John Ditsky papers

John Michael Ditsky, Ph.D, 1938-2006, was a world-renowned Steinbeck scholar. Ditsky received his Ph.D. from New York University in 1967 and was Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Windsor, Canada, from which he retired in 2003 after 37 years of teaching. Prior to his tenure at the University of Windsor, he taught at the University of Detroit and Wayne State University. During his career, he served as Vice President of the International Steinbeck Society, President of the New Steinbeck Society of America, and Chair of the Editorial Board of the Steinbeck Quarterly. In addition to being a Steinbeck scholar, Ditsky was an active poet, poetry editor and music critic. John Ditsky published more than 100 literary criticisms and essays, as well as four poetry collections. John Ditsky’s wife, C. Suzette Ditsky, established the Ditsky Memorial Steinbeck Research Award at Ball State University in 2007. Dr. Tetsumaro Hayashi, a long-time friend of the Ditsky’s, said of John Ditsky that he "was first and foremost a passionate and dedicated scholar, teacher, and mentor" and that the Steinbeck Research Fund was "established to honor Ditsky's long established legacy of extending a helping hand of emerging Steinbeck scholars."