Death & the Days Light

In 1996, as James Dickey struggled with his impending death and endeavored to overcome itan effort that had always engaged his imaginationhe re-established his priorities. Recognizing that he would die from suffocation brought on by fibrosis of the lungs, he attempted to wring two long poems, Show Us the Sea and For Jules Bacon, from his earlier works and from his old self, not the drunken genius but the football player and weight lifter, the combat aviator and caring father. The transformation was, in all-important respects, a resurrection. These two lengthy poems, together with shorter poems, are thus, literally, the last motion but thematically, these works allude to his previous poetic efforts and summarize his life. Death, and the Days Light, the volume of poetry James Dickey was working on when he died, constitutes an invaluable addition to the canon of a major American poet and allows for a complete understanding of his oeuvre.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Mercer University Press
Published: 04/15/2015
ISBN: 9780881465198
Pages: 130
Weight: 0.81lbs
Size: 9.12h x 6.93w x 0.62d