Deliverance

James Dickey’s 1970 novel Deliverance explores themes of masculinity, the relationship between images and reality, and ideas about civilization and nature through the experience of four urban men on a canoe trip gone awry. Dickey, an influential American poet and novelist, was born in 1923 in Atlanta, Georgia. His poetry is known for its vivid imagery and exploration of nature and the human condition. Before turning to writing full time, Dickey served in World War II and the Korean War—experiences that influenced Deliverance and its themes of masculinity and violence. His accolades include the National Book Award for Poetry in 1966 for his collection Buckdancer’s Choice. Dickey’s career spanned various roles, including serving as a consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress, a position now known as the US Poet Laureate. Although he was primarily a poet, Deliverance stands out as his most famous work, later adapted into a critically acclaimed 1972 film for which Dickey wrote the screenplay.

This guide is based on the Mariner Classics paperback edition of the novel, published in 2023.

Content Warning: Deliverance contains graphic scenes of violence, sexual assault, and rape. Additionally, the source material uses offensive terms for rural and disabled people, which are replicated in this guide only in direct quotes of the source material.