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Caligraphy Books
2008-06-05 18:03:00
The Best Calligraphy Books by Jim Cox of Melbourne, AustraliaBefore the beginning of the 20th Century little had been written about calligraphy except The Story of the Alphabet by Edward Clodd and Maude Thompson 's fine work on Greek and Latin Paleography together with his volume on English Illuminated Manuscripts, published in 1895 and out of print before 1906. But since the time that Edward Johnston published his book on Writing, Lettering and Illuminating a steady stream of works upon all aspects of the subject have been written; probably it was because of the interest aroused by the pioneers in the practical side of the craft that this flow of literature occurred, both here and in the United States.The following are among the most important. The British Museum published a guide to the collection of manuscripts they had in 1906. About the same time John W. Bradley was publishing illustrated books on illuminating, its history and development. During 1907 the British Museum publis...

Georges Herge
2008-06-05 17:55:00
Georges Herge Creator of Tintin, The Final Yearsby Holly FranklinThe Herge 's Studio 's was set up in April 1950 in order to lighten Herge's workload after his second breakdown. He employed assistants such as the artist Bob de Moor to help produce The Adventures of Tintin. This was to be the case for the rest of the Tintin albums where assistants would fill in the details and backgrounds such as the lunar landscapes in Explorers on the Moon.Many believe the new set up allowed Herge to craft some of his finest creations with The Calculus Affair produced in 1954 considered by many Herge 's most refined work. The drama in Herge life was to continue however with his 25 year marriage to Germaine at breaking point after Herge had fallen for a young artist who had recently joined his studio Fanny Vlaminck. Herge was suffering strong recurring nightmares. He was advised by a psychoanalyst to give up working on Tintin. Herge decided to the opposite and launched himself into Tintin i...
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Horse Racing
2008-06-05 17:48:00
Horse Racing in LiteratureArticle provided by TRP Services and SmartFindsMarketing.comHorse racing, the second most-popular spectator sport in America, remains as vital as ever, but its age, high drama, and historical appeal as the "sport of kings" ensure that it also has a place in the history of literature. Countless writers have been drawn, in their search for subject matter, to the romance of the racetrack - the triumph and tragedy of equestrian life. It'd take the endurance of a draft-horse to compile a complete list of such novels - ex-thoroughbred-horse-racer-turned-myster y writer Dick Francis alone has written a small library of them - but here are some of the more important. National VelvetA classic of childrens' literature, this 1935 novel by Enid Bagnold tells the story of Velvet Brown, a working-class English teenager who unexpectedly realizes her dream of keeping and racing thoroughbred horses when a mysterious old man leaves her a racing horse in his will. A memorabl...
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Melissa Marr
2008-06-05 17:13:00
Melissa Marrby Steven WilliamsMelissa Marr is an up and coming author currently writing fantasy horror fiction for young adults. After college and graduate school she taught both Literature and Gender Studies at the undergraduate level. Her earlier diverse work experience includes stints running a biker bar as well as working at an archaeological dig. She is also a rape survivor. Initially she began writing short fiction and poetry for various literary 'Zines in 2004 as an exploration of the possibilities open to her as a writer. In the end, she decided to concentrate on fiction. Wicked Lovely actually developed out of a short story she wrote in 2004. She reviewed the story about one year after its initial writing and still felt inspired by it and so she then went on to develop the story into a novel. The quality of her writing eventually earned her a contract with HarperCollins for three young adult fiction novels. With the success of Wicked Lovely and the good reviews for Ink Exc...
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Chris Grabenstein
2008-03-28 03:39:00
Chris Grabensteinby Steven WilliamsChris Grabenstein was born in Buffalo, New York and moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee with his family when he was ten years old because of his father's job transfer. He grew up in Tennessee and also went on to college at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville where he graduated in 1977 with a journalism communications degree. At university he was equally involved in his writing and in his acting with the university's Clarence Brown Theatre. In 1979 he left Chattanooga for New York City where he became an improvisational comedian with a Greenwich Village comedy troupe in the early 1980s named The First Amendment Theatre. His comedy work was an evening gig done for the love of the work while he worked a day job as a typist in a bank to pay the rent. His enjoyment of improvisational acting is reflected in the fact that he still occasionally performs. After five years with the improv group, he was hired as a professional advertising writer based on h...
