A decade after he died, a conference was held in South Carolina in January 2007, to consider why the work of southern US poet and novelist Dickey (1923-97) has slid from public and academic attention since his 1970 novel Deliverance, and what might be done to revive interest in it. Scholars of literature, most from the South but also as far as Utah and Ireland, present 18 essays on influence and reputation debates, artistic and myth-making experiences, religious matters, cultural and societal contexts, and gender issues. Among specific topics are writing one's immortality, Dickey's male self and the other, the theme of the visionary poet, his war poetry, and male sexuality in Deliverance. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)