Special thanks to Vexillologist for the recommendation.
"...we all lie to ourselves; we tell our own selves more lies than we ever do other people."
-- Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928 – March 2, 1982) was an American writer known for his work in science fiction.
His fiction explored varied philosophical and social themes, and featured recurrent elements such as alternate realities, simulacra, monopolistic corporations, drug abuse, authoritarian governments, and altered states of consciousness.
His work was concerned with questions surrounding the nature of reality, perception, human nature, and identity.
Philip K. Dick was born in Chicago and lived most of his life in California. In 1952, he began writing professionally and proceeded to write numerous novels and short-story collections.
He won the Hugo Award for the best novel in 1962 for The Man in the High Castle and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel of the year in 1974 for Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said.
In addition to 44 published novels, Dick wrote approximately 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his lifetime.
Dick also wrote under the pen names Richard Phillipps and Jack Dowland.
Dick died on March 2, 1982, in Santa Ana, California, of heart failure following a stroke.
Although Dick spent most of his career as a writer in near-poverty, his posthumous influence has been widespread, extending beyond literary circles into Hollywood filmmaking. Many of his stories have been adapted into popular films since his death, including Blade Runner, Total Recall, A Scanner Darkly, Minority Report, Paycheck, Next, Screamers, and The Adjustment Bureau.
In 2005, Time magazine named Ubik one of the one hundred greatest English-language novels published since 1923.
In 2007, Dick became the first science fiction writer to be included in The Library of America series.
Discussion Questions :
Philip K. Dick had a very different approach on writing Science-Fiction. His stories are notable for focusing more on the psychological struggles of the characters trapped in an imaginative world, rather than on the futuristic concepts. His works make use of various themes, ideas and motifs. His very peculiar, inconceivable and singular ideas are the aesthetics of his works.
This all is what makes him unique, original and distinctive as a writer.
Do you agree?
Science fiction is also called the literature of ideas, for it deals with a wide range of ideas, concepts and themes. It also includes various elements and sub-genres.
Which theme, idea or sub-genre do you find the most fascinating?
Always open to additional comments and discussions on Philip K. Dick and his works.
If there is another author you would like to see a discussion on, please post your suggestion in the comments below for a chance to be featured in a future chapter!
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