On occasion the weirdness of Philip K Dick's real life exceeding the weirdness of PKD's writing gets brought up in the SFL Archives.
Philip K Dick has always been one of the most fascinating authors I have come across. Reality and fiction, unreality into real life events, the distinctions between everything blurred when Philip K Dick got involved.
SFL ARCHIVES VOLUME 06 : VALIS inspiration?
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Date: 20 Aug 1982 1810-PDT
From: LEWIS at SRI-AI (Bil Lewis)
Subject: VALIS -- a personal review
What ever else one might wish to say about VALIS, it
is most certainly autobiographical. Philip K Dick plays the
major role, and Doris X, an old friend of mine, is the
number two figure (Sherri) through out the first half of the
book. I and various other friends appear as minor characters
or just in passing. Several others I don't know at all. The
only event that I know to be inaccurate is that Doris didn't
die in her second bout with Cancer, which implies that most
of the other weird things that occur are real.
When I returned from the Peace Corps in 1974, I met
"Phil" , a friend of Doris' who lived next door, and his
cat. He struck me as a depressed, moribund character with
little interest in people and none in living, exactly the
last type of person Doris needed at that time. I didn't
realize that this was Dick and that he and Doris were lovers
until last week.
VALIS is not so much science fiction as it is
religious/mystic fiction (however much of it really is
fiction!). Dick writes very well. He uses a huge vocabulary
makes innumerable literary references, and a fair number of
personal ones too. Having read the Bible, alot of SF & all
of Dick's works would certainly help in understanding the
book. Knowing the people involved would also.
The book is angry, confused, neurotic, and
brilliant, like Phil was. He yearns for, and half-believes
in, a mystic, quasi-religious reality where spiritual elites
exist and discover each other through subtle messages hidden
on TV and in movies. Age-old conspiracies, "Others", and
God-cum-human are an integral part of the universe. Just as
we expect these things in SF, Dick proposes them to be real.
Dick exposes himself as he is, he extols the mystic,
and bemoans his personal loss of the two girls [sic].
Ironically Doris now bemoans HER personal loss of two men,
David (a grand mal seizure), and now Phil. Somehow I find
all of this quite fitting, like closing a circle.
I cannot recommend VALIS as a book to read to very
many people. Only if you are particulary intrigued by the
questions posed above and posses a fine sense of the agony
of both life and love, and can empathize with a man's
struggling would you enjoy reading this. [Robert, YOU would
understand.]
If you still think of great writers as being all
around fantastic people, ones that are conversant,
personable, and in control of their own lives (like I did),
then avoid VALIS. He leaves few emotional stones unturned,
and they are real.
-Bil
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SFL ARCHIVES VOLUME 14 : FLOW MY TEARS & SCANNER DARKLY inspirations?
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Date: 22 Feb 89 23:21:14 GMT
From: jac@paul.rutgers.edu (J. A. Chandross)
Subject: PKD and the events of 1974/1975
In a wonderful piece of prose, maddoxt@novavax.UUCP (Thomas Maddox) writes:
> let me give you the following remarks on the difference between "android"
> and "human," written as the opening of an address Philip Dick intended to
> give at a conference in England in March, 1975. He was ill and could not
> attend; his text was published in the collection, _Science Fiction at
> Large_, which also includes Thomas Disch's brilliant and infamous "The
> Embarrassments of Science Fiction." (Edited by Peter Nicholls, the
> collection was published by Harper and Row in the United States in 1976;
> so far as I know, it is out of print.)
>
>As Dick makes clear, the distinction between "human" and "android" is not
>simple and does not simply refer to a being's manner of origin.
This essay was recently re-printed in _The Dark Haired Girl_ by PKD. This
book is highly recommended for anyone with a weakness for dark haired
women. Also included are a number of dicks essays and some correspondence.
