Day 9: Reverb Prompt "Party"

These guys may not look like the penultimate partiers, but they are the Penultimate Dickheads and this is the gathering that "rocked my socks off" in 2010. WHY? Because after years of working on my novel "A Kindred Spirit" where Philip K. Dick is a central character, I attended the first Philip K. Dick Festival and held the Intergalactic debut of my novel there! That truly rocked my socks OFF!

I drove over 450 miles in the van, with my dog, to get there. I must say I was disappointed at first when I didn't see Woodstock-size throngs of folks covering the countryside, but the small group that did show up were hard-core Dickheads. They bought my book, and I forged friendships that extend beyond the sci-fi/metaphysical realm. Some of them are currently helping me with Q and A interviews about my novel.

Party HQ was a sprawling biker bar called Roy's "Last Shot" on a rural mountain road in between Denver and Boulder. We ate hearty food: burgers, steaks, pizza and listened to music by a group called Ubik, named after one of PKD's novels. The juxtaposition of the cerebral PKD fans with the Roy's rowdy, rugged bikers was something to see. But in the end, some of those bikers remembered reading PKD stories in their youth and actually joined us for pizza and discussions. It was a unique experience and a dream come true for me watching my private musings about Phil now perfect-bound and in the hands of the guys who knew him best.

Penultimate Dick-heads

Final thoughts on the FEST: It was a small gathering, but what we lacked in number we compensated for in knowledge and commitment. In other words, QUALITY not quantity, baby! The creme de la creme of PKD fans and scholars were there. For you non-Dicks, The Penultimate Truth is the title of one of Phil's novels. One 'zine writer (Perry Kinman) came from Japan! Frank Hollander, the penultimate PKD collector, came from Seattle. Some made the pilgrimage to the grave site at Fort Morgan (a few hours from Nederland.) Long-time fans came from Minnesota (Patrick Clark) and Missouri (Laura Entwhistle.) There were scholars: Sam Umland from Nebraska, several from California, including the dynamic duo of Gill and Davis. And others from Colorado and the great Southwest. Between the fest, my pre-release party, promo copies and sales, at least 65 FDO copies are now in circulation. I even sold one at a rest stop on I-25 (thanks to my van window screen ad.)

In an interview, Michael Bishop (who wrote my favorite PKD homage The Secret Ascension ) once said:

Philip K. Dick didn't write science fiction at all. He wrote vividly dramatized and paranoiacally imagined narratives about his own bodily involvement in, and psychic estrangement from, the major U.S. cultural neuroses of the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s... I would even go so far as to say that Dick was a mainstream novelist wholly successfully disguising himself as a science fiction writer.

So, in a way, it's hard to imagine how the festival could have been any better. All of us who attended are glad we did and feel like a secret society of Penultimate Dick-heads. Shhh, we have a secret meeting place, too. FDO on Fbook ;) More pics are posted there. OH, and Please don't forget to send your feedback on the FDO edition. You can email, tweet (#aksbook), call, or post on the Errata Sheet. Just send it no later than Labor Day, as I edit the final edition. Thanks again.

Live Blogging @ the PKD Fest

Now includes Day II: Well, here I am at the Festival in REAL time. No, that's not me. That's Patrick Clark, the FDO Guest of Honor -- an early, original PKD fan. I'm behind the camera snapping pics and writing. Events didn't begin until closer to noon and we're several speakers behind schedule. Frank Hollander has been talking for 90 minutes and sorry, but even Dickheads don't have this level of attention span for fan collection minutiae. But he does have the "holy grail" item that I won't reveal until I hunt down and buy. (See pics on FDO in the AKSbook FBook area.) Perry Kinman came all the way from Japan(amazing!) Finally we got to listen to Patrick Clark and Erik Davis and David Gill, and other speakers. There's a very small group here today, but I had a fabulous time at lunch with John Fairchild (who helped Paul Williams in the mid 80's with the PKD Society newsletters) and also edited some of the "Selected Letters" and Patrick Clark, who still publishes a Phil 'zine called PKD Otaku. He said his old 'zines are online, so here's a sample Issue #11. I would love to have this PKD Critical Interpretations by Sam Umland, who is here, but look at the price! Even $100 for Kindle version!

Sat Morning Update from icy cold van: I stayed in the lot at Roy's on 119. Great, but no elec or heat (now in the am.) Can't run the propane for frig or heat because I'm at such an angle the frig won't work. I feel drunk walking around, the van is at such an angle. (van? see pics below) Anyway, I'm running the generator for power (to email and make coffee) I'll be heading to the Gilpin Library around Noon or 1 pm for the afternoon program. It promises to be great. And as I thought, Patrick Clarck was wonderful Friday. Brought tears to my eyes -- his description of his long-time relationship with Phil. Erick and Gill talked Exegesis... that needs an entire blog post. I'll do that after today's presentations.
Finally, BOOKS, you ask. How are book sales? Meager. With less than 30 folks here you can imagine. sigh... but it's a great group and I know it will generate a lot of buzz. All these guys have active roles in the PKD Universe. and guess what, so far they like it!!

In fact, notice that Erik Davis (author of Techgnosis, Visionary State, and a consultant on Linklater's adaptation of A Scanner Darkly) has MY book, my novel lying on the table and referred to me during his remarks! I will post more on FBook later today. I have limited "juice" here in my make-shift camp zone. More soon! Sun, 8 am 8-15-2010