Understanding Dickey

Whenever I read poetry (which is not unless it is required) I always look for underlying meanings. I always feel that I have to "read between the lines." So when I started reading James Dickey's poems, I kept thinking What does this have to do with the South? Where is the racism or the "Southern belle" and gentlemen stereotypes? For a few of the poems, I think I read to far into it. Dickey seems to be pretty straightforward in his writings.

I want to re-examine the poem Cherrylog Road. When I first read this, I had some idea of what was going on. It is a love story without much romance. I didn't pick up on the other themes in this poem until we discussed it in class. The concept of the old cars as a sign of the past relates to many Southerners want to keep intact the old ways of life. The old cars sitting in the hot sun, not moving, not going anywhere, just gathered around reminds me of scenes in Their Eyes were Watching God. All the town people would gather on porches, just sitting around in the hot sun, doing the same thing every night. Usually it was older people who sat on the porch, so the representations are reminders of the past. I also like how this poem changes pace. It starts of slow and quiet, with a sense of stillness, much like life in the South is. Then, there is a degree of anticipation and a faster pace, when Doris Holbrook and this man "hook up." This again reminds me of some of the readings we have done. Something exciting happens in the town, everyone gathers and gossip begins. Then the excitement dies down and everyone goes back to their ordinary life. Just as in this poem, the girl and the man go their separate ways, back to their lives.

Another poem that I tried to interpret was The Heaven of Animals. Needless to say, I was way off in my interpretation. But nonetheless, I still enjoyed this poem. It reminds me of stories that my parents told me about our animals. Even though I had this notion that all people, no matter their age, race, gender, or lifestyle, went to the same heaven. Animals on the other hand, all went to different heavens. Dogs went to dog heaven. Cats went to cat heaven. Rabbits went to rabbit heaven. And fish eventually made their way to fish heaven. When I was young, this was the only explanation I needed. I didn't really think farther than this. But, Dickey sort of idealized this idea and made it make a little more sense. In his sense of Animal Heaven, each animal continued its way of life. Therefore, all animals would have to go to the same heaven, in order to interact as they do here on Earth. In this heaven, they continue their cycle. I think its interesting that most of us have a similar notion when it comes to this concept of heaven. Even though none of us can testify to the validity of Dickey's explanations and descriptions, we can all understand and interpret what he is saying.

Now that I understand Dickey a little better, I am starting to enjoy his poetry a little better. His presentation of stories, such as A Dog Sleeping on My Feet, Falling, Hunting Civil War Relics at Nimblewill Creek, and Cherrylog Road, give us a little insight to things he might have experienced or stories he may have heard.