PKD was not ill in the usual sense; he was very badly frightened. In 1974
PKD's house was broken into by a para-military group. During this robbery
his fire-proof safe was blown with mil-grade plastique and the contents,
including several stories, were stolen. So was his stereo and, oddly
enough, all of his cancelled checks for the past ten years. The police had
been warned by PKD about a possible break-in several days before the
incident, but PKD's pleas for help were largely ignored. None of PKD's
belongings were ever recovered, and the police told PKD to back off, or an
accident might happen to him. Soon after the break-in PKD began receiving
even more death threats than before. One of them stated that if he went to
a convention in Canada that he would be killed. PKD backed out at the last
minute, but did send off the Human vs Android address to be published in
the proceedings. I believe that this is the convention that Maddox is
referring to.
For more information on the harassment of PKD see:
_Only Apparently Real_ Paul Williams
This is a set of interviews with PKD only days before he died.
_The Dark Haired Girl_ PKD
Collected non-fiction essays and correspondence of PKD.
_Valis_ PKD
Fictionalized account of the events of 1974. PKD's exegesis.
Jonathan A. Chandross
Internet: jac@paul.rutgers.edu
Uucp: rutgers!jac@paul.rutgers.edu
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Date: 22 Feb 89 20:35:56 GMT
From: llt@peregrine.peregrine.com (Taylor)
Subject: PKDS (Philip K. Dick Society)
In my infrequent excursions through this newsgroup, I invariably run across
several references to Phil Dick in one context or another.
Since there is an interest in Phil and his work, I thought you might like
some information about the Philip K. Dick Society and the newsletter that
it publishes quarterly. (Please forgive me if this information has been
posted before.)
The newsletter has been published for the last six years by the PKDS under
the direction of Paul Williams, author, friend, and literary executor of
Phil's estate. Consequently, the kind of information that appears in the
newsletter is extremely varied, often quirky, and very interesting. You
would think that, in the seven years since Phil's death, interest in him
and his work would have waned. Quite the contrary. It seems that the
interest is growing, the amount of writing about Phil and his work
continues to grow, and the body of his published work also grows under
Paul's direction.
A point in fact is the recent publication of a collection of letters, and
essays called The Dark Haired Girl. It's the first compilation that I am
aware of of Phil's real-life communication (of interest, perhaps in view of
the number of postings that I have run across on the subject of Phil Dick
and reality); in this case, the common theme of the writings is Phil's life
long search for the Dark-Haired Girl.
I was one of the Dark-Haired Girls that Phil encountered in that search;
the experience took place nearly 18 years ago, and was one that very
probably shaped the direction of my life. (But then, I think that anyone
who knew Phil would also say that about their own life.) The newsletter
provides a forum for people with their own experiences to talk about them;
there is also an astonishing amount of news about Phil's work and work that
others are doing that is related.
If you write to Paul Williams, he will send you information about the
newsletter; the address is:
PKDS
Box 611
Glen Ellen, CA 95442.
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Date: 23 Feb 89 14:36:35 GMT
From: ELE@PSUVM.BITNET (Jeremy Crampton)
Subject: Re: PKD and the events of 1974/1975
jac@paul.rutgers.edu (J. A. Chandross) says:
>maddoxt@novavax.UUCP (Thomas Maddox) writes:
>> let me give you the following remarks on the difference between
>> "android" and "human," written as the opening of an address Philip Dick
>> intended to give at a conference in England in March, 1975. He was ill
>> and could not attend; his text was published in the collection, _Science
>> Fiction at Large_, which also includes Thomas Disch's brilliant and
>> infamous "The Embarrassments of Science Fiction." (Edited by Peter
>> Nicholls, the collection was published by Harper and Row in the United
>> States in 1976; so far as I know, it is out of print.)
>
>PKD was not ill in the usual sense; he was very badly frightened. In 1974
>PKD's house was broken into by a para-military group. During this robbery
>his fire-proof safe was blown with mil-grade plastique and the contents,
>including several stories, were stolen. So was his stereo and, oddly
>enough, all of his cancelled checks for the past ten years. The police
>had been warned by PKD
[stuff deleted]
>would be killed. PKD backed out at the last minute, but did send off the
>Human vs Android address to be published in the proceedings. I believe
>that this is the convention that Maddox is referring to.
