Dick Bentley: Who I've Been

DICK BENTLEY’S career as an urban planner has taken him to various Chicago neighborhoods as well as San Francisco’s Telegraph Hill, Washington’s Georgetown, Brooklyn’s Park Slope and Boston’s Beacon Hill. He has worked with neighborhood groups and private developers of affordable housing. Later he became Chief Planner for the Mayor’s Office of Housing in Boston and Planning Director for the Boston Housing Authority.

He was responsible for racial integration of various communities in Chicago, in San Francisco, California, and in New York City. His planning activities led to his book “American Neighborhoods.”

In his second career as a poet and fiction writer, he has taught creative writing at the University of Massachusetts and is the author of four books, “Post-Freudian Dreaming,” “A General Theory of Desire,” “All Rise” and “Leaving Chicago.” He won the Paris Review /Paris Writers Workshop International Fiction Award and his short story “Promised Land” was anthologized in “Best Fiction & Nonfiction of 2012.” His poem “Scissors Confiscated in an Airport Line” was a Pushcart Prize winner. His story “Health Care” was selected for Best Microfiction of 2019. He has also received awards for his short stories.

He has published over 300 poems and short stories in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, France, and Brazil.

He’s the husband of Carolyn, a Doctor of Physical Therapy. His son Nicholas is a Boston lawyer, and his daughter Julia is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. He’s a graduate of Yale and the Vermont College of Fine Arts. His books are available from Amazon (search ‘Dick Bentley’) or from his website, dickbentley.com.

He enjoys talking with his readers. 413-256-0240