The Whole Motion: Collected Poems, 1945–1992

by James Dickey

Documentation of the development of a major literary figure.

For over three decades, James Dickey has been one of the nation's most important poets and a prominent man of letters. The Whole Motion collects his poetic oeuvre into a single 235 poems from his first book, Into the Stone (1960), to The Eagle's Mile (1990), along with previously uncollected poems and unpublished "apprentice" works.

Genres: Poetry, War

494 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 1992

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

[Gary Sites · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was introduced to Dickey when I was a 20 year old college student. Although he was difficult for me then, I have never forgotten my first reading of "The Heaven of Animals". It just blew me away, like how Emily Dickinson said how you know it's poetry when it blows off the top of your head. I've read all of his work now, including the novels, and must say he was one of our greatest American writers.
Just now I picked up this book and read "The Sprinter at Forty".

"And between the dark houses where men,/Grown suddenly light with amazement,/Cry out for their youth among nightmares/Of debt, and turn to their women./Like a choir, something rises about me..."

I understood the poem when I was in my 20s, but now in my 50s, I FEEL it within all of me.

It is rather late, and I should be asleep, but I think I'll read some more of this wonderful book to enhance my dreams.

[Ron Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a volume of poetry I constantly pick up and read or reread. Howard Starks and Dennis Letts first brought Dickey to my attention in the mid-seventies in college. They were both incredible teachers and pure genius when it came to selecting poetry. When I heard Dennis read "Looking For The Buckhead Boys" in that stage and screen voice of his, I was sold, and when Howard chipped in with his love of Dickey's work I began to read it all. Thirty years later I'm as hooked as I ever was. Regardless of what anyone thinks of Dickey. I fail to see how anyone could not be blown away by his best work. The man was a poet of incredible talent, one I'll still be reading thirty years from now if possible.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

James Dickey is a great poet, but I think many of his poems are too long. This is an oversimplification on my part, but I must say his power and resonance seems to lie in the shorter lyrics. One cannot read poems like Falling or At Darien Bridge and not be amazed by the word choice, the subtle rhythms, and the compression of his themes. I find much of today’s poetry to be psychological self-examinations by the poet. Dickey is a refreshing alternative, and my only criticism is that the story-telling length of some of his poems diminishes the power that clearly exists in his writing.

[Tommy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great poems here. Dickey may have been the great American poet of the 70's. Check out "The Leap," & "Falling" 2 heavyweights!!!

[Joseph Carrabis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrilling, chilling and unnerving. From the fantasy eroticism of The Sheep Child to well and way beyond. Read this to learn how to make words sing.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

You may know him by the trail of sexually assaulted yuppie weekend warriors! Dickey wrote Deliverance. He also wrote some hot verses. My favorite is "Falling." It's about a stewardess falling out of a plane. It's pretty awesome. Here's an appetizer:

The states when they black out and lie there rolling when they turn
To something transcontinental move by drawing moonlight out of the great
One-sided stone hung off the starboard wingtip some sleeper next to
An engine is groaning for coffee and there is faintly coming in
Somewhere the vast beast-whistle of space. In the galley with its racks
Of trays she rummages for a blanket and moves in her slim tailored
Uniform to pin it over the cry at the top of the door. As though she blew

[Tony Rabig]

Have read much of this book before, in the early and mid-70s, as the individual volumes were being published; Wesleyan has now published a number of these as ebooks, including this one, and I'm looking forward to catching up on the poems I'd missed. If memory serves, one of the books collected here (BUCKDANCER'S CHOICE) took a National Book Award for poetry its year; one of the poems from that collection is a nice little chiller called "Pursuit from Under" and it's well worth a look.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

The complete works. Collects a lot of earlier work as well as the later collections.