You seem to be confusing two different events and time periods here. The
"ill- ness" Thomas Maddox refers to occurred in 1975 (if memory serves, it
was something to do with his heart, according to Peter Nicholls' editorial
comments; he later died of a stroke of course) and prevented him from
flying over to England where Nicholls was presenting a series of sf
lectures including the Disch essay (btw, reread that last night- it's as
relevant today as it was then), LeGuin, Garner, Harrison etc at the
Institute for Contemporary Arts in London. The talks were published as
_Explorations_of_the_Marvellous_ in the UK and _Science_Fiction_at_Large_
in the US.
As for the "para-military" group and the story you recount that follows
this statement, well. You offer this with all the seeming certainty of
fact, which is precisely what we don't have here. We have multiple
perspectives. Read the introduction to _The_Dark_Haired_Girl_ where Paul
Williams writes of the problems of "the unreliable narrator" that PKD
certainly was (there's even a warning on the copyright page about this).
For instance, it is not generally acknowledged that PKD lived in an area
where drug dealers hung out. It's my opinion that when his house was
broken into in the early 70s (around the time of Vancouver) it was actually
the police conducting a raid (he also noticed people watching him before
this I believe). This would account for the "mil-grade plastique" as you
put it, as they looked through his safe, and, of course, why they took his
cancelled checks (to see what other dealers he may have been in contact
with if he *was* a dealer himself--he wasn't of course, thus the cover-up
later by presumably highly embarrassed police). Paranoia is "infectious,"
he probably had it accentuated by the nearby dealers.
Perhaps the person who recently posted, who described herself as one of
PKD's dark-haired girls can tell us if she knows anything more about this?
These are just my opinions you understand and they're probably as invalid
as the next guy's, but I think it's better not to just uncritically accept
everything PKD said (he changed his mind so often anyway, as was ably shown
in Patricia Warrick's excellent _Mind_in_Motion_). That statement applies
to the March 1974 events as well. But you're certainly right to recommend
_The_Dark_Haired_Girl_; a real insightful book.
And anyway, let's not lose sight of what's really important: his brilliant
fiction.
Comments?
------------------------------
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Date: 24 Feb 89 02:39:55 GMT
From: jac@paul.rutgers.edu (J. A. Chandross)
Subject: Re: PKD and the events of 1974/1975
ELE@PSUVM.BITNET (Jeremy Crampton) writes:
> As for the "para-military" group and the story you recount that follows
> this statement, well. You offer this with all the seeming certainty of
> fact, which is precisely what we don't have here. We have multiple
> perspectives. Read the introduction to _The_Dark_Haired_Girl_ where Paul
> Williams writes of the problems of "the unreliable narrator" that PKD
> certainly was (there's even a warning on the copyright page about this).
I have read the introduction. PKD's description of the events of the
1970's were consistent with the narration in _Only Apparently Real_. I
don't think a paranoid schizophrenic or even a very good (and very sane)
liar could fabricate such a reasonable sequence of events and keep the
delivery so consistent. Liars get caught up by little things since the
universes they present are not self-consistent. As far as diminished
mental capacity goes, check out a neuropsychology book if you want to look
at the reasoning processes and capacity of a schizophrenic. Not what you'd
call impressive. PKD's description of the breaking fits the facts much too
well to be an outright fabrication. And a little poetic license could not
have distorted reality enough to fit the facts.
Your joe average thief does not blow a fire-proof safe. PKD came home and
found asbestos all over the place. Furthermore, he found wet towels which
were used to muffle the fire burst (although PKD did not find this the
meaning of the towels for several years.) This is the work of a
demolitions expert. Finally, there were footprints in the asbestos of
military boots, clearly identified as such by their last. It is very easy
to find plastique nowadays (thanks to the Soviets), but it was not quite so
easy in the early 70's. You had to have some serious connections.
