I first encountered Dixon Hearne after he sent a letter to me at the university where I teach (yes, it was actually a paper letter, which I still have tucked away into a copy of Dixon’s book Plantatia). He told me that he’d just read my second novel, Harlow, which is a semi-autobiographical story about a young boy searching for his father. He talked about how moved he was by the story and offered to review it for the Southern Literary Review. I wrote him back and told him I’d be honored to have him review my book, and from then on, a sort of literary friendship was formed.

Our conversations about books and art and other writers were always refreshing, and I was amazed by Dixon’s breadth of knowledge when it came to literature—his aesthetic sensibility was unparalleled, as was his devotion to the arts and the people who make it. His loss leaves a great hole in the literary community and he will be deeply missed. However, I’m happy to know that his legacy will continue to live on in the writers and artists whose lives he changed with his generosity of spirit and his caring heart. —David Armand

I never had the pleasure of meeting Dixon in person, only online. But doesn’t that show the value of relationships made across distances? I knew he was a great supporter of Southern writers. And I was so grateful, especially as a younger writer, when he reached out to invite me to send work to DPR.

—Denton Loving

Passing

June 29, 2025. A sad day as I received an email from Dr. Susan Swartwout that Dixon Hearne passed away unexpectedly at his home a month ago.

road to paradise

memories

tag along

Dixon and I never met in person. We sent emails occasionally over the years as editors and submitters. In 2007, Dixon sent me his short story, “Right Eye of Justice,” which appeared in the spring 2008 issue of Valley Voices. In 2012, we republished the story in a special issue that celebrated the journal’s tenth anniversary. In 2013, Dixon sent me another story, “The Pang of Patience,” to grace the fall 2013 issue of Valley Voices.

writing break

his name summersaults

in the mind

As editor, I am grateful to writers who support our journal with fine creative works. Dixon was such a fine writer. Six years after the publication of his second story, he returned with a review of Philip Kolin’s Reaching Forever. Later in the same year, I invited him to review James Fowler’s The Pain Trader, and he did it, though he was sick. His email of December 2, 2020 reads, “I’ve been backlogged due to a series of illnesses, including COVID. I’m finally getting caught up and should be able to get the review to you before the end of the month.” He was a real trooper who supported with a warm heart.

afterglow

choreography of starlings

delights the eye

Dixon became my editor in 2020 when he published three of my poems in Delta Poetry Review, a fine online journal he founded in 2019. Since then, my work has appeared in the journal every year. As a poet living in the Mississippi Delta, I am thankful to Dixon, the dedicated founder and editor of Delta Poetry Review, which has showcased poetry that captures the essence of the place, culture, and dialect of the Delta region and the American South.

his dedication

a petroglyph engraved

in the rock  

—Jianqing Zheng

I first met Dixon Hearne by telephone in early 2002, when he reached out from his home in California to offer his help with the Gulf Coast Writers Association in Gulfport, Mississippi. He generously volunteered to assist in creating and editing an anthology of our members’ stories.

That call was the beginning of a remarkable creative partnership and a cherished friendship. Over the years, Dixon and I collaborated on multiple anthologies, blending our talents to bring other writers' voices to life. I also had the privilege of working with him on his own books—editing, designing covers, and building a website that highlighted his prolific career as a writer and author: www.dixonhearne.com.

Several years ago, after Dixon retired from teaching, he called with great excitement. He had always dreamed of starting an online poetry journal and asked if I would help bring that vision to life. That conversation led to the creation of Delta Poetry Review, which was initially intended as a one-time publication. But poems flooded in, and Dixon’s passion grew. Thanks to his dedication, the journal became an enduring space for poets to share their work: www.deltapoetryreview.com. Although Dixon and I never met in person, we spoke often and shared a deep connection. I considered him one of my dearest friends—steadfast, kind, and deeply supportive. He had a generous spirit and always spoke with warmth and admiration about the many writers and poets he championed. His absence leaves a void in my heart and in the literary world he so loved.

—Victoria Hobbs Olsen

Dixon and I met, virtually, over ten years ago when he requested that I read his Southwestern poems and consider writing a blurb for the forthcoming publication of his manuscript. I had been familiar with much of his published work for several years, and found his Southwestern manuscript most impressive. Although I, unfortunately, never had an opportunity to meet him in person, I felt that I knew him very well through our extensive correspondence over many years.

