James Dickey’s Followers (206)

James Dickey

Born

in Atlanta, Georgia, The United States

February 02, 1923

Died

January 19, 1997

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Poetry

edit data

Dickey was born in Atlanta, Georgia. After serving as a pilot in the Second World War, he attended Vanderbilt University. Having earned an MA in 1950, Dickey returned to military duty in the Korean War, serving with the US Air Force. Upon return to civilian life Dickey taught at Rice University in Texas and then at the University of Florida. From 1955 to 1961, he worked for advertising agencies in New York and Atlanta. After the publication of his first book, Into the Stone (Middletown, Conn., 1962), he left advertising and began teaching at various colleges and universities. He became poet-in-residence and Carolina Professor of English at the University of South Carolina.

Dickey's third volume, Buckdancer's Choice (Middletown, 1965), won th Dickey was born in Atlanta, Georgia. After serving as a pilot in the Second World War, he attended Vanderbilt University. Having earned an MA in 1950, Dickey returned to military duty in the Korean War, serving with the US Air Force. Upon return to civilian life Dickey taught at Rice University in Texas and then at the University of Florida. From 1955 to 1961, he worked for advertising agencies in New York and Atlanta. After the publication of his first book, Into the Stone (Middletown, Conn., 1962), he left advertising and began teaching at various colleges and universities. He became poet-in-residence and Carolina Professor of English at the University of South Carolina.

Dickey's third volume, Buckdancer's Choice (Middletown, 1965), won the prestigious National Book Award in Poetry. From 1966 to 1968 he served as poetry consultant to the Library of Congress. In 1977 Dickey read his poem 'The Strength of Fields' at President Carter's inauguration. The Hollywood film of his novel Deliverance (Boston, 1970) brought Dickey fame not normally enjoyed by poets.

Dickey's poems are a mixture of lyricism and narrative. In some volumes the lyricism dominates, while in others the narrative is the focus. The early books, influenced obviously though not slavishly by Theodore Roethke and perhaps Hopkins, are infused with a sense of private anxiety and guilt. Both emotions are called forth most deeply by the memories of a brother who died before Dickey was born ('In the Tree House at Night') and his war experiences ('Drinking From a Helmet'). These early poems generally employ rhyme and metre.

With Buckdancer's Choice, Dickey left traditional formalism behind, developing what he called a 'split-line' technique to vary the rhythm and look of the poem. Some critics argue that by doing so Dickey freed his true poetic voice. Others lament that the lack of formal device led to rhetorical, emotional, and intellectual excess. The truth probably lies somewhere between these two assessments, and it will be left to the reader to decide which phase of Dickey's career is most attractive.

Dickey's most comprehensive volume is The Whole Motion (Hanover, NH, and London, 1992). His early poems are collected in The Early Motion (Middletown, 1981). Recent individual volumes include The Eagle's Mile (Hanover and London, 1990) and Falling, May Day Sermon, and Other Poems (Hanover and London, 1982). Dickey has also published collections of autobiographical essays, Self Interviews (Garden City, NY, 1970; repr. New York, 1984) and Sorties (Garden City, 197 1; repr. New York, 1984).

From The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-century Poetry in English. Ed. Ian Hamilton. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press. ...more

Combine Editions
James Dickey’s books

Average rating: 3.85 · 42,233 ratings · 2,895 reviews · 188 distinct works • Similar authors

	Deliverance 3.89 avg rating — 33,928 ratings — published 1970 — 139 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	To the White Sea 3.83 avg rating — 1,318 ratings — published 1993 — 32 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	James Dickey Poems 1957-1967 4.26 avg rating — 212 ratings — published 1967 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Whole Motion: Collected Poems, 1945–1992 4.28 avg rating — 140 ratings — published 1992 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Buckdancer's Choice 4.04 avg rating — 116 ratings — published 1965 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	James Dickey: The Selected Poems by James Dickey, Robert Kirschten (Editor) 3.96 avg rating — 103 ratings — published 1998 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Alnilam 3.06 avg rating — 80 ratings — published 1987 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Drowning with Others 3.96 avg rating — 47 ratings — published 1962 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Complete Poems of James Dickey by James Dickey, Richard Howard (Foreword), Ward Briggs (Editor) 4.73 avg rating — 33 ratings — published 2013	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Babel to Byzantium: Poets and Poetry Now 4.04 avg rating — 27 ratings — published 1968 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by James Dickey…

Quotes by James Dickey (?)

“A poet is someone who stands outside in the rain hoping to be struck by lightning.”
― James Dickey

1762 likes

“What you have to realize when you write poetry, or if you love poetry, is that poetry is just naturally the greatest god damn thing that ever was in the whole universe”
― James Dickey

36 likes

“I go out on the side of a hill, maybe hunting deer, and sit there and see the shadow of night coming over the hill, and I can swear to you there is a part of me that is absolutely untouched by anything civilized. There's a part of me that has never heard of a telephone.”
― James Dickey

tags: poet, screenwriter, south-carolina

23 likes

See all James Dickey's quotes »

Polls

What shall we read in December, 2025? Books published in or before 1990.

Horseman, Pass By, by Larry McMurtry

13 votes 34.2%

A Rose for Emily and Other Stories, by William Faulkner

8 votes 21.1%

The Night of the Iguana, by Tennessee Williams

7 votes 18.4%

A Summons to Memphis, by Peter Taylor

6 votes 15.8%

Buckdancer's Choice, by James Dickey

4 votes 10.5%

38 total votes

3 comments

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Reading with Style: FA10 20.5 - Freedom Season	32	103	Oct 02, 2010 02:18PM
The Next Best Boo...: November Group Read winners!!!	55	217	Oct 28, 2010 02:57AM
2010 books in 201...: Elena	12	75	Dec 08, 2010 10:51AM
One Million Pages...: February '12 Readathon	98	70	Feb 26, 2012 09:22AM
One Million Pages...: Reading in Alphabetical Order A - Z	58	68	Oct 17, 2012 03:28AM
Chicks On Lit: 2012 The Year in Books	35	159	Jan 08, 2013 11:17AM
Around the World ...: Georgia	5	176	Feb 13, 2013 05:37AM
You'll love this ...: Newbie Michelle's High Octane (Really?! Crazy?) Challenge	29	75	Nov 30, 2013 01:27PM
You'll love this ...: Connie's High Octane Alphabet	434	184	Dec 30, 2013 12:35AM

More…

James Dickey’s Followers (206)

James Dickey

Combine EditionsJames Dickey’s books

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
James Dickey’s books