"Venom," a James Dickey poem dedicated to William Haast, "a man charmed by snakes," who died last month at the age of 100

James Dickey's 1965 Note to Pitzer College - What's the Moscow Connection?

A bit of a mystery here: Laurie Babcock at Pitzer College keeps finding hitherto unseen records of James Dickey's commencement address there -- the very first -- in June 1965. This good-humored letter confirming the engagement turned up in the back of the first yearbook. Apparently it was sent from Northridge, California, where Dickey lived at the time. So, why are the Moscow addresses for the U.S. Foreign Service and The New York Times at the top of the page? Maybe they started out trying to get a correspondent or a diplomat and were rejected, then found Mr. Dickey. Anyway, we're waiting to hear back from Laurie to see if she has the answer.

Checking in on the James Dickey bench at the Jardin des Plantes, Paris

The inscription

In front of the Vivarium

The little island in the poem where snakes hung in the trees was empty until recently. Now it's a mongoose habitat. One thinks James Dickey would have found this rather pleasing.

The worn stairs of the Vivarium

The Pitzer Commencement: 1965

Thanks to Laurie Babcock at Pitzer College Office of Public Relations for e-mailing these two photographs by the late Arthur Dubinsky and the clip that explains what's going on. James Dickey, you recognize. The kid in the skinny tie is Christopher Dickey, who wasn't quite 14. The little boy is Kevin Dickey, who would have been only six, but big for his age.

Welcome back to The James Dickey Newsletter

We're delighted to see James Dickey sites beginning to multiply on the Web, and especially pleased that jamesdickey.org now takes you straight to the newly renewed James Dickey Newsletter. This is a note from its home page:

James Dickey Newsletter, continuously published since its founding in 1984, has been dedicated to the work and biography of James Dickey. Published first at DeKalb College, it moved in 2007 to the University of South Carolina. In 2010, with a move to Lynchburg College, the name was changed to James Dickey Review and emphasis on Dickey discontinued. This new digital James Dickey Newsletter returns to an exclusive concentration on Dickey and his work, resuming the on-going bibliography as well as including relevant Dickey information and articles. Comments and suggestions are welcome, as are submissions for inclusion.