Newsmaker: Poet cherished francophone culture

BY BILL BRADLEY

You can tell a lot by someone’s resume.

Robert Dickson’s is 56 pages long.

The much beloved Laurentian University French Studies and Translation professor, social activist, poet and promoter of francophone culture, lead a very busy life.

He passed away March 19, this year at the young age of 62 at his home, after a short battle with cancer.

He was honoured by a celebration of his life April 14 at Theatre du Nouvel-Ontario (TNO) and also at the Galerie du Nouvel-Ontario.

The places where Dickson was honoured, TNO and GNO, spoke volumes about the man, considering he grew up in an English home in Toronto.

That he was a passionate supporter of francophone culture is an understatement, indicated by his legacy. He was a member of the Franco-Ontarian and French-Canadian arts community since the 1970s.

In 2002, he won the Governor General’s award for his French-language poetry collection Humains paysages en temps de paix relative (Human Landscapes in Times of Relative Peace), issued by his long time publisher Editions Prise de Paroles.

“He will be greatly missed,” said Denise Truax, director of the publishing company, in a statement at the time of his death.

“But he gave us so much already that these are voids he has filled and fed, and we need to salute them, cherish them and nurture them.”

Dickson was a lyricist for the musical group CANO.

In June 2006, Laurentian University awarded Dickson with an honourary doctorate of letters, said Laurentian archivist and personal friend Marthe Brown.

“That honourary doctorate meant a lot to him,” she said.

Former Manitoulin lawyer and Sudbury activist, Lloyd Greenspoon, said Dickson was very involved in social causes and even wrote poems to back up his beliefs. “I met Robert when we both made presentations to city council in 1974 against the tearing down of the Iron Bridge over the railway tracks.

Both lost that battle to save the Iron Bridge, where now a white foot bridge is located, but their lives intertwined on many other issues, said Greenspoon.

Dickson supported many causes.

“He fully supported workers struggles both at Inco and Falconbridge. He was a man that honoured all picket lines. He was a real lefty. He was my best friend,” said Greenspoon.