Author: Philip K. Dick

Publisher: Vintage

ISBN: 9780679747871

Category: Literary Criticism

Page: 386

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“What Kafka was to the first half of the twentieth century, Philip K. Dick is to the second half.”—Art Spiegelman, author of MAUS Philip K. Dick was both our most brilliant science fiction writer and a visionary philosopher who chose to couch his speculations in fiction. For, as he wrote about androids and virtual reality, schizophrenic prophets and amnesiac gods, Dick was also posing fundamental questions: What is reality? What is sanity? And what is human? This unprecedented collection of Dick’s literary and philosophical writings acquaints us with the astonishing range and eloquence of his lifelong inquiry. The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick includes autobiography, critiques of science fiction, and dizzyingly provocative essays such as “The Android and the Human” and “If You Find This World Bad, You Should See Some of the Others.” Readers will also find two chapters of a proposed sequel to Dick’s award-winning novel The Man in the High Castle and selections from the metaphysical Exegesis that inspired his classic VALIS. Witty, erudite, and exploding with intellectual shrapnel, this is the last testament of an American original. This collection confirms Dick’s reputation as one of the foremost imaginative thinkers of the twentieth century. “A wide-ranging selection of free-wheeling philosophical essays, and journal entries; humorous, thoughtful speeches; and plot scenarios. . . . For both casual and serious Dick fans, The Shifting Realities unearths some gems.”—Boston Phoenix

Author: Jacek Fabiszak,Ewa Urbaniak-Rybicka,Bartosz Wolski

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

ISBN: 3642219942

Category: Language Arts & Disciplines

Page: 532

View: 733

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The book contains a selection of papers focusing on the idea of crossing boundaries in literary and cultural texts composed in English. The authors come from different methodological schools and analyse texts coming from different periods and cultures, trying to find common ground (the theme of the volume) between the apparently generically and temporarily varied works and phenomena. In this way, a plethora of perspectives is offered, perspectives which represent a high standard both in terms of theoretical reflection and in-depth analysis of selected texts. Consequently, the volume is addressed to a wide scope of both scholars and students working in the field of English and American literary and cultural studies; furthermore, it will be of interest also to students interested in theoretical issues linked with investigations into literature and culture.

Author: Anthony Peake

Publisher: Arcturus Publishing

ISBN: 1782129146

Category: Biography & Autobiography

Page: 454

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Philip K. Dick was a writer who drew upon his own life to address the nature of drug abuse, paranoia, schizophrenia and transcendental experiences of all kinds. More than 10 major Hollywood movies are based on his work including Blade Runner, A Scanner Darkly, Total Recall, Minority Report and The Adjustment Bureau. Born in 1929 just before the Great Crash, Dick's twin sister died when she was a month old and his parents were divorced by the time he was three. In his teens, he began to show the first signs of mental instability, but by then he was already producing fiction writing of a visionary nature.

Author: Iren Boyarkina

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

ISBN: 1527579409

Category: Literary Criticism

Page: 150

View: 4520

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This book focuses on the analysis of various passages across enclosures and the spacetime continuum in science fiction literature. It provides a rich arsenal of analytical instruments for the study of these very popular concepts in the genre of science fiction, and synthesizes current practical and theoretical approaches in science fiction written by active researchers and practitioners in this field. Taking this into consideration, this book will serve as a bedrock to help educators, researchers and students to conduct their research in the field of literature in general and in science fiction in particular. The volume brings together cutting-edge research in the fields of narrative analysis, literary and linguistic analysis, quantum physics, and astrophysics, among others, while the complexity and novelty of the eight essays gathered here offer fresh views on the topic and will stimulate the intellectual curiosity of various readers across different fields of research.

Author: Laurence A. Rickels

Publisher: U of Minnesota Press

ISBN: 0816666652

Category: Literary Criticism

Page: 451

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"Aside from its perfect fit of critic and subject, Laurence A. Rickels's book provides the most thorough and exhaustive reading of Philip K. Dick's literary work that exists. He goes through all the novels literally, both the science fiction works and the so-called mainstream novels Dick did not publish in his lifetime. The reader of science fiction should welcome a book like this, which is both knowledgeable of the SF tradition tradition and creatively analytical. I could not put this book down once I began to read it".---George Slusser, University of California, Riverside --

Author: David Sandner,Donald E. Palumbo,C.W. Sullivan III

Publisher: McFarland

ISBN: 1476677891

Category: Literary Criticism

Page: 227

View: 1867

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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.

Author: Paul Levy

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

ISBN: 1644114119

Category: Body, Mind & Spirit

Page: 336

View: 7145

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• Explores how wetiko covertly operates both out in the world and within our minds and how it underlies every form of self-destruction, both individual and collective • Reveals how wetiko’s power lies in our blindness to it and examines how people across the ages have symbolized wetiko to help see it and heal it • Examines the concept of wetiko as it appears in the teachings of the Kabbalah, Hawaiian Kahuna shamanism, mystical Christianity, and the work of C. G. Jung In its Native American meaning, wetiko is an evil cannibalistic spirit that can take over people’s minds, leading to selfshness, insatiable greed, and consumption as an end in itself, destructively turning our intrinsic creative genius against our own humanity. Revealing the presence of wetiko in our modern world behind every form of destruction our species is carrying out, both individual and collective, Paul Levy shows how this mind-virus is so embedded in our psyches that it is almost undetectable--and it is our blindness to it that gives wetiko its power. Yet, as Levy reveals in striking detail, by recognizing this highly contagious mind parasite, by seeing wetiko, we can break free from its hold and realize the vast creative powers of the human mind. Levy explores how artists, philosophers, and spiritual traditions across the ages have been creatively symbolizing this deadly pathogen of the psyche so as to help us see it and heal it. He examines the concept of wetiko as it appears in the teachings of the Kabbalah, Hawaiian kahuna shamanism, Buddhism, and mystical Christianity and through esoteric concepts like egregores, demons, counterfeiting spirits, and psychic vampires. He reveals how visionary thinkers such as C. G. Jung, Sri Aurobindo, Philip K. Dick, Colin Wilson, Nicolas Berdyaev, and Rene Girard each point to wetiko in their own unique and creative way. He explores how the projection of the shadow self--scapegoating --is the underlying psychological mechanism fueling wetiko and examines wetiko in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, showing that we can reframe the pandemic so as to receive the lessons and opportunities embedded in it. Revealing how the power of imagination can cure the wetiko mind-virus, Levy underscores how important it is for each of us to bring forth the creative spirit within us, which helps shed the light of consciousness on wetiko, taking away its power over us while simultaneously empowering ourselves.

Author: Jason P. Vest

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

ISBN: 9780803218604

Category: Literary Criticism

Page: 260

View: 8249

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Examines the first eight cinematic adaptations of Dick's fiction in light of their literary sources.