James Dickey
James Lafayette Dickey (born February 2, 1923 in Atlanta , Georgia , † January 19, 1997 in Columbia , South Carolina ) was an American writer and poet . Dickey completed his school career in 1941 shortly before the United States entered World War II . The following year he joined the United States Army Air Forces . After returning from military service, he studied English and philosophy at Vanderbilt University before returning to the US Air Force during the Korean War that broke out in 1950 . He then worked as a lecturer at various universities in Texas and Florida , and until 1960 in the advertising industry . In 1972 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters .
Dickey was first known as a lyric poet in the United States. In the following years he published books of poetry on a regular basis, but earned his living with part-time jobs, scholarships and prize money. He had a great commercial success with his novel Flussfahrt (orig. Deliverance ), which was soon made into a film with Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight under the title When everyone dies is the first . Here he describes the canoe trip of four civilization-weary suburbs, which develops into a nightmare of threat and murder. Dickey played a minor supporting role in the film himself. The film became an overwhelming hit both critically and at the box office. With none of his subsequent works, poetry and two other novels, Dickey was able to follow up on the success of River Cruise . The novel is considered by literary critics to be one of the best and most influential American novels of the 20th century. Time magazine nominated him for one of the 100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and 2005.
Works
- 1970: River trip (orig. Deliverance )
- filmed as Everyone Is First To Die (1971)
- 1976: The Call of the Wild (orig. The Call of the Wild ) - screenplay based on the novel by Jack London
- 1987: Alnilam
- 1993: Escape to the White Sea (orig. To the White Sea )
Awards
- 1966: National Book Award (Poetry) for Buckdancer's Choice
- 1970: Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
swell
- James Dickey in the nndb (English)
- James Dickey in the New Georgia Encyclopedia (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ James Dickey at the Academy of American Poets (English)
- ^ Members: James Dickey. American Academy of Arts and Letters, accessed February 26, 2019 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Dickey, James |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Dickey, James Lafayette (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American lyric poet and writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 2, 1923 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Atlanta |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 19, 1997 |
| Place of death | Columbia , South Carolina |