Dorothy Perry Thompson
Dorothy Perry Thompson, known as "The Bard of Wheeler Hill" (the Columbia neighborhood where she grew up and which figures so prominently in her poetry), authored three books of poems--Fly with the Puffin (1995), Priest in Aqua Boa (2001), and Hurrying the Spirit: Following Zora (2002), and edited an anthology, Out of the Rough: Women's Poems of Survival and Celebration. Her work often featured the pain and joy of being a mother, wife, and teacher. Characterized as "animated by a vibrantly sensual language," her poetry has also been described as resonating with "her love affair with music and dance and color and rhythm and movement and laughter."
In 2001, Dot Thompson was among those nominated for the office of Poet Laureate of South Carolina. Thompson served as a professor of English at Winthrop University teaching courses in American literature, composition, and African American studies until her passing in 2002, the same year she was inducted into the South Carolina Academy of Authors.
In 2001, Dot Thompson was among those nominated for the office of Poet Laureate of South Carolina. Thompson served as a professor of English at Winthrop University teaching courses in American literature, composition, and African American studies until her passing in 2002, the same year she was inducted into the South Carolina Academy of Authors.
