LIBRARY TO HOST FAMED BLOGGER

In conjunction with the 2010 Community Read of “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” the Tompkins County Public Library will host recognized Philip K. Dick scholar David Gill for a presentation and discussion, Thursday, September 16 at 6:00 PM in the BorgWarner Community Room.

Gill has studied Dick’s life and work for 15 years writing his master’s thesis on the novel “Time Out of Joint.” His acclaimed blog totaldickhead.blogspot.com is viewed by readers from around the world and has earned him speaking engagements at the annual PKD Festival in Colorado and at Harvard’s annual science fiction festival. Gill teaches literature and writing at San Francisco State University and regularly assigns “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” to his students. He is also part of a team currently working to edit and publish Dick’s “Exegesis,” a series of notes made by the author during the last eight years of his life.

During his Library presentation, Gill will lead a wide-ranging discussion about “Do Androids Dream. . .” which will focus on the notions of identity raised in the novel, examining human interaction with technology as a form of schizophrenia, discussing the critical approaches that can be applied to the book, connecting the novel to the work of pioneering brain surgeon Wilder Penfield and the poetry of T.S. Eliot and Matthew Arnold, and exploring America’s growing fascination with zombie movies.

This program is free and open to the public. The 2010 Community Read has been made possible by the Brooks Family Foundation and Cornell University. For more information about this or other programs being held in conjunction with the Read, contact Sarah Glogowski at (607) 272-4557 extension 255.