In 1934, a teen Dockweiler had a letter published in periodical Wonder Stories inquiring about "Science Fiction Week". Both Dockweiler and Pohl dropped out of Brooklyn tech after their junior year.
In 1937, Dockweiler published a fanzine titled Fantasy Mirror. As an adult, Dockweiler wrote stories in collaboration with Frederik Pohl, Arnold Kummer Jr. and Cyril M. Kornbluth. Dockweiler also used the pen names "Dennis Lavond" and "Elliott Whitney".
In 1937, Dockweiler joined the Committee for the Political Advancement of Science Fiction (CPASF), a left-wing group of Futurians who supported the views of fellow member John B. Michel.
When the Futurians group fractured, Dockweiler and Pohl followed Michel and Donald Wollheim to form the East New York Science Fiction League. In 1940, Dockweiler married fellow Futurian Rosalind "Roz" Cohen.
Dockweiler was drafted and served as a sergeant in a military police company in World War 2. He was stationed in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge. Dockweiler suffered a spine injury after jumping from a transport truck; he was evacuated from theater and spent two years in a Veterans Administration hospital. While hospitalized, Dockweiler penned a letter to Amazing Stories in which he reported two instances of having witnessed an unidentified objects, in some cases rise from the ocean and returning to it.
In 1947, Dockweiler and Pohl set up the "Dirk Wylie Literary Agency". In August 1948, Dockweiler died from tuberculosis of the spine. After his death, Pohl and Rosalin continued to run the agency.
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