Bradley Brave Sees New York With Observing Injun Eyes --- And with Knocking Knees

First appeared in: The Bradley Tech, October 31, 1940
Here is a newspaper article Phil wrote for his college school newspaper after his trip to New York to present Fred Warring with a headdress on his radio program, to thank him for writing the school's fight song. You can see three more pictures about this event on the Photo Gallery page (the third, fourth and fifth pictures from the top).

Lovers and Otherwise

First appeared in: Fantastic Worlds, Spring 1953
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
A very interesting article by Farmer about writing The Lovers and trying to get it published.

The Tin Woodman Slams the Door

First appeared in: Destiny, Summer 1954
Also appeard in: Oz Story 6, 2000
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
An essay by Farmer describing how much the world of Oz meant to him as child. As he grew up however, the stories began to lose their magic as compared to some of the other worlds he had been introduced to. Later on he rediscovered Oz and a greater appreciation for its magic. That's my boring version of it, Farmer's way of putting it is much, much, better.

White Whales Raintrees Flying Saucers

First appeared in: Fantastic Universe, July 1954
Also appeared in: Skyhook 23, Winter 1954-1955 (revised and expanded)
Original version also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
Expanded version also appeared in: Farmerphile 11, January 2008
An interesting editorial, where Farmer gives his definition of good fictionand illustrates how science-fantasy can meet these standards. In the much longer Skyhook version of the article, Phil first goes off on a tangent discussing good and evil. He then gives many examples of science fiction writers capable of writing literature, and conversely many great literary writers who have written science fiction or fantasy, although the main stream critics do not consider it to be so.

The Golden Age and the Brass

First appeared in: Burroughs Bulletin, #12, 1956
Also appeared in: BURROUGHS BULLETIN OMNIBUS EDITION OF #1-12 (1947-1956), 2005
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
An article by Farmer where he discusses his early reading and his mythological heroes who were all put in the dust when he discovered Edgar Rice Burroughs. This was his Golden Age. He then laments that his son, ignoring his father's collection of fantastic reading, is only interested in comic books. What Farmer calls Brass as compared to his Gold.

Entry in Who Killed Science Fiction?

First appeared in: The First Safari Anual, April 15, 1960
Also appeared in: eI , Vol. 5 No. 6, December, 2006 (click on the link to read it online)
In 1960 Earl Kemp sent out a questionnaire to 108 people in science fiction. 71 replied to these five questions under the heading "Who Killed Science Fiction?"; 1) Do you feel that magazine science fiction is dead? 2) Do you feel that any single person, action, incident, etc., is responsible for the present situation? 3) What can we do to correct it? 4) Should we look to the original paperback as a point of salvation? 5) What additional remarks, pertinent to the study, would you like to contribute? This appeared in his fanzine, Safari, and went on to win the 1961 Hugo award for best fanzine.

On a Mountain Upside Down

First appeared in: JD Argassy, #55, 1960
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
A tale from Farmer about his experiences mountain climbing in Arizona. When he reached the top of a mountain he did a hand-stand to get a different perspective of the surrounding scenery.

Blueprint for Free Beer

First appeared in: Knight, July 1967
An article about Farmer's economy of abundance.

Reap (Baycon Guest-of-Honor speech)

First appeared in: Science Fiction Review #28, November 1968
Also appeared as: Mimiographed limited edition for the Science Fiction Writers of America, 1968
This is Farmer's famous (or infamous) speech which was given at Baycon in 1968. He talked about science fiction's failure as an "early warning" system to today's problems. He also talked about the Triple Revolution Document.

Oft Have I Travelled (on Solar Pons)

First appeared in: The Pontine Dossier, April 1969
Solar Pons is a Sherlock Holmes type character, created by August Derleth. In this brief essay Farmer compares Pons to Holmes and Derleth to Doyle and wishes that Derleth would continue to write about Pons.

Answers to Questionaire

First appeared in: Double:Bill Symposium, August 1969
The original answers to this questionaire by 72 science fiction authors and editors were printed in three issues of the fanzine Double:Bill; #7 (October 1963), #8 (January 1964) and #9 (June 1964). In 1969 when they decided to collect all the answers in one book, they sent the questionaire out again and were able to add another 22 for a total of 94 respondents. Phil Farmer is in this group of 1969 authors so his answers do not appear in any of the three fanzines. The questionaire contained eleven questions about writing science fiction. Most authors answered eight or nine questions, Phil answered all eleven.

Report

First appeared in: Luna 6, 1969
Also appeared as The Josés from Rio in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
Farmer wrote a report on the Second International Film Festival, Rio de Janeiro, March 23-31, 1969. The article begins as Phil and and fellow scifi authors; Alfred Bester, Arthur C. Clarke, Harlan Ellison, Harry Harrison, Sam Moskowitz, and A. E. von Vogt, are getting on the plane to come home. Most of the report, which he calls a travelog of the mind, takes place on the plane ride home.

