Philip K. Dick

Philip K. Dick was a visionary writer of science fiction. His works speak to contemporary fears of being continually watched by technology, and the paranoia of modern life in which we watch ourselves and lose our sense of identity. Since his death in 1982, Dick’s writing remain frighteningly relevant to 21st century audiences. Dick spent his life in near poverty and it was only after his death that he gained popular and critical recognition. In this new collection of essays, interviews, and talks, Philip K Dick is rediscovered. Concentrating both on recent critical studies and on reassessing his legacy in light of his new status as a “major American author,” these essays explore, just what happened culturally and critically to precipitate his extraordinary rise in reputation. The essays look for his traces in the places he lived, in the SF community he came from, and in his influence on contemporary American literature and culture, and beyond.

David Sandner is a professor of English at California State University, Fullerton.

Donald E. Palumbo is a professor of English at East Carolina University. He lives in Greenville, North Carolina.

C.W. Sullivan III is Distinguished Professor of arts and sciences at East Carolina University and a full member of the Welsh Academy. He is the author of numerous books and the on-line journal Celtic Cultural Studies.

Edited by David Sandner

Series Editors Donald E. Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 226
Bibliographic Info: 16 photos, notes, bibliographies, appendix, index
Copyright Date: 2020
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7789-7
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3919-2
Imprint: McFarland
Series: Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy

Acknowledgments vii
Introduction to Philip K. Dick Now That He Is Philip K. Dick
David Sandner 1

Future Ecologies
Philip K. Dick’s Futuristic Ecologies
Ursula Heise 14
From Soft Totalitarianism to TV Introjection: Philip Kindred Dick and the Tube
Umberto Rossi 32
Voices, Consciousness and the Bicameral Mind: A Scanner Darkly on the Road to Julian Jaynes’ Psychology
Richard Feist 46
Ubik Does Not Yet Exist: Reading Ubik as a Case of Extro–Science Fiction
Sean Matharoo 61
Rereading Dick’s Mainstream Fiction within a Science Fiction Framework
Gabriel Cutrufello 71
Evolving Dickian Criticism: The Exegesis and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Michael ­Kvamme-O’Brien 83
Philip Dick, the Earthshaker
Gregg Rickman 99
Galactic ­Pot-Healer: A Singular Way Station
Gary Westfahl 107

Archaeologies
The Philip K. Dick Society: A Preliminary Archaeology
Jonathan Lethem 116
PKD at California State University, Fullerton: A ­Question-and-Answer Session with Nicole Vandever and Paige Patterson
Tim Powers and James Blaylock 137
PKD Goes to the Movies: A Panel Discussion
Daniel Gilbertson, Gary Westfahl and Paul Sammon 153
Dick’s SoCal Dream
Jonathan Lethem in Conversation with Samuel Sousa 171

Appendix: Images and Ephemera from the 2016 Philip K. Dick Conference 187
About the Contributors 213
Index 215

“There are some excellent and informative insights into Hollywood’s interpretations. … An important book about an important writer. It’ll broaden and deepen even an aficionado’s understanding and appreciation of one of the 20th century’s most important and influential writers. 5 stars”—Fortean Times