James Lafayette Dickey (February 2, 1923 January 19, 1997) was an American poet and novelist. He was appointed the eighteenth

United States Poet Laureate The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress—commonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureate—serves as the official poet of the United States. During their term, the poet laureate seeks to raise the national cons ...

in 1966. He also received the

Order of the South The Southern Academy of Letters, Arts and Sciences awarded the Order of the South. Recipients include Eudora Welty, James Dickey, David Nolan and Patrick D. Smith. The award was established in 1971. The Academy included an Institute of Southern Aff ...

award. Dickey is best known for his novel ''

Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American survival thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman, and starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox, with the latter two making their feature film debuts. The screenplay was adapt ...

'' (1970), which was adapted into the acclaimed 1972 film of the same name.

Early years

Dickey was born to lawyer Eugene Dickey and Maibelle Swift in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, where he attended North Fulton High School in Atlanta's

Buckhead Buckhead is the uptown commercial and residential district of the city of Atlanta, Georgia, comprising approximately the northernmost fifth of the city. Buckhead is the third largest business district within the Atlanta city limits, behind Downt ...

neighborhood. After graduation from North Fulton High in 1941, Dickey completed a postgraduate year at

Darlington School Darlington School is a private, coeducational, college-preparatory day and boarding school in Rome, Georgia founded in 1905. It serves students from pre-kindergarten to grade 12, and is divided into a Pre-K to 8 division and an Upper School ...

in Rome, Georgia. Dickey asked to be dismissed from the Darlington rolls in a 1981 letter to the principal, deeming the school the most "disgusting combination of cant, hypocrisy, cruelty, class privilege and inanity I have ever since encountered at any human institution." In 1942, he enrolled at Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina and played on the football team as a tailback. After one semester, he left school to enlist in the military. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Dickey served with the U.S. Army Air Forces, where he flew thirty-eight missions in the PacificTheater as a

P-61 Black Widow The Northrop P-61 Black Widow is a twin-engine United States Army Air Forces fighter aircraft of World War II. It was the first operational U.S. warplane designed as a night fighter, and the first aircraft designed specifically as a night figh ...

radar operator with the 418th Night Fighter Squadron, an experience that influenced his work, and for which he was awarded five

Bronze Stars The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

.. He later served in the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Between the wars, he attended

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, graduating ''magnacumlaude'' with a degree in English and philosophy (as well as minoring in astronomy) in 1949. He also received an M.A. in English from Vanderbilt in 1950.

Career

Dickey taught as an instructor of English at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

(then Rice Institute) in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

in 1950 and following his second Air Force stint, from 1952 to 1954, Dickey returned to academic teaching. Dickey then quit his teaching job at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in the spring of 1956 after a group of the American Pen's Women's Society protested his reading of the poem called ''The Father's Body''; he quit rather than apologize. This incident some critics believe he manipulated to his advantage, he became a successful copy writer for advertising agencies selling

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

and

Lay's Lay's is a brand of potato chips, as well as the name of the company that founded the chip brand in the United States. The brand is also referred to as Frito-Lay because both Lay's and Fritos are brands sold by the Frito-Lay company, which ha ...

potato chips while in his free time writing some of his best poetry. He once said he embarked on his advertising career in order to "make some bucks." Dickey also said "I was selling my soul to the devil all day... and trying to buy it back at night." He was ultimately fired for shirking his work responsibilities. His first book, ''Into the Stone and Other Poems'', was published in 1960. ''Drowning with Others'' was published in 1962, which led to a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

(Norton Anthology, The Literature of the American South). ''

Buckdancer's Choice ''Buckdancer's Choice'' (1965) is a collection of poems by James Dickey. It won the U.S. National Book Award for Poetry National Book Award for Poetry The National Book Award for Poetry is one of five annual National Book Awards, which are given by the National Book Foundation to recognize outstanding literary work by US citizens. They are awards "by writers to writers".

. Among his better-known poems are "The Performance", " Cherrylog Road", "The Firebombing", "May Day Sermon", "Falling", and "For The Last Wolverine". He published his first volume of collected poems, ''Poems 1957-1967'' in 1967 after being named a poetry consultant for the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

. This publishing may represent Dickey's best work. After serving as a visiting lecturer at several institutions from 1963 to 1968 (including

Reed College Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor-Gothic style architecture, and a forested canyon nature preserve at ...

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

, the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

, the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

and the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

), Dickey returned to academia in earnest in 1969 as a professor of English and writer-in-residence at the University of South Carolina, a position he held for the remainder of his life. It was there that he was also inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society, in 1970. Dickey wrote the poem ''The Moon Ground'' for ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' magazine in celebration of the

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, an ...

moon landing. His reading of it was broadcast on

ABC television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

on July 20, 1969. His popularity exploded after the

film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

of his novel ''

'' was released in 1972. Dickey wrote the screenplay and had a cameo in the film as a sheriff. On January 20, 1977, Dickey was invited to read his poem ''The Strength of Fields'' at the

inauguration of Jimmy Carter The inauguration of Jimmy Carter as the 39th president of the United States was held on Thursday, January 20, 1977, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington D.C. This was the 48th inauguration and marked the commencement of ...

