Welcome to Frank Views

Here you will find some of the pieces written by and of interest to Frank Bertrand. His ideas of philosophy and religion are drawn from many sources, including Philip K. Dick. Enjoy these pieces, many of them published here for the first time. They are intended to stimulate discourse and raise alternate points of view.

An important goal of "Frank Views" is to get all of us to think twice about our cherished ideas and beliefs about PKD, as well as cogently explore and explicate the motifs, themes, and ideas in his fiction AND non-fiction.

If you'd like to comment on these opinions, please post a message on the PhilipKDickFans.com Forums or send Frank an e-mail.

On Political Satire in Philip K. Dick's The Man Who Japed Some 25 years after it was published Phil Dick said of The Man Who Japed , "That was my attempt to introduce humor into the science fiction novel... it does have, for the first time, my sense of humor is beginning to show up in a novel."

Dear Phil Letter #6 Frank's sixth epistolary discourse with Phil Dick about his connection to the world's philosophical traditions.

Dear Phil Letter #5 Frank's fifth epistolary discourse with Phil Dick. In this letter, he discusses PKD's Martian Time Slip, Carl Jung and human consciousness.

Dear Phil Letter #4 Frank's fourth epistolary discourse with Phil Dick about pre-Socratic philosophy and Carl Jung.

Philip K. Dick's Final Interview A final interview with science fiction's boldest visionary, who talks candidly about Blade Runner, inner voices and the temptations of Hollywood. Transcribed in two parts from Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 3, June 1982.

The Philip K. Dick Van Dyke Show A review of a show performed before a live audience on March 24, 1989 by members of The Post-Void Radio Theater and Shockwave at Minicon 24, which was held over Easter weekend at the Radisson South Hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota. The ostensible premise of PKDVDS involves Philip K. Dick Van Dyke, who is the head writer for the Nicholas Brady Television Show (produced by Leo Bulero). Thanks to Frank Bertrand for providing the review to the site.

Interview with Tod Machover Composer of the Valis Opera based on the Philip K. Dick novel. Machover discusses the forces which led to the creation of this piece and Philip K. Dick's influence on his work. Transcribed by Frank Bertrand.

Dear Phil Letter #3 Frank's third epistolary discourse with Phil Dick about the influence of Spinoza, Plotinus and Gnosticism on his work.

Dear Phil Letter #2 Frank's second epistolary discourse with Phil Dick about the influence of German philosophy on his work.

"How Jeet Heer Betrayed Philip K. Dick Admirers to Marxist Literary Critics" Frank's criticism of the controversial article "Marxist Literary Critics Are Following Me!" in a recent issue of LinguaFranca. -

Between the Idea and the Reality: the Hollow Men in Time Out of Joint The publication of T.S. Eliot's poem "The Hollow Men" occured in 1925 while that of Philip K. Dick's novel Time Out of Joint was thirty-four years later in 1959. In spite of this time difference there is a credible connection between these two works, one that has been scarcely noted to date. And it derives from PKD's penchant for, at times, carefully seeding his stories and novels with literary allusions.

Dear Phil: An Epistolary Discourse A letter written by Frank Bertrand from the point of view of all writers. In it Frank shares his thoughts with Phil about philosophy and Phil's claim that he was an "acosmic pantheist".

My Life and Philip K. Dick: An Interview with Bruce Gillespie Frank's interview with the author of Philip K. Dick: Electric Shepherd, a series of essays about the work of PKD. He is also the publisher of SF Commentary, a science fiction fanzine from Australia that started in 1969. Bruce was a friend of Phil's and a great admirer of his work. Read the transcription of Bruce's talk The Non-science Fiction Novels Of Philip K. Dick (1928�82).

Lucy and Phil: An Interview with Lucy Sussex Frank Bertrand interviews the Australian author about her short story "Kay and Phil".

On The Quick And The Convenient A review of Andrew M. Butler's "The Pocket Essential Philip K. Dick" by Frank Bertrand. Click here to read an interview with Andrew Butler on PhilipKDickFans.com.

Internet Exclusive Frank C. Bertrand on PKD: An Interview PhilipKDickFans.com's resident philosopher discusses literature, PKD's life experiences and influences as well as his interview with the author.

Internet Exclusive A Conversation With Philip K. Dick By Richard A. Lupoff, from Science Fiction Eye, August 1987. (contributed by Frank Bertrand).

Internet Exclusive On the definition of SF: A Letter by Philip K. Dick A letter written in 1975 that has previously only appeared in French. (A working translation by Jeremy Crampton, also contributed by Frank Bertrand)

Internet Exclusive So I Don�t Write About Heroes: An Interview with Philip K. Dick Conducted by Uwe Anton & Werner Fuchs in the fall of 1977. This was the first English publication of the interview. It had previously been published three times in German. From: SF EYE, #14, Spring 1996 (transcribed and contributed by Frank C. Bertrand)

Internet Exclusive Missing or Problem Interviews with Philip K. Dick Compiled by Frank Bertrand. Many interviews with the author took place in the course of his life both on and off the record. Find out about some that may have been lost along the way. Can you help us find these missing conversations?

