Santa Ana, CA, No Publisher, 1976. A three-page (3pp) typed letter signed. A fantastic letter. Dated June 11th 1976. The letter is signed by PKD with six corrections and a postscript all in the author's hand.Â
Addressed to Claudia Bush. Bush commenced her dialogue with PKD whilst writing her thesis on him for her MA at Idaho State University. The thesis was published as "The Splintered Shards: Reality and Illusion in the Novels of Philip K. Dick." Much of the Bush correspondence is held in the Willis E. McNelly collection at California State University Fullerton; they are scarce in commerce. This letter is written in the aftermath of his 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. In What if Our World is Their Heaven, Dick asserts that this separate consciousness was present 'for one year. From February 1974 to February 1975' (p. 149).Â
The present letter is more personal letter than his usual letters to Claudia wherein PKD discusses his current relationship with Donna and having moved in with her, his relationship with Tessa and his son Christopher ("In a way I miss Tessa and Christopher"), and finally an examination of his own state ("I think now, You don't try to be a good person; you just are what you are and do what you do, and if it's good, okay, and if not, then no, and the hell with it"). Brief mention of adaptations of The Man in the High Castle and A Scanner Darkly. A fair bit of staining to this one. [11495, Hyraxia Books].