> It's my opinion that when his house was broken into in the early 70s
> (around the time of Vancouver) it was actually the police conducting a
> raid (he also noticed people watching him before this I believe). This
> would account for the "mil-grade plastique" as you put it, as they looked
> through his safe, and, of course, why they took his cancelled checks (to
> see what other dealers he may have been in contact with if he *was* a
> dealer
This is not very likely. What dealer writes a check? And what supplier
*takes* a check. While PKD had turned his house into a haven for drug
users (who also dealt), he was not a dealer or user himself. It makes a
lot more sense that certain government groups were not amused by the
Aramchek references and might have decided to do a little checking up on
him. Nixon had such operations initiated throughout his presidency.
Remember the plumbers? They did the jobs that the CIA and FBI *refused* to
have anything to do with. PKD personally believed that it was either a
neo-Nazi or Panther group (heavy emphasis on the Panthers). I doubt that
we will ever know for sure, but I am inclined to believe his account,
Williams testimony to the contrary.
The man may have written fiction, but I know enough of how organizations
like the CIA work to believe him on this one.
Jonathan A. Chandross
Internet: jac@paul.rutgers.edu
Uucp: rutgers!jac@paul.rutgers.edu
------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: 24 Feb 89 22:38:54 GMT
From: llt@peregrine.peregrine.com (Taylor)
Subject: Re: PKD and the events of 1974/1975
I don't yet know how to quote from an article, but to respond to Jonathan
Chandross and Jeremy Crampton and your postings regarding the break-in at
Phil's house and the introduction to the Dark-Haired Girl (of which I am
one -- can we just call me Linda, please?):
First of all, the dates here are somewhat wrong. When I met Phil in 1972,
the break-in was (and continued to be for years) a major topic of
conversation. It came up often. Some details were consistent, others were
mentioned only once or twice. The missing checks were in the first category
- -- in the second was the subject of grapes. I can't remember whether they
took grapes or left grapes but something about grapes and the break-in
wigged Phil out a lot. Also, since I missed the original posting that
triggered this discussion, I don't know where the original poster heard
about this. The break-in had taken place before I met him; my impression
was late sixties. I'm feeling like "If I'd known there was gonna be a test
I would have listened better."
My impression at the time was that something clearly happened. But how much
of this story has been embellished over time is not clear.
But I do have some personal experience of Phil taking something that had
the potential to be major and blowing it entirely out of proportion.
For example, in 1972 I lived down the street from Phil. We all had
apartments close to Cal State Fullerton. (When I say "we all" I refer to
Phil and Tim Powers and others you will know if you read The Dark- Haired
Girl; Jim Blaylock and K.W. Jeter were friends of Tim's and later, Phil's,
although they did not live in our area.
One day I received notification from my landlord that the place was going
to be fumigated, we should remove everything from the cupboards, pull
drawers and their contents out and cover everything up. Then, we were to
vacate the premises for several hours.
I went over to Phil's and hung out; at the appointed hour I returned to my
apartment. When I got there, I saw that, much to my horror, they had also
pulled the drawers out of my dresser, and the top one, placed front and
center on my bed had a "lid" in it. I figured I was busted for sure, and
called Phil, looking for reassurance and possibly help. I think that, in
reality, I wasn't too scared, but, since Phil thrived on crisis, those of
us who were able to deliver crises were richly rewarded. This time was no
exception.
In no time at all, Phil had created a plan to thwart the narcs and confound
the police. It had to do with going to nearly every Carl's Junior in Orange
County and buying something, the end purpose was to have Carl's Junior bags
from so many locations that tracing the original purchaser would be nearly
impossible. Then, we would put a little bit of the marijuana in each bag.
Then, we would all take as many cars as possible, each containing Carl's
Junior bags with little stashes in them and fan out, depositing Carl's
Junior bags in Dumpsters and trash cans all over Orange County. I loved
this plan, I thought it was hilarious. Phil, however, was dead serious. He
wanted to put this plan into action. He couldn't let go of it. He analyzed
it and analyzed it and came close to convincing me, at least, that this was
only a step away from our own break-ins; almost certainly we were now under
surveillance. Phil would look out the window and point out the "undercover"
cars that were out there, only minutes away from breaking through the door.