Personal life

In November 1948 he married Maxine Syerson, and three years later they had their first son,

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

; a second son, Kevin, was born in 1958. Christopher Dickey was a novelist and journalist, providing coverage from the Middle East for

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

. In 1998, Christopher wrote a book about his father and Christopher's own sometimes troubled relationship with him, titled ''Summer of Deliverance''. Christopher died in July 2020. Kevin Dickey is an

interventional radiologist Interventional radiology (IR) is a medical specialty that performs various minimally-invasive procedures using medical imaging guidance, such as x-ray fluoroscopy, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, or ultrasound. IR performs bo ...

and lives in

Winston-Salem, NC Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

. Two months after Maxine died in 1976, Dickey married one of his students, Deborah Dodson. Their daughter, Bronwen, was born in 1981. Bronwen is an author, journalist, and lecturer. Her first book, '' Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon'', was published in 2016.

Death

Dickey died on January 19, 1997, aged 73, six days after his last class at the University of South Carolina, where from 1968 he taught as poet-in-residence. Dickey spent his last years in and out of hospitals, afflicted with severe alcoholism,

jaundice Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or greenish pigmentation of the skin and sclera due to high bilirubin levels. Jaundice in adults is typically a sign indicating the presence of underlying diseases involving abnormal heme meta ...

and later

pulmonary fibrosis Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition in which the lungs become scarred over time. Symptoms include shortness of breath, a dry cough, feeling tired, weight loss, and nail clubbing. Complications may include pulmonary hypertension, respiratory failu ...

Works

Publications

Novels

* * *

Poetry

* ''Into the Stone and Other Poems'' (in ''Poets of Today VII'') (1960) * ''Drowning with Others'' (1962) * ''Two Poems of the Air'' (1964) * ''Helmets'' (1964) * '' Buckdancer's Choice: Poems'' (1965) —winner of the

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

* ''Poems 1957-67'' (1967) * ''The Achievement of James Dickey: A Comprehensive Selection of His Poems'' (1968) * ''The Eye-Beaters, Blood, Victory, Madness, Buckhead and Mercy'' (1970) * ''Exchanges'' (1971) * ''The Zodiac'' (1976) * ''The Owl King'' (1977) * ''Veteran Birth: The Gadfly Poems 1947-49'' (1978) * ''Tucky the Hunter'' (1978) * ''Head-Deep in Strange Sounds: Free-Flight Improvisations from the unEnglish'' (1979) * ''The Strength of Fields'' (1979) * ''Falling, May Day Sermon, and Other Poems'' (1981) * ''The Early Motion'' (1981) * ''Puella'' (1982) * ''Värmland'' (1982) * ''False Youth: Four Seasons'' (1983) * ''For a Time and Place'' (1983) * ''Intervisions'' (1983) * ''The Central Motion: Poems 1968-79'' (1983) * ''Bronwen, The Traw, and the Shape-Shifter: A Poem in Four Parts'' (1986) * ''Summons'' (1988) * ''The Eagle's Mile'' (1990) * * ''The Selected Poems'' (1998) * ''The Complete Poems of James Dickey'' (2013) * ''Death, and the Day's Light'' (2015)

Illustrated prose

Non-fiction

Filmography

* * ''

'' (novel / screenplay) (1972) - Sheriff Bullard (cameo film role) * ''

The Call of the Wild ''The Call of the Wild'' is a short adventure novel by Jack London, published in 1903 and set in Yukon, Canada, during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, when strong sled dogs were in high demand. The central character of the novel is a dog named Bu ...

'' (screenplay) (1976)

References

External links

The James Dickey Page

James Dickey papers at the University of South Carolina Department of Rare Books and Special Collections

James Dickey Newsletter & Society

CNN Audio Clips with James Dickey

1977 audio interview of James Dickey by Stephen Banker

James Dickey
at Academy of American Poets — with brief biography and selected list of works

at Washington University in St. Louis
Joyce Morrow Pair collection of James Dickey at the University of South Carolina Department of Rare Books and Special Collections

Matthew J. Bruccoli collection of James Dickey at the University of South Carolina Department of Rare Books and Special Collections

Donald J. and Ellen Greiner collection of James Dickey at the University of South Carolina Department of Rare Books and Special Collections

James Dickey
in ''New Georgia Encyclopedia''

at Modern American Poetry *

- online "themed issue" of the '' South Carolina Review'' that collects all pieces by and about James Dickey that have been published in that literary journal since 2001, in addition to content related to a James Dickey Festival that was hosted at

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...

.
Bronwen Dickey on her father's legacy

*
James Dickey Papers
at Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Dickey, James 1923 births 1997 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American poets American male novelists American male poets American Poets Laureate United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War Clemson University alumni Poets from Georgia (U.S. state) Writers from Atlanta Writers from Columbia, South Carolina National Book Award winners Rice University faculty Poets from South Carolina University of Florida faculty University of South Carolina faculty Vanderbilt University alumni Writers of American Southern literature 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Texas Novelists from Florida Novelists from Georgia (U.S. state) Novelists from South Carolina Darlington School alumni Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state) United States Army Air Forces soldiers Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters