Jonathan Lethem, who edited the Library of America's recent omnibus Philip K. Dick: Four Novels of the 1960s, gave a lecture this evening at the Cooper Union in New York on PKD. Lethem read an excerpt from his introduction to the Pantheon volume Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick as well as his short story "Phil in the Marketplace," which offers a fantastical interpretation of some key moments in Phil's life. Following the reading Lethem took questions for half an hour or so, discussing The Transmigration of Timothy Archer, the word "crazy," the good and bad PKD film adaptations, and the "sobering experience" of immersing himself in the details of Phil's life while editing the LOA volume.
Lethem was introduced by an LOA editor (unfortunately I didn't catch his name), who announced the contents of the LOA's second collection of Philip K. Dick's works, also edited by Lethem. (Drum roll...)
Martian Time-Slip
Dr. Bloodmoney, or How We Got Along After the Bomb
Now Wait For Last Year
Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said
A Scanner Darkly
Excellent choices all, though Now Wait For Last Year strikes me as a bit of an oddball. I can definitely see some strong reasons for including it, but my vote would have gone for the theologically rich A Maze of Death. I really can't quibble, thought—it sounds like an excellection collection.
Ah, to live in New York… wish I could have been there for that. It's hard to imagine a cooler evening—for PKD fans, I mean.
Also, some strange disturbed part of me still wants to see Paycheck. Is it really that bad? Worse than Total Recall bad?
Posted by: Ian Stewart | October 01, 2007 at 06:51 PM
You know how there's that one scene in Total Recall where the guy tries to convince Arnold to take the pill that will make him wake up, and it's actually moderately Dickian and the best part of the whole movie? (Lethem even mentioned it, in fact). Well... Paycheck doesn't have a scene like that.
Posted by: Gabriel Mckee | October 02, 2007 at 07:18 AM
I agree with you that I would have much preferred Maze of Death instead of Last Year. Maze is prolly one of my top three PKD books.
Also, I would have substituted Penultimate Truth for Martian Time Slip.
Posted by: Maury Souza | April 24, 2008 at 12:23 PM