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Beer Bread
2008-03-19 02:38:00
Beer Bread , a bronze age flavor variation with other ideasby Steven WilliamsThe basic ingredients of beer are water, barley, yeast, and hops. In fact, this list of ingredients is the same as the one listed in the oldest food quality regulation in the world, The Reinheitsgebot. This regulation or law is best known in English as the German Beer Purity Law. The Reinheitsgebot was first put into legal effect in 1516 and stipulated that beer should only contain water, barley, and hops. Yeast was not considered an ingredient because it was not known to be a microorganism until the mid-nineteenth century. Not surprisingly, these basic ingredients used to make beer (water, grain, and yeast) happen to be almost exactly the same ingredients used in the simplest breads. It is because of this similarity in ingredients that beer has such a complimentary effect when it is used as a primary ingredient for 'quick' bread, and it is also why the beer bread type of 'quick' bread tastes so good. Th...
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Jane K. Cleland
2008-03-13 19:00:00
Jane K. Cleland, amateur sleuth cozy mysteries with a flavoring of ?The Antiques Roadshow?by Steven WilliamsJane K. Cleland is an emerging new writer of amateur sleuth cozy mysteries. Her books feature the recurring character Josie Prescott and some reviewers have made comparisons of Cleland's antiques focused mysteries to the PBS series The Antiques Roadshow. Both the setting and the experiences of her Josie Prescott character is based on the author's own experiences as a one-time owner of a rare book and antiques store in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Especially the complexity of appraising antiques. Cleland currently lives in New York City with her husband. In addition to writing, Cleland runs her own business communications firm an outgrowth of her earning an MBA from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. The business side focuses on writing seminars for the American Management Association and developing and facilitating specific workshops for clients. In her mystery fictio...
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Blood In The Inkwell
2008-03-13 18:55:00
Blood In The Inkwell, the controversy surrounding the Danish 'Muhammad' cartoonsby Paul O'BrienAround the world, people have been taking to the streets in protest - and people have even been dying - over cartoons. Paul O'Brien looks at both sides of the controversy surrounding the Danish 'Muhammad' cartoons.13 February 2006Source: Ninth ArtChances are you'll be sick of reading about the Danish cartoons controversy by now, but indulge me. After all, this is one of those rare occasions that something loosely bearing on comics has been genuinely newsworthy in the outside world. This whole mess has been deeply unpleasant to watch for all manner of reasons. It would have been nice to think that it would at least prompt some serious discussion about the way we relate to a very different culture, and how far we should go to acknowledge religious sensibilities. To some extent that has happened, but for the most part we've been regaled by the sight of two camps screaming at one anoth...
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Ace Atkins
2008-03-12 20:49:00
Ace Atkins , a satisfying blend of Blues music and noir fictionby Steven WilliamsAce Atkins has been published professionally since 1998 with six novels in print. They have been critically well received and have also earned their author an enthusiastic popular following. Atkins attended Auburn College on a football scholarship majoring in screenplay writing and it was here that he began writing short stories as a freshman. He was actually able to complete about half of his first novel while still in school, even though he was playing football for the college team. After graduation, Atkins decided to begin working in journalism as an apprenticeship to his long-term goal of writing fiction. He first worked for about one year at The St. Petersburg Times as a pickup writer or correspondent, primarily writing sports, features, and quite a few book reviews and he believes this gave him the edge he needed as a writer when he moved on to The Tampa Tribune as a full-time crime reporter. His i...

Fictional Cities
2008-03-10 21:36:00
The Real Cities We Know and the Fictional Cities They Inspireby Paul O'BrienNew York plays host to a lot of stories, but this past weekend (New York Comic-Con, February 25th and 26th, 2006) was the first time it played host to a major comic convention. Paul O'Brien looks at the distance between the real cities we know and the fictional cities they inspire.27 February 2006Source: Ninth ArtThe article which follows is not really about comics. Or maybe it is. I'm not sure. Before writing one of these columns, I usually go back and check the news sites just in case there's something I'm overlooking (or, even better, something obscure yet interesting). As I sat down this week, it struck me that I couldn't remember anything at all happening recently. Mind you, I've been busy, so maybe I just wasn't paying attention. But after going through the usual routine I satisfied myself that, yes indeed, nothing very memorable had happened. Marvel have put out some financial results, and Top...

Charlie Stella
2008-03-10 21:29:00
Charlie Stella , a master of crime fiction dialogueby Steven WilliamsCharlie Stella, born Carmello Stella in 1956, is a critically and popularly successful American writer of crime novels. Stella is a New York City native and grew up to become very much the sort of man that many of his characters are, a big Italian knockaround king of guy who could easily be imagined as if not mistaken for a hit man. The style of his books has been compared to those of Mario Puzo and Elmore Leonard. Initially he wrote off Broadway and off-off Broadway plays for about fifteen years before his first novel was published, Eddie's World. Although Stella had produced two novels about eight years before Eddie's World, it was this book that earned him an agent and this in turn allowed him to finally get a publisher. The most insightful critical reviews of Stella's work have tended to focus on the author's effective portrayals of low-level criminals, particularly their realistic dialogue. It is also a par...
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Truth in Art
2008-03-10 21:25:00
Is there truth in art? Does the artist reveal truth?by Paul O'BrienIs there truth in art? Storytellers place great value in the power of fiction to communicate ideas - but does the artist reveal truth, or just an amazing simulation? Paul O'Brien looks for the facts in fiction.Source: Ninth Art"Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot." - SANDMAN #19Judging from the context in which that line appears, Neil Gaiman seems to consider it a rather pleasing thought. It's from the 'Midsummer Night's Dream' issue, where Oberon watches the play and politely points out that none of it actually happened. Dream insists that this doesn't actually matter, for the reasons I've quoted. This view is not particularly unusual among writers - perhaps unsurprisingly, since it's also an assertion of the importance of what they do for a living. In large part they're right, but I've never found...
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Louise Penny
2008-03-08 00:09:00
Louise Penny , rural Québecois village life and intricate plotsby Steven WilliamsLouise Penny was born in 1958 in Toronto. Penny began her professional career as a journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in Toronto and moved, as part of her job, to Thunder Bay at the far tip of Lake Superior, in Ontario. There, she worked as a radio host and acknowledges that it was here that she learned a great deal about both the business of radio and the art of interviewing, especially regarding the importance of listening. Penny moved on to Winnipeg and the production of documentaries as well as the hosting of a CBC afternoon radio show. She next moved to Quebec City in order to take advantage of an opportunity to host a morning program, which provided a much larger audience. The next move was to Montreal to host another afternoon program. It was after moving to Montreal that Penny met her future husband. It was also at this point that Penny decided to begin writing traditiona...
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Jacqueline Winspear
2008-03-06 20:35:00
Jacqueline Winspear, a vivid recreator of Britain between the warsby Steven WilliamsJacqueline Winspear is a critically recognized and popular mystery writer. She was born in the county of Kent in England. Her working career includes work as a nanny as well as the publishing industry in England working in sales and marketing, eventually working as a sales and marketing communications consultant for ten years. Winspear emigrated to the United States in 1990 and now lives in Northern California with her husband, dividing her time between Ojai in Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area. Although she has made her home in the US, she remains a regular visitor to the UK and Europe. She is best known for her series of mysteries set in the late 1920s and 1930s England starring the recurring character Maisie Dobbs and the effectiveness of the author's research, enriching her stories within a universe of period detail.The settings for Winspear's mystery novels are also noted for ...

Richard Matheson
2008-02-18 03:38:00
Richard Matheson, I am Legend and its theatrical releasesby Steven WilliamsRichard Matheson is the author of the novel I am Legend, on which the 2007 film of the same name is loosely based. The book has been used to produce four films, three for theatrical release (The Last Man on Earth, 1964; The Omega Man, 1971; I am Legend 2007) and one straight to DVD release (I am Omega, 2007). While the straight to DVD release is not particularly important, the three theatrical releases, their difference among themselves, and their differences from the author's original novel make for some interesting discussion of book to film adaptations. Matheson was born in New Jersey in 1926, the son of Norwegian immigrants. In 1949 he received an bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. In 1951 he moved to California where he married in 1952. The couple had four children, coincidently three of them going on to become writers themselves.Matheson's professional writing career beg...
