres, always with great acclaim. Among his works are two novels, Vanishing Rooms (1991) and Trouble the Water (1989) and a volume of poetry, Change of Territory (1983). He also translated The Collected Poems of Leopold Sedar Senghor (1991).
Excerpts from: Gabriele Griffin, Who's Who in Lesbian and Gay and Writing, Routledge, London, 2002 - et alii
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