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Peter Fitting and others explain the backstory on Dick's popularity in France in several essays contained in On Philip K. Dick: 40 Articles From Science-Fiction Studies (1992).
Just a note on how obvious the pre-internet "black hole" is here. There's an enormous amount of information on PKD and France because of this colloquium that took place in June 1987, but there's almost nothing digitized. Makes one wonder just how much information is lost or inaccessible.
French science fiction fans were drawn to Dick for different reasons than Americans. Howard (1999) writes: "Dick is especially popular in France. Pascal J. Thomas maintains that one of the principal aspects that lads to Dick's popularity in France is his particular brand of left-wing individualism. For Thomas, Dick's fiction embodies the French suspicion of institutions and depicts an anti-authoritarian stance that is especially palatable to the French. Thomas refers to Dick's anarchic sensibility and his (Dick's) description of defiant attitudes to government and other institutions as the common ground between Dick and his French S.F. fans. He suggests that Dick's interest in paranoia is a point in common between Dick and the French national character. Also among Thomas's claims is that the isolated person who has no one who can empathise with him is emblematic of paranoia, but that paranoia is a sensible outlook under the circumstances Dick describes...According to Thomas it is Dick's particular brand of anarchism - which sees individuals as existing within the fray instead of above the fray - that appeals. He describes Dick's characters as nearly invisible in a situation: i.e., individuals hiding in crowds would be characters with particular appeal to the French." [Note from Viriditas, this is very interesting because Dick was known to suffer from some form of enochlophobia/agoraphobia.]
Dick himself answers the question in one of the major Metz interviews.
[1] He makes it clear that he believes the reason he is popular in France is simply because his early life was spent reading French novelists. Later on, according to Dick, his science fiction would incorporate elements of these writers, such as Balzac.
Conference details
Bizarre controversy involving
Peter Nicholls,
Harlan Ellison, and PKD, which continued from 1975-1982, ending upon Dick's death.
Culminates in loud argument at the conference, instigated by Nicholls, resulting in Ellison and PKD having a very public fight for an hour. (Sutin)
PKD on the subject: "I've met many other SF writers and become close friends with a number of them. For instance, I've known Harlan Ellison since 1954. Harlan hates my guts. When we were at the Metz Second Annual SF Festival last year, in France, see, Harlan tore into me; we were in the bar at the hotel, and al kinds of people, mostly French, were standing around. Harlan shredded me. It was fine; I loved it. It was sort of like a bad acid trip; you just have to kick back and enjoy; there is no alternative. But I love that little bastard. He is a person who really exists."
Dispute is seemingly "resolved" after Dick's death in 1982 with a discussion of the history in Science Fiction Review 48 (August 1983).
Ellison paints Nicholls here as the bad actor, and casts doubts on many of his unusual claims about PKD
Nevertheless, both Ellison and Nicholls shared the same reaction to PKD while he was alive; both thought he was mad as a hatter
The Divine Madness of Philip K. Dick (2016), by clinical psychologist Kyle Arnold, presents the most thorough summary of the speech that is rooted in both Dick's 1974 experience and his philsophical background. It's interesting to read Arnold's summary of it, as he makes it clear and accessible. TBD.
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Science Fiction, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of
science fiction on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join
the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Science FictionWikipedia:WikiProject Science FictionTemplate:WikiProject Science Fictionscience fiction articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Philosophy, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of content related to
philosophy on Wikipedia. If you would like to support the project, please visit the project page, where you can get more details on how you can help, and where you can join the general discussion about philosophy content on Wikipedia.PhilosophyWikipedia:WikiProject PhilosophyTemplate:WikiProject PhilosophyPhilosophy articles
Peter Fitting and others explain the backstory on Dick's popularity in France in several essays contained in On Philip K. Dick: 40 Articles From Science-Fiction Studies (1992).
Just a note on how obvious the pre-internet "black hole" is here. There's an enormous amount of information on PKD and France because of this colloquium that took place in June 1987, but there's almost nothing digitized. Makes one wonder just how much information is lost or inaccessible.
French science fiction fans were drawn to Dick for different reasons than Americans. Howard (1999) writes: "Dick is especially popular in France. Pascal J. Thomas maintains that one of the principal aspects that lads to Dick's popularity in France is his particular brand of left-wing individualism. For Thomas, Dick's fiction embodies the French suspicion of institutions and depicts an anti-authoritarian stance that is especially palatable to the French. Thomas refers to Dick's anarchic sensibility and his (Dick's) description of defiant attitudes to government and other institutions as the common ground between Dick and his French S.F. fans. He suggests that Dick's interest in paranoia is a point in common between Dick and the French national character. Also among Thomas's claims is that the isolated person who has no one who can empathise with him is emblematic of paranoia, but that paranoia is a sensible outlook under the circumstances Dick describes...According to Thomas it is Dick's particular brand of anarchism - which sees individuals as existing within the fray instead of above the fray - that appeals. He describes Dick's characters as nearly invisible in a situation: i.e., individuals hiding in crowds would be characters with particular appeal to the French." [Note from Viriditas, this is very interesting because Dick was known to suffer from some form of enochlophobia/agoraphobia.]
Dick himself answers the question in one of the major Metz interviews.
[1] He makes it clear that he believes the reason he is popular in France is simply because his early life was spent reading French novelists. Later on, according to Dick, his science fiction would incorporate elements of these writers, such as Balzac.
Conference details
Bizarre controversy involving
Peter Nicholls,
Harlan Ellison, and PKD, which continued from 1975-1982, ending upon Dick's death.
Culminates in loud argument at the conference, instigated by Nicholls, resulting in Ellison and PKD having a very public fight for an hour. (Sutin)
PKD on the subject: "I've met many other SF writers and become close friends with a number of them. For instance, I've known Harlan Ellison since 1954. Harlan hates my guts. When we were at the Metz Second Annual SF Festival last year, in France, see, Harlan tore into me; we were in the bar at the hotel, and al kinds of people, mostly French, were standing around. Harlan shredded me. It was fine; I loved it. It was sort of like a bad acid trip; you just have to kick back and enjoy; there is no alternative. But I love that little bastard. He is a person who really exists."
Dispute is seemingly "resolved" after Dick's death in 1982 with a discussion of the history in Science Fiction Review 48 (August 1983).
Ellison paints Nicholls here as the bad actor, and casts doubts on many of his unusual claims about PKD
Nevertheless, both Ellison and Nicholls shared the same reaction to PKD while he was alive; both thought he was mad as a hatter
The Divine Madness of Philip K. Dick (2016), by clinical psychologist Kyle Arnold, presents the most thorough summary of the speech that is rooted in both Dick's 1974 experience and his philsophical background. It's interesting to read Arnold's summary of it, as he makes it clear and accessible. TBD.