Yes, please do read the introduction to The Dark-Haired Girl, and believe
Paul when he says that Phil is an unreliable narrator. I do not mean to
give the impression of belittling Phil and his enormously important
contributions. I was then, and am now, in complete awe of his genius. I
have yet to have an experience that comes close to discussions (about
anything) that took place with Phil, whether it was just the two of us or a
roomful of people. But, yes, for Phil, reality was distorted. I'm sorry,
but that's the way it was.
I've written a response to the material that appeared about me in The Dark
Haired Girl at Paul Williams' invitation. In it, I explore my experience of
this subject in more depth, and relate more events. As of this writing,
Paul was considering publishing it in the PKDS newsletter. In his words, he
feels that it will be a breakthrough for people to read about this side of
Phil. Specifically, what triggered my response was Paul's comment in the
introduction to TDHG that Phil was mad as a hatter, with aplogies to Tim.
Tim remains a staunch defender of Phil (or should I say to his image of
Phil). But, enough of that for now. Read the newsletter.
By the way, Jonathan, where did you hear that "PKD had turned his house
into a haven for drug users?" I'm not denying this, because I don't know,
it's just that I keep learning more and more, and bits and pieces get
filled in here and there; I don't want to accept all information
indiscriminately without checking it out first.
And anyway, to paraphrase Jeremy, "...let's not lose sight of what's really
important: his brilliant writing."
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Date: 28 Feb 89 01:28:29 GMT
From: llt@peregrine.peregrine.com (Taylor)
Subject: Re: PKD and the events of 1974/1975
Boy am I amazed at how quickly apocrypha has descended upon us. What's
amazing about the subject of the break-in of Phil's house is that it is as
least as apocryphal now as it was at the time! (As far as speculation and
ever-changing.)
I ran across the following in the second issue of the PKDS newsletter. Tim
Powers had provided some random musings which included this:
..."Sitting around in the living room...over many a jug of cheap Chianti,
Phil used to tell me about his days in Marin County... and of course,
endless retellings and speculations about the time his house in San Rafael
was so spectacularly broken into in 1971. Here are a couple of details on
that subject that may not have been published anywhere: all *open* cans or
packages, and all perishable food, were taken away, almost as though the
intruders knew of some contamination the food might have been exposed to;
Phil's car had been monkeyed with so that it wouldn't drive, but he
managed, impelled by a feeling of impending disaster, to get it to
move...he got a few miles away before it stopped for good (it was emitting
clouds of black smoke by this time, he said), and he stayed away from his
house all day... he returned at night in a cab, and though the driver went
up to the house with him, the man fled when he saw the evidences of the
break-in, and refused to call the police.
"As I'd listen to Phil tell all these stories, I'd become certain that the
authorities must still be keeping any eye on him, and probably had the
apartment bugged, and therefore knew that *I* had heard all these secrets.
I was always expecting to be shot, or grabbed and taken away to some secret
prison camp in the mountains, as I left his place. And Phil had recently
bought the Stones album "Sticky Fingers" and it was always playing in the
background, and I still can't hear "Sister Morphine" or "Moonlight Mile"
without instantly being back in that living room, me pouched in an old
brown vinyl beanbag chair, and Phil on the couch, the bottle on the table
between us, Phil frowning as he decided how much of some awful story he
dared reveal to me ("and if I told you the rest of it, Powers, you'd go
crazy.") and me nervously gulping wine and glancing at the window, afraid
I'd see a huge, diseased alien face peering in."
Phil was a wonderful storyteller, as all of us know, that being the common
thread among those of us communicating here. And his paranoia was powerful
and contagious. I also was convinced that, if indeed, his house had been
broken into by subversive groups, or worse, the government, then I too, by
association, was probably in big trouble. There was no doubt (at least not
much) that Phil's house had been broken into. But none of us had any way of
knowing how much of the details had been, well, embellished, to fit the
theory. Again, will someone let me know where the original information
about this came from?
Linda
llt@Peregrine.COM
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