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Fava beans
2008-02-15 02:02:00
Spring Fava Beans , Roman Styleby Steven WilliamsA favorite, traditional Roman appetizer available in the Spring is Fava Beans with Prosciutto Romano and slices of Pecorino Romano cheese.(In Sicily, Fava beans are associated with the La Festa di San Giuseppe or the Feast of Saint Joseph on March nineteenth, the unofficial saint of fava beans which are considered bearers of luck and health at this time.) Fava beans that are fresh, small, and tender and direct from the field, are a seasonal Spring treat and a particular favorite in Rome. In choosing Spring Fava beans, remember that those larger than three-quarters of an inch or with a shell that has begun to yellow will be too mature to be eaten fresh because they will be starchy and bitter. Fava bean consumption has been growing in popularity with twenty-first century cooks and as a consequence availability of fresh, young, Spring Favas has expanded considerably.Fava beans, whose most common alternate name is the Broad bean, were the ...

Texas History Movies
2008-01-31 04:11:00
Texas History Movies , its publishing history and reincarnationsby Steven WilliamsOne of the most influential books educating Texans about their own state's history has been Texas History Movies which is not strictly speaking a book in the traditional meaning of the word. Texas History Movies was actually a comic strip series that was initially published in the late 1920s and it achieved its popularity and notoriety by combining simple but effectively drawn cartoon scenes with accompanying explanatory historical text. The people and events depicted in the comics were all based on events important to development of the state. The history covered spanned the time period from about 1530 to 1885. The comic strip made its initial appearance in the The Dallas (Morning) News and The Dallas (Evening) Journal, predecessors to today's Dallas Morning News, beginning in 1926. The idea for this new comic strip is attributed to E. B. Doran, Director of News and Telegraph (1918-1929) for the two ...
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Marjane Satrapi
2008-01-28 07:06:00
Marjane Satrapi, memories of growing up in Islamist Iranby Steven WilliamsMarjane Satrapi was born in in Rasht, Iran in 1969. She grew up in an upper-middle-class, fashionably radical household in Tehran where her father was an engineer from where her feminist mother frequently marched in demonstrations against the Shah. Satrapi was ten years old when the Shah was overthrown. It is only after the Shah falls that she learns that her great-grandfather was the last emperor of Persia and that he had been deposed by a military officer who, with backing from the British, had himself crowned Shah. Her grandfather, the emperor's own son, was even prime minister for a short period but he was put in prison as a Communist. Like many other Iranians, Satrapi's parents were overjoyed at the removal of the despotic Shah. In fact, many of her parents' Marxist friends and colleagues were free after years in prison under the Shah and some of them would come to the family's apartment to celebrate....
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Front Lines
2008-01-28 01:37:00
What can comics say about true life combat? Ninth Art looks at the strengths and flaws of the medium as a means of reporting war, with a look at the works of Joe Sacco, Ted Rall and Karl Zinsmeister.19 June 2006Front Lines : Comics at Warby Rob CaveSource: Ninth ArtOutside of the well-worn path of biography and autobiography, non-fiction has traditionally been one of the most frustratingly under-developed areas of the comics medium. But in recent years, more and more creators have set out to explore the potential of the comics form for non-fiction - discovering whole new sub-genres in the process. Perhaps one of the more unexpected, and acclaimed, of these new comics sub-genres is war journalism. Maybe the increasing number of high-profile wars involving the US military has spurred this trend on. Whatever the cause, the diversity of form, content and approaches to their subject matter adopted by various cartoonists demands attention. It's at this juncture that I should acknowledge t...

Epileptic review
2008-01-28 00:35:00
French cartoonist David B's acclaimed, frustrating and discomforting autobiographical comic deals with his brother's struggle with epilepsy - and his family's struggles with his brother.08 August 2005by Rob CaveSource: Ninth ArtWriter/Artist: David BPublisher: Random House/Jonathan CapeISBN: 0-224-07502-0Since the underground comics of the late '60s, biographical strips have formed a large part of the independent comics scene in the United States. From Robert Crumb and Harvey Pekar to Jeffrey Brown and Craig Thompson, and embracing 1,001 small pressers in-between, autobiographical comics have a rich and varied history in the US. But in the last few years it has been European comic creators that have been making the big waves internationally with their own take on autobiographical comics. In France, one of the most acclaimed masters of the autobiographical form is David B, one of the pioneers behind L'Association, a publishing collective of French cartoonists. His best-known wor...
