Dick Dayton is a poet and author. He is known as "The Florida Native Poet." Dayton was born in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1940. He has completed two books: "Peanut Butter and Jellyfish: Reminisces of a Florida boy growing up in the 40s and 50s" and "My Siamese Twin has Halitosis." "My Siamese Twin has Halitosis" is a book of humor. Dayton has completed thousands of poems. His poem, "My America," was written shortly after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. He received recognition from Florida Governor
Jeb Bush for this work. Dayton is a pioneer in the field of marketing very high quality framed, signed and numbered poems to the general public. His
Civil War, museum quality, triptych poems are highly sought after by collectors of Civil War memorabilia. Dayton's framed poetry is owned by sophisticated collectors in over 35 countries worldwide. Dayton has also created a monologue titled, "Random Knowtz from a Wandering Mind." He delivers this monologue to business, social, educational and civic organizations. He also delivers his monologue to the general public at community theaters. Dayton is the founder of American LifeTrails Institute, an organization designed promote the awareness of nature through various outdoor activities. Dayton became a diver
when SCUBA was relatively new. He joined other sports divers exploring the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and
various springs and rivers in Florida. Dayton has been an underwater collector of artifacts and fossils since the mid-1950's. He has paddled his canoe,
the length of the Suwannee River, from the swamps of Georgia to the town of Suwannee on the Gulf of Mexico. Dayton has explored thousands of acres in
the Florida Everglades by dugout canoe. He routinely explores the last of the "wild lands", in Florida, which have not been paved over by developers.
Dayton currently resides in the Historical District of Crystal River, Florida.