Dixon Hearne
Dixon Hearne (born 1948) is an American educator and writer of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. He has published an education text ("Teaching Second-Language Learning with Learning Disabilities"), four short story collections: "Delta Flats: Stories in the Key of Blues and Hope"; "Plantatia: High-toned and Lowdown Stories of the South"; "Native Voices, Native Lands"; and "When Christmas was Real," and edited several anthologies. His novella, "From Tickfaw to Shongaloo" is forthcoming from Southeast Missouri State University Press. It was previously named the sole runner-up in the international creative writing competition sponsored by the Pirates Alley Faulkner  Society in New Orleans. The contest was judged by Moira Crone. After writing for professional magazines and journals, he began to write in a "different voice." In 2003, his first short story won an award and was subsequently published in a literary journal. His short fiction, poetry, and nonfiction have received numerous awards and appear widely in magazines, journals, and anthologies. Early life, education and early career. Hearne was born in Monroe, Louisiana and raised along levees of the Ouachita River in West Monroe, Louisiana. As a child, he often traveled with his father on his sales routes through the  back roads of northeast Louisiana. Many of the characters and voices in his works of fiction are drawn from the store front porches and inhabitants of the small southern towns that populated this region. He graduated from West Monroe High School and began college at University of Louisiana-Monroe. When his father became ill, he had to withdraw from school and find a job. He moved to Houston, Texas where he worked his way through University of St. Thomas to earn a BA in English and History. He taught in Houston's inner-city before moving to Los Angeles to  pursue an MA at Pepperdine University, and later earned a PhD at Claremont Graduate University. Career. Hearne split his career between teaching English and special education in public schools and university positions: Clarke College, Loras College, University of Dubuque; California State University-San Bernardino; Cal-Poly-Pomona; Whittier College; University of Texas-Brownsville; and Chapman University. He is semi-retired and teaches occasional courses in general and special education. He served on several editorial boards of leading journals.