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Joe Sacco
2008-01-27 03:00:00
Joe Sacco , a notable writer of comics journalismby Steven WilliamsJoe Sacco was born in 1960 in Malta, the son of an engineer father and teacher mother. His family moved to Australia and lived there from 1961 to 1972. The family came to the US when Sacco was twelve years old first to Los Angeles and eventually settling in Portland, Oregon. Sacco went on to complete his education in the US, eventually graduating in 1981 from the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon with a degree in journalism. He had grand visions of becoming a foreign correspondent at the time. Though he had obtained a degree in journalism in order to hard news reporting, he had persistent but not atypical difficulties breaking into the business. During this period of uncertainty, he returned to Malta and worked writing travel guides for a local publisher. As a way to make some additional money, he convinced the publisher to put out a series of romance comics written by him in Maltese, a contemporary Maghrebi Arab...

Graphic Nonfiction
2008-01-25 00:51:00
Graphic Nonfiction , or the arrival of political history and personal memoirby Steven WilliamsOne of the more innovative areas where reading and comics have merged in the last twenty years or so has been the genre now very broadly labeled the graphic novel. A cousin to this type of book is the similarly published nonfiction comic in trade paperback and hardcover format. Bound comic series have traditionally been made available for the more serious and committed comic book readers and collectors. Nonfiction graphic books on the other hand, even those that are compilations of work initially published in the most familiar stapled spine comic format, have emerged to appeal to more than an aficionado?s interest.Some series, notably 'American Splendor' by Harvey Pekar and 'Love and Rockets' by the brothers Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez are autobiographical comics/comic novels and have been produced for years, initially in a more or less traditional comic book format and then compiled int...
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John Updike, part 2
2008-01-16 05:21:00
John Updike, part 2: The Bech Booksby Steven WilliamsBech is a recurring character in Updike's short stories. These short stories have been gathered together into three books: Bech: A Book (1970), Bech Is Back (1982), and Bech at Bay (1998). The Complete Henry Bech (2001) contains all of Updike's Bech short stories, including His Oeuvre (2000). The story of Bech is decidedly lighter than of Rabbit. Henry Bech is a notably unproductive writer living his life within and around literary Manhattan. In some ways he functions as Updike's fictional alter ego, a Jewish writer with a weakness for women and literary awards, and he allows Updike to comfortably express his sarcastic and sometimes caustic insights on writers and the writing life. When Bech is initially introduced, Updike provided him with a back-story in which Bech has had published two well-written novels and a collection of essays as well as his latest overblown and overly complex novel. Updike, on the other hand, is consid...
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Michael Hague, part 1
2008-01-11 22:48:00
Michael Hague, part 1: The Illustrated Children's Classicsby Steven WilliamsMichael Hauge (b ) is an important modern illustrator of children's books. Some of his most notable work has been his work producing illustraed childre's editions of classics. In recent years he has also begun producing books in partnership with his wife as writer. Most recently he has begun to produce young adult fantasy adventure books beginning with "In the Small", due for release (May , 2008). He curently lives in Colorado.The Pilgrim's Regress: An Allegorical Apology for Christianity, Reason, and Romanticism (1981)(by C. S Lewis, illustrated by Michael Hague)In 1933, not long after he became a Christian, Lewis published this third work and his first novel, a portrayal of this spiritual journey. Begun as a poem, Pilgrim's Regress thankfully ended up as an allegory that is based on John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress.East of the Sun and West of the Moon (January, 1980)(by Peter Christen Asbjornsen, ed...
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Lentils with Coriander
2008-01-11 03:09:00
Aliter Lenticulam (Lentils Another Way aka Lentils with Coriander )by Steven Williams"Aliter lenticulam: coquis. Cum despumaverit porrum et coriandrum viride supermittis. (Teres) coriandri semen, puleium, laseris radicem, semen mentae et rutae, suffundis acetum, adicies mel, liquamine, aceto, defrito temperabis, adicies oleum, agitabis, si quid opus fuerit, mittis. Amulo obligas, insuper oleum viride mittis, piper aspargis et inferes." (Apicius, 192)from De Re Coquinaria of Apicius, Librorvm X Qvi Dicvntvr De Re CoqvinariaGermany, 1920"Lentils another way: Cook the lentils, skim them strain add leeks, green coriander; crush coriander seed, flea-bane, laser root, mint seed and rue seed moistened with vinegar; add honey, broth, vinegar, reduced must to taste, then oil, stirring the purée until it is done, bind with roux, add green oil, sprinkle with pepper and serve."from De Re Coquinaria of Apicius (translated by Joseph Dommers Vehling)published by Walter M. Hill, 1936Newer Article: H...