Approximately eight to ten years ago, being of deep Southern heritage, I decided to devote my literary efforts to the writing and publication of my Southern verse, especially that of the Mississippi River Delta. Hence, when Dixon announced the publication of the Delta Poetry Review, I began to submit poetry to the journal for publication consideration. Dixon was not only gracious to publish a large number of my poems in DPR but also invited me to be the featured Southern poet for his February 2021 issue. Of the many national Southern literary journals in which I have been able to publish my work, I value none of them more than Dixon’s Delta Poetry Review.

Dixon not only left an indelible mark on Southern letters but was also a quintessential Southern gentleman in the very best sense of the term. I shall always regard him as one of the closest mentors and friends I have been privileged to know in my entire adult life.

—Larry D. Thomas

I am so sad at the news about Dixon’s passing.

The thing that struck me most about Dixon was that, as a well-published author himself and a journal editor in a position to wield power over other writers, he was always so admiring and supportive of other writers and so humble about his own talents. When he asked me in 2016 to blurb his book Plainspeak and I said yes, he replied that he was “thrilled” that I was “willing to read this collection.” When he chose me as a featured poet for Delta Poetry Review in 2021, he said, “I have great admiration for all the wonderful poets I’m able to include in each issue of the journal. It soothes my apprehensions about taking on the challenge.” Later, he wrote to me that “There are so many wonderful poets out there, I want to help promote them.” Martin Luther King Jr. once said that “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?” Dixon stands among those whose service to others was a shining answer to that question.

—Julie Kane

I didn’t know Dixon well in person, but have had quite a bit of correspondence with him over the years and greatly appreciate what he did for Southern writers by creating Delta Poetry Review. He was also a great correspondent. I will look back over our emails and try to write something more personal. In doing so, I saw that he published in Poetry South in 2017 before he started DPR, and that he was very interested in the Welty Symposium. In Feb. 2020, he promised he would come in person, but we all know what happened that year. He was a very generous and thoughtful guy. It’s still hard to believe he’s gone.

—Kendall Dunkelberg

Dixon was one of those literary angels who not only wrote and had published a large body of his own work but who also supported many, many other writers and Southern literature in particular.

My own correspondence with Dixon began when he submitted short stories to Big Muddy: Journal of the Mississippi River Valley. After I published a few of his stories—to acclaim from readers and my wonderful and discriminating assistant editors, Mandy Henley and Donna Essner—I asked him if he had enough stories for a book collection, and yes he did. I’m proud that his book Plantatia: High-toned and Low-down Stories of the South, was published by the university press. We later published his novella, From Tickfaw to Shongaloo, a tender valentine to the vagaries, gossip, and jargon of a small Southern town. Dixon also encouraged other Southern authors to submit their work to the university press, and he sponsored two Big Muddy short story contests (one in the name of his beloved mother, Wilda Hearne) and a full-length poetry contest dedicated to Vern Cowles.

I first met Dixon in person when I invited him to do a reading of his work and to meet with upperclass and graduate creative writers at our university. He was quiet, a little shy, but the information and encouragement that he gave our students had them talking for months about his visit.

In 2019, Dixon founded Delta Poetry Review with the assistance of his friend, Victoria Hobbs Olsen, past president of the Gulf Coast Writers Association and DPR webmaster. He showcased some of the South’s finest writers and their thoughts in the featured poet section of each DPR issue, and gave hundreds of other poets the opportunity to share their work in DPR’s online journal.

We lost a dear friend and a stalwart supporter of Southern literature. He is greatly missed.

—Susan Swartwout

Dixon Hearne was a one-of-a-kind Master of every form of poetry and prose extant. He was also the most humble writer I have ever met. Not to mention the sweetest and most helpful, always with a smile. He was like a brother sitting next to me while we completed the PhD program at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California. He had the same low threshold for humor that I had, so laughter was almost continuous. We did a lot of readings together, and a lot of workshops for all ages, from kindergarten to post-graduate. Please take advantage of his many gifts and read everything he wrote.   —Olivia S. Ellis