The Affair of the Logical Lunatics

Speech at Bradley University, May 1971
Transcription appears in: Farmerage Volume 3
Farmer discusses the state of the world and what affect science fiction can have on the future.

The Arms of Tarzan - read it here

First appeared in: Burroughs Bulletin #22, 1971
Also appeard in: MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE, 2005
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
Farmer goes to great pains to explain the items that he placed on the coat of arms.

Tarzan's Coat of Arms

First appeared in: ERB-Dom 52, November 1971
A longtime Tarzan fan, Farmer designed the Greystoke coat of arms. This also appears in Tarzan Alive.

The Two Lord Ruftons - read it here

First appeared in: The Baker Street Journal, December 1971
Also appeard in: MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE, 2005
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
Farmer has fun linking a Lord Rufton from a Sherlock Holmes story (The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax), and a Lord Rufton written about by the famous Napleonic soldier Brigadier Étienne Gerard.

The Obscure Life and Hard Times of Kilgore Trout

First appeared in: Moebius Trip 11, December 1971
An expanded version also appeared in: THE BOOK OF PHILIP JOSÉ FARMER , 1973
One of Farmer's first biographies of a fictional person. He of course took it a step further and later wrote a book by Trout.

A Reply to "The Red Herring" - read it here

First appeared in: Erbania #28, December 1971
Also appeard in: MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE, 2005
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
Farmer discusses and article that appeared in issue #27 about discrepancies in Tarzan's and Korak's age. He refers to his biography of Tarzan which is coming out in April but gives the title as THE PRIVATE LIFE OF TARZAN.

Tarzan Lives

First appeared in: Esquire, April 1972
Also appeared in: THE BOOK OF PHILIP JOSÉ FARMER , 1973 as "An Exclusive Interview with Lord Greystoke"
Also appeared in: TARZAN ALIVE, Bison Books, 2006 trade paperback
Farmer gets a brief interview with John Clayton.

The Great Korak-Time Discrepancy - read it here

First appeared in: ERB-Dom 57, April 1972
Also appeard in: MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE, 2005
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
The book SON OF TARZAN has sparked much debate among ERB fans. Without going into great detail the problem is that the dates in "Son" don't line up with the rest of the Tarzan novels. At the end of The Beasts of Tarzan, Jane is breast feeding their son, when "Son" came out 2 years later he was much too old. Farmer's theory is that Korak is actually Tarzan's nephew and since ERB wrote about him as Tarzan's son, he could not write about Tarzan's real son's exploits later. It's all rather complicated. Farmer also has some comments about his interview with Lord Greystoke that just appeared in Esquire magazine.

The Lord Mountford Mystery - read it here

First appeared in: ERB-Dom 65, December 1972
Also appeard in: MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE, 2005
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
Farmer writes about where the world of Tarzan and the world of Allan Quatermain intersect. The parents of ERB's Lord Mountford appear in the 1917 Quatermain novel, FINISHED.

Writing the Biography of Doc Savage

First appeared in: Pulp #5A, 1973
Also appeared in: THE MAN BEHIND DOC SAVAGE, as Writing Doc's Biography, 1974
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
Farmer talks about writing DOC SAVAGE: HIS APOCALYPTIC LIFE and dealing with publishers.

From Erb to Ygg - read it here

First appeared in: Erbivore, August 1973
Also appeard in: MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE, 2005
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
Farmer traces Edgar Rice Burroughs geneology all the way back to the Norse god Ygg. Just how far back he should be taken seriously is hard to say.

To the Wizard of Sci-Fi

First appeared in: Lunacon '74 Covention Program Book, April 1974
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
Forrest J Ackerman was the guest of honor and the convention program contained tributes about Forry from several authors. Farmer's tribute talked about (and reprinted) a letter a young Forry wrote to Amazing Stories in 1932 and about the fact the he has an actual yellow brick road in his backyard.

Extracts from the Memoirs of "Lord Greystoke"

First appeared in: MOTHER WAS A LOVELY BEAST, 1974
Also appeared in: TARZAN ALIVE, Bison Books, 2006 trade paperback
After Farmer interviewed Lord Greystoke, Greystoke promised him he would send him some portions of his memoirs which he could publish.

The Feral Human in Mythology and Fiction

First appeared in: MOTHER WAS A LOVELY BEAST, 1974
An essay by Farmer on the possibily of human babies being raised by animals and the probable outcome of such unusual parentage.

Charles L. Tanner (obituary)

First appeared in: Locus #155, December 2, 1974
Farmer wrote in to Locus because he didn't want Charles Tanner's death to go unnoticed. He talks about Tanner's career, reading him when he was twelve and meeting him in 1953.

A Language for Opar - read it here

First appeared in: ERB-Dom 75, 1974
Also appeard in: MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE, 2005
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
A very good example of Farmer, the scholar and linguist, playing with his favorite material, Tarzan. In The Return of Tarzan, Tarzan has been captured by La in Opar. Farmer goes to great pains to show how they could possibly know a common language (ERB glosses over these things).