Jordan Sonnenblick
2007-12-16 20:29:00
Jordan Sonnenblick, venturing into the deep waters of adolescenceby Steven WilliamsJordan Sonnenblick is an eighth grade English teacher who has emerged as a writer of young adult fiction with a bite. Sonnenblick got his beginning as a writer in high school, actually Frank McCourt's creative writing class at Stuyvesant High School. McCourt, the author of Angela's Ashes, 'Tis, and Teacher Man, apparently recognized some potential in Sonnenblick because he was allowed to attend McCourt's already full creative writing class. Once there, Sonnenblick developed as a humor writer but McCourt prodded him to try his hand at deeper, more intimate writing. In the end, as a graduating senior, McCourt chose Sonnenblick as the winner of the school's annual creative writing award. For another fifteen years Sonnenblick would work on his writing as he attended college and went on to enter the teaching profession.This includes ten years as a middle school English teacher at Phillipsburg Middle S...
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Alafair Burke
2007-12-15 23:33:00
Alafiar Burke, an emerging author if legal thrillersby Steven WilliamsAlafair S. Burke, daughter of acclaimed crime fiction writer James Lee Burke, is an author, law professor, and legal commentator born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Alafair earned a degree in psychology before going on to attend and graduate from Stanford Law School. As a practicing attorney, she has served as a deputy district attorney in Portland, Oregon for several years before leaving to teach law in New York State. Three of her four published novels are set in Portland. Alafair has stated that her decision to move from practicing law to teaching was motivated in part by the difficulties she had setting aside the more unpleasant experiences as a prosecutor. She currently teaches criminal law at Hofstra Law School on New York's Long Island. Alafair is fairly well known from here guest commentary on Court TV's Catherine Crier Live, a show that has provided in-depth coverage of such high-profile legal news storie...

Jennifer Lee Carrell
2007-12-15 20:13:00
Jennifer Lee Carrell, a skilled blending of history and literary fictionby Steven WilliamsJennifer Carrell Helenbolt, who continues to write under the pseudonym Jennifer Lee Carrell since her marriage in 2002, this fall published her debut mystery novel Interred with Their Bones. Carrell began her career as a writer beginning with a decision to attend graduate school to study English literature. Her decision was based on an expectation that the life of a professor would support, both financially and by its lifestyle, her interest in writing. She found that the life of scholarship and teaching was almost perfect for her. Unfortunately, a professional life in academe requires coming to terms with academic politics, something she learned to hate. A professional life teaching at the university level means earning tenure and earning tenure means focusing almost entirely on academic research, writing for publication in scholarly journals, and teaching. For Carrell this meant postponing he...
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C. J. Box
2007-12-14 20:07:00
C. J. Box, a master of the outdoor mysteryby Steven WilliamsC. J. Box, a popular American writer of outdoor mysteries, currently lives in the area around Cheyenne, Wyoming. He has seven published novels, all set in Wyoming, with another coming out in January 2008 and they have all been critically well received. His professional recognition includes winning the Anthony Award, the Barry Award, the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe Award, and the French Prix Calibre .38 award. He has also been a finalist for both an Edgar Award and a LA Times Book Prize. In 2007, Box was named Writer of the Year by the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers association. Box is a native of Wyoming and so it is not too surprising that his work experiences include such things as ranch hand, surveying, fishing guide, and local newspaper reporter and editor. Also, not surprisingly, he is an enthusiastic outdoor sportsman having hunted, fished, hiked, ridden, and skied all over Wyoming and the American Mountain West.Box u...

Philip K. Dick
2007-12-13 05:09:00
Philip K. Dick , the film adaptations of a master of speculative fictionby Steven WilliamsPhilip Kindred Dick aka Philip K. Dick, born in 1928, was an American author who is most frequently recognized as writer of science fiction novels and stories. PKD aspired to a career in mainstream literature but his stylistic devices and subject material prevented the quality of his writing and the importance of his ideas from being widely recognized during his lifetime and left him relegated, at least in the mind of publishers, to the ghetto of pulp-style low-paying science fiction. This did not mean that PKD did not receive some recognition. Even though Kurt Vonnegut's fictional character Kilgore Trout is based loosely on the science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon, a large number of readers feel that the character of Trout is actually modeled on PKD. This comparison is based in part on Trout's back-story. He was supposed to have written profusely and creatively within the science fiction ...