Typed letter signed, to Claudia Bush.

Published by [California:] 19 July 1974

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Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United KingdomPeter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB.

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Condition: Used

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Item description from seller

A typed letter signed from Dick to Claudia Bush, a university student who was writing a thesis on Dick's novels, with eight brief authorial manuscript corrections. Dick delves into the particulars of his VALIS visions and draws parallels between his own experiences and that of his friend James Pike, a controversial Episcopal bishop and the inspiration for Bishop Archer in Dick's The Transmigration of Timothy Archer (1982). Pike was the fifth bishop of California. He was an early proponent of the ordination of woman and racial desegregation within mainline churches. After the suicide of his son in 1966, Pike became a believer in spiritualism and psychic phenomena. In this letter, Dick remarks with pride that a bookseller compared his experiences to those of Pike and posits that he and Pike share a psychic connection: "all these ideas, all this classical information, was some how connected with Jim, somehow came from him". This letter is written in the aftermath of Dick's VALIS visions of 1974, which happened shortly after a wisdom tooth operation. Dick received a home delivery of opioids from a woman wearing a Christian Ichthys necklace. The symbol emitted a pink beam of light which was the catalyst for months of visionary experiences, including Dick's belief that his mind had been invaded by a benign but separate consciousness. The period of PKD's visions began in February or March of 1974, and continued for anywhere between two and 12 months. Claudia Bush was a student at Idaho State University who was working on her thesis, "The Splintered Shards: Reality and Illusion in the Novels of Philip K. Dick". She and Dick maintained an extensive and rich correspondence. This letter is published in The Selected Letters of Philip K. Dick (1991). Three leaves (280 x 216 mm) typed on side only. Fine.…

Seller Inventory # 175015

Bibliographic details

Title
Typed letter signed, to Claudia Bush.
Author
DICK, Philip K.
Publisher
[California:] 19 July 1974
Signed
Signed by Author(s)

Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB.

London, United Kingdom

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AbeBooks seller since July 26, 1999

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Peter Harrington Antiquarian Bookseller has grown to become one of the largest and best known rare booksellers in Europe. Member of the ABA and ILAB. Visit us in the UK at 100 Fulham Road, Chelsea, London SW3 6HS Phone +44 (0)20 7591 0220 Fax +44 (0)20 7225 7054 www.peterharrington.co.uk

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