Philip K. Dick on Philosophy: A Brief Interview Conducted by Frank Bertrand by mail in January 1980. This interview also appears in The Shifting Realities of Philip Dick. This is the debut of the interview on the internet.

Internet Exclusive - Published here for the first time! An Interview with Philip K. Dick By Nita J. Petrunio. Thanks to Frank and Claudia Krenz Bush for sharing this unique conversation with Phil.

Internet Exclusive - Vertex Interview with Philip K. Dick By Arthur Byron Cover. Conducted in 1974, this is the first interview with the author to appear in English. A must-read.

Internet Exclusive - An Interview With Philip K. Dick From Science Fiction Review by Daniel DePerez. From 1976, a rare interview in which Dick discusses his work and career, politics and much more. (Large file - 50K but worth it!)

Click here to read some of Frank's work: More to come so check back soon. Encounters with Reality: P.K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly Kant's "Noumenal Self" and Doppelganger in P.K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly Digressions on Eye In The Sky Digressions on The Man Who Japed Digressions on Allusions in P.K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly Slivers of Sensibility: On The Splintered Shards The Use of Setting in P.K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly Tumultuous Wayfarer - A Review On Philip K. Dick: 40 articles from Science-Fiction Studies. Something Rich and Strange - P.K. Dick's "Beyond Lies the Wub" When Is A Gluck Not A Gluck - A Philosophic Exploration of P.K. Dick�s The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch Form vs. Content in P.K. Dick's "The Father-Thing" Click here for some quotes by Philip K. Dick about his influences. Articles about Philip K. Dick Hour 25: A Talk With Philip K. Dick hosted by Mike Hodel. KPFK-FM, North Hollywood, California. June 26, 1976 (transcribed by Frank Bertrand). Even Sheep Can Upset Scientific Detachment by Philip Purser. From: London Daily Telegraph, no. 506, July 19, 1974, pp. 27-30. How much of the futuristic and the metaphysical in his work is derived from Philip K. Dick's Californian past? The Work Of Philip K. Dick by John Brunner. From: New Worlds, No. 166, September 1966. The Real Ideas of Philip K. Dick by Michael Moorcock. From Vector, No. 39, April, 1966. UBIK - Two Polish Views - Edited by Frank Bertrand. (KOINOS KOSMOS June 1982) The Anxiety of Influence: About writing about the writing of Philip K. Dick�s The Man in the High Castle and Katharine Burdekin�s Swastika Night. by Lucy Sussex From: SF EYE, #15, Fall 1997.

Click to view the full size image. This painting (The Station) and the one below it (Carte Blanche) are the work of Belgian painter Ren� Fran�ois-Ghislain Magritte (1898-1967), one of Phil Dick's favorite artists. To find out more about this stylistic and creative individual, visit Magritte.com.

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Here is Frank discussing his work and his involvement in the science fiction community:

"My early interest in SF was nurtured by magazines, Ace Doubles, and the SF Book Club. I was initially "hooked" by the work of Robert Heinlein, James Blish, and Philip Jose Farmer. This evolved into a growing fascination with SF in general. I started getting fanzines, attended cons (Worldcons, Boskones, and one Lunacon), and writing LOCs. Then in college (which was interrupted by "trips" to Vietnam and Germany) I majored in Lit and minored in Philosophy and sampled widely in SF looking for writers who used philosophical ideas in their work. After all, wasn't SF reputed to be a "literature of ideas"? I also started to seriously study SF (much to the dismay of several professors) via philosophy, literary theory, the articles and books of SF writer/critics, especially Aldiss, Lem, Blish, and Delany, and the ideas of some of my "intellectual heroes," in particular Swift, Voltaire, Monty Python, Hume, Russell, and the Swedish Chef. But it wasn't until the late 1960s that I started to consistently and carefully read PKD. I soon found his short stories, novels, and non-fiction an interdisciplinary goldmine of philosophy, literature, history, and religion. As a way of combining my eclectic interests, and trying to understand the work of PKD better, I began writing essays about his fiction which eventually appeared in serconzines and small press publications in several different countries. I was also fortunate enough to be able to interview him as well as gather a lot of secondary material from around the world about PKD and his writings. More recently I wrote a series of essays for For Dickheads Only, which apparently and unfortunately has gone into hibernation (Dave Hyde, where are you?). So I'm now continuing on, at the reluctant grandfather stage of my life, via PhilipKDickFans.com (my thanks to the adventuresome Jason K.), with a page titled after a column I used to do for a serconzine out of the Univ. of Western Australia. And please note that an important goal of "Frank Views" is to get all of us to think twice about our cherished ideas and beliefs about PKD, as well as cogently explore and explicate the motifs, themes, and ideas in his fiction AND non-fiction. I hope a lot of you will want to join in this exploration as well as give me any and all constructive feedback." (FCB 1/99)