About James Dickey
James Lafayette Dickey (February 2, 1923 – January 19, 1997) was an American poet, novelist, critic, and lecturer. He was appointed the 18th United States Poet Laureate in 1966. His other accolades included the National Book Award for Poetry and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Although acclaimed as a poet, Dickey is most widely known for his debut novel Deliverance (1970), which he adapted into the acclaimed 1972 film of the same name. He was previously a decorated veteran of the Second World War and the Korean War, as a navigator in the United States Air Force's 418th Night Fighter Squadron. His first book, Into the Stone and Other Poems, was published in 1960. He published his first volume of collected poems, Poems 1957-1967 in 1967 after being named a poetry consultant for the Library of Congress.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.