The Strength of Fields

by James Dickey

Very good in very good dust jacket. Hardcover first edition - Garden City, Doubleday,, 1979.. Hardcover first edition -. Very good in very good dust jacket.. First printing. A collection of more than 30 poems. The title poem was written for President Carter's 1976 inauguration ceremony. Oblong format. 86 pp.

Genres: Poetry

86 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Ciera · Rating 2 out of 5]

The thing that interested me the most about "The Strength of Fields" was the historical context, noting that James Dickey composed his title poem for Carter's 1976 inauguration. I found that highly fascinating!

That, and little else.

While I applaud Dickey for his intriguing subject matter, I was not a fan of his style. His poetry had confusing meter and did not follow any sort of pattern or rhythm. I like poetry that has some sort of continuous arrangement or rhythmic flow. To me, it makes poetry more elegant and easy to follow.

My favorite poem was at the end and was entitled "I Dreamed I Already Loved You."

"I dreamed I already loved you.
I dreamed I already killed you.
But you rose again; another form,
A girl on the little ball of the earth,
Naive simplicity, curve-necked
On that early canvas of Picasso,
And prayed to me with your ribs
'Love me,' as though you said, 'Don't push me off.'
...I'm too scared to say I love you
Because I'd be saying I'll kill you."

I find that interesting. Is the speaker saying that he feels a compulsion to rid himself of what he truly desires? Or is the speaker saying that once he opens up his emotions, he is compelled to protect himself and cover it up again? Interesting.

Final note: I found it humorous that Dickey used several words many times, practically in every poem. These words were field, heaven and cliff. I don't really know why the word "cliff" appeared in so many poems. Perhaps it is something to do with the figurative imagery of falling or standing on the edge of danger and exhilaration.

All in all, it was an interesting read.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meditations on life, death, and reincarnation that send truth shivers up and down the spine, particularly the lament in “I. I Dreamed I Already Loved You” in “Three Poems with Yevtushenko”:

“From the depths of a face I can see through
I see the faces—can’t count them—
Which, right on the spot, or maybe
Not right away, I tortured to death.

You’re pale from the mortal balance. You say
‘I know everything; I was all of them.
I know you’ve already loved me.
I know you’ve already killed me.
But I won’t spin the globe backwards
We’re on. Love again, and then kill again.’

Lord, you’re young. Stop your globe.
I’m tired of killing. I’m not a damn thing but old.

You move the earth beneath your little feet,
You fall, “Love me.”
It’s only in those eyes—so similar, you say
‘This time don’t kill me.’”

Wow! Poignant. Piercing. Powerful. Poetry!

Favorite Poems:
“The Strength of Fields”
“Two Poems of Flight-Sleep”
“For the Death of Lombardi”
“Poem”
“Three Poems with Yevtushenko”