David Fisher Obituary

David Fisher

Sacramento, CA - David Lincoln Fisher, 72, award winning poet, died Feb. 2, 2015.
Fisher graduated summa cum laude from Duke University on an Angier B. Duke scholarship and completed course work for a doctorate at Yale University on a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. He had further studies at the University of Tubingen and the Sorbonne.
Fisher taught college courses in poetry in the Bay Area for many years. He published several books of his poetry and received two National Foundation for the Arts fellowships. He was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for "The Book of Madness" and won the first annual Poetry Society of America's William Carlos Williams award for the best book of poetry in America (1978) for his book "Teachings".
Fisher's last work, "I Hear Always the Dogs on the Hospital Roof", a collection of his poetry, was published in 2012 by the William Meredith Foundation.
Memorial gifts may be made to the William Meredith Foundation, 337 Kitemaug Road, Uncasville, CT 06382.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle from Feb. 8 to Feb. 15, 2015.

Memories and Condolences
for David Fisher

9 Entries

Gene Berson

February 2, 2025

A beautiful writer and wonderful friend from his days on Fulton Street in SF during the seventies.

Gail Rudd Entrekin

February 2, 2024

I've been slowly rereading I Hear Always the Dogs on the Hospital Roof and it's a beautiful, heart-rending book that stands and will stand, I believe, the test of time.

Cliff Eisner

March 23, 2018

Colleague, collaborator, friend and always a teacher. Among our adventures, we co-ran the Folsom Prison Creative Writing Workshop, with poet Max Schwartz, throughout 1976. I still remember afternoons when we would watch from his apartment on Alamo Square the fog pouring in from the West. His passing is a loss. He is missed.

Bethany Sue Sinnott

October 6, 2016

I learned of David's death through Duke's alumni publication. I am saddened that I lost touch with him years ago. We were friends at Duke, where he wrote book reviews and columns for me when I edited the Chronicle. Then he and Gil Ravenel and I spent a couple of months hitchhiking in Europe in 1964. The last time I saw him was when he visited me in Chapel Hill when I was in graduate school in the mid '60's. David was a brilliant thinker who displayed an admirable zest for life and for poetry. I wish we had not lost touch.

Gail Entrekin

March 7, 2016

I'm very sorry to discover that David has been gone for over a year. I always hoped to have a chance to thank him again. In about 1980 he helped me save my life. His poetry was an inspiration to me, and he was a person of great sensitivity and integrity. My sorrow and deep, if belated, sympathy to his family.

Gail Entrekin

Jim Carpenter

December 6, 2015

David and I were friends at Duke, but then afterward I completely lost touch with him -- although at some point I did discover that he had fallen ill but was also recognized as a distinguished poet. I think I may have the honor of being David's first editor. David shared some of his verse with me, and I knew that he was a good poet, but he was quite private about it, and did not seek publication on campus. When I was editor of the student literary magazine, The Archive, I twisted his arm and he let me publish some fine pieces. If anyone wishes to see this early work, I would be happy to share them. They show his keen ability to use form and structure and convey poignant, unique perceptions of pain and possibility. I am glad to know that he taught, I'm sure he passed on much of great value.

August 19, 2015

I knew David throughout the seventies and used to drop by his place on Fulton many mornings for wonderful discussions about poetry people and politics. His love was steadfast, his eye keen and his heart totally dependable. The humor and grace in his poetry are wonderful gifts, especially triumphing over his struggles and griefs.

February 27, 2015

I knew and loved David Fisher as a young girl, and remained his friend for over 40 years. Throughout his intense struggles, he remained brilliant and loving, and his poetry is among the best contemporary American poetry. I will miss him.

David Chorlton

February 12, 2015

I discovered David's work on the shelves at our local library years ago, and later had the good fortune to know him in person and through a colorful correspondence. A great spirit and a poet who showed me the possibilities the art form contains.

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