I just finished Summer of Deliverance, by Christopher Dickey about his relationship with his famous poet-novelist father, James Dickey. Although I've never read any James Dickey (I did see the movie Deliverance) I've heard stories about him from my step-father who was a student of his at USC. I knew that the elder Dickey was quite a character and had read a couple of positive reviews of this book by his son.
The book is not a biography of either man; it's a semi-autobiography of a relationship between father and son written from the son's perspective. The story told is far from rosy; James Dickey was a dedicated narcissist, more devoted to his artistic craft and the persona that arose from his success than to his family. He was a serial adulterer, a mean drunk, a habitual liar and (at least in the opinions of many literary critics) a genius. The art world only read the poetry and his one great novel; Dickey's family had to live with the rest. Thus, Summer of Deliverance speaks powerfully to the question of the relationship between art, the artist's character and relationships. It's been far too easy for critics and readers to dismiss the destructive personal lives of many great artists as part of some necessary price they paid to make their work. Woody Allen quotes Oscar Wilde (?) to the effect that "Ode to a Grecian Urn is worth any number of old ladies." But when one of the old ladies in question is your mother - as it was in Christopher Dickey's case - the statement, and the lifestyle it's intended to defend, is revealed as simply cruel.
What's most remarkable about Summer of Deliverance, however, isn't the pain of James Dickey's family life; it's the story of a redemption long sought and finally experienced by the father and son in their relationship. Christopher Dickey has given a gift to all fathers, sons, and artists in this wise, moving book.
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Jeremy,
Congrats on the new blog!
Looks like you're off to a good start. Can't wait to read what's to come.
Hey, thanks for the heads-up, Jeremy! I hope you can keep posting. Blessings to you and your family.
jeremy,
looks like good stuff. are we still on to see daniel johnston on thursday?
saw BOURNE and loved it. let's talk soon.
andy
encourage your readers to join the andytown nation at
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I don't know if I'll ever read The Summer of Deliverance, but I think you're really on to something. It breaks my heart sometimes to realize how casually people will dismiss the brokenness that the great artists created for themselves and others to live in, especially when the younger artists I know are beginning to emulate their idols and live out the artists' philosophies.
What really gets me is how contradictory this sort of attitude can be. How would you feel about Lord Byron if he was dating your sister? Or what about Oscar Wilde's in-laws? Of course, everyone makes mistakes, but we're much less likely to feel cheated by the unbridled hedonism of let's say, Mick Jagger or Hunter S. Thompson, because virtually all that they talk about is unbridled hedonism. There's something about how Byron, and the many others like him, are searching for (as the Moulin Rouge movie marquee announces) "truth; love; beauty; freedom," in their works, when in reality there's a narcissism under the guise of humanity, under the guise of something positive: a self-indulgence, self-absorption, victimization, and a disregard for consequences of their own actions, that would anger any of us if we were to see them being acted out by those around us. It's this contradiction between what the artist is saying, and often, how they live that angers and frightens me the most. Especially in a consumer society like our own, where often the artists very popularity is based on the value of his or her marketability. Easily sold, easily mimicked. (And as a brief footnote, I have this growing hunch that all of rap music is actually just one elaborate commercial).
I think what I find the most troublesome is how the way I have emulated the lives and adopted the philosophies of my artistic heroes, reveals itself in all its ugliness,and how in my own pursuit of "truth, beauty, love, and freedom," I've wreaked havoc on myself and those around me. Maybe I'm exceptional, but I doubt it.
thanks for the thoughts everyone.
Michael, I'm sure you're right that emulation of artistic license leads alot of folks to ruin. The theoretical romantic idealism (love! truth! beauty!) for many gets disconnected from concrete particular relationships; those ideals are easy to talk about but very difficult to practice.
what we need is a successful artist we all can emulate...like...hmmm, give me a minute...er....
Jeremy, I know this sorta beside the point, but you really should read Deliverance--the movie really hurt the novel, IMO. A friend forced me to read it, and once I started I literally didn't put it down until I was finished. I can't remember the last time that happened.
Man, that kind of hits close to home. I'm not a genius, but I am a bit of a narcissist, and my wife has to live with me 24/7. I liked this review a lot.
Jeremy, thanks for the clear understanding and kind words. The problem balancing artistic creation (which is wonderfully egotistical and terribly lonely) with emotional responsibility to family and friends is as old as cave paintings I suspect. I hope your friends take the time to read not only "Deliverance," but my father's poetry, which is some of the most accessible, exciting and sensual every written by an American author. (See Ron Rash's recent note on "Cherrylog Road" in the currrent Oxford American.) For further background -- and photographs from the making of the movie "Deliverance" check out http://jamesdickey.blogspot.com and http://dickeyscrapbook.blogspot.com and http://www.christopherdickey.com. (In the archives you can search out an essay called "Firebombings" about my father's war poetry that might be of interest.)
Keep up the good work, Jeremy. I'll look forward to reading more. All the best, Chris
Chris: thank you for a great book that means alot to many other fathers and sons out there. The book did make me more interested to read your father's work; thanks for the recs (and the guide to his works in the back of Summer of Deliverance).
And thanks friends for your kind comments.
Peace,
Jeremy
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