Some Comments

First appeared in: Moebius Trip Library's S. F. Echo #22, April 1975
Also appeared as The Source of the River in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
This is in reply to Randall Hagan's article in the same issue, The Possible Subconscious Source of Philip José Farmer's Riverworld. Farmer states that while he cannot recall exactly what all the sources for his Riverworld idea were, the main one being John Kendrick Bang's A HOUSEBOAT ON THE STYX, he does admit that he was reading Burton and studying sufism at the time.

How Dinosaurs Did It

First appeared in: Citadel, 1976
This fanzine posed that question and many science fiction luminaries of the day responded. Phil's short answer gives two possible solutions. One very logical solution that was probably suggested by many others. And one funny suggestion involving a third intermediary party that was probably one of the more unique responses.

Phonemics

First appeared in: Gegenschein #27, 1976
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
A short, and hard to read, article on phonemic spelling and the difficulties that dialects would cause in any (or eny or iny) attempts to convert our printed works to this system.

Philip Jose Farmer Sez. . .

First appeared in: Apart #3, August 1976
Also appeared as A Fimbulwinter Introduction in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
A short biographical essay about Farmer's introduction to science fiction and pulp magazines. He also mentions his rediscovery of Doc Savage when Bantam began reprinting them and his desire to write ESCAPE FROM LOKI, which he finally did, 15 years later.

The Grant-Robeson Papers

First appeared in: WEIRD HEROES VOL 8, 1977
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
Heres the story: Back in the 1930s a wealthy collector paid Maxwell Grant (author of The Shadow) and Kenneth Robeson (author of Doc Savage, The Avengers) large sums of money to write stories just for him. Since the two authors were friends they decided to make each other the heroes or antiheroes of their tales. Sixteen such stories were written and have fallen into the hands of Philip José Farmer. See Savage Shadow on the short story page for the first of these stories.

Religion and Myths

First appeared in: THE VISUAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION, 1977
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
Farmer wrote the introduction to the section on religion and myth for the encyclopedia.

Jonathan Swift Somers III: Cosmic Traveller in a Wheelchair

First appeared in: Scintillation #13, June 1977
Also appeard in: MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE, 2005
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
Farmer writes a detailed biography of Jonathon Swift Somers III, describing his lineage (he is related to Kilgore Trout) and his childhood. You can read this article online here at Carl Bennet's Publications page.

The Remarkable Adventure with Beverly Friend

First appeared in: SCIENCE FICTION: CONTEMPORARY MYTHOLOGY, 1978 (hardcover)
First appeared in: SCIENCE FICTION: CONTEMPORARY MYTHOLOGY, 1978 (paperback)
In this long article they discuss how many adventure stories are centered around a journey and how science fiction novels more than other contemporary stories are similar to the ancient epics like THE ODYSSEY.

Creating Artificial Worlds

First appeared in: Pulsar, Summer 79
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
This article is a speech given by Farmer at Facts about SF:The Writers Speak, ten week series of SF lectures, April 5 - June 7 1978. Farmer takes his novel TWO HAWKS FROM EARTH as an example and explains what research and extrapolating he did about the world (an Earth where North and South America never rose from the oceans) where the story takes place. All this had to be done for background details before he began writing the story itself.

Maps and Spasms

First appeared in: FANTASTIC LIVES, 1981
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
A very interesting 37 page autobiography which takes us up to 1952.

An Overview of the Fair

First appeared in: THE GRAND ADVENTURE, 1984

The Peoria-Colored Writer

First appeared in: THE GRAND ADVENTURE, 1984

L. Frank Baum

First appeared in: 20TH CENTURY FICTION, 1985
Also appeared as Witches and Gnomes and Talking Animals, Oh My in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
In his one page essay Farmer discusses the enduring characters in The Wizard Of Oz and how public demand kept Baum writing Oz books after he had tired of them.

Edgar Rice Burroughs

First appeared in: 20TH CENTURY FICTION, 1985
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
In this short essay Farmer talks about Burroughs early career and how his writing style is only suited to works of fantasy. He also discusses Burroughs' most important character, Tarzan, at length.

Memoir

First appeared in: WORLDS OF IF: A RETROSPECTIVE ANTHOLOGY, 1986
Also appeared as IF R.I.P. in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
In this article about the demise of the science fiction digest If Farmer talks about Fredrick Pohl's urging him to expand his Riverworld idea into a series of novelettes as well as a some of the other stories that appeared in If.

Remembering VERN

First appeared in: Erbania 57, September 1987
Phil writes about his long time friend, and fellow ERB enthusiast, Vern Coriell. (Vern was also the publisher of the Fokker D-LXIX Press edition of A FEAST UNKNOWN)

Why and How I Became Kilgore Trout

First appeared in: VENUS ON THE HALF-SHELL (Bantum edition), 1988
No info as of yet.

The Journey

First appeared in: THE NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION, 1988
Also appeared in: PEARLS FROM PEORIA, Subterranean Press, 2006 hardcover
In this long entry Phil discussed "the journey" as a story setting both in science fiction as well as in ancient and classical literature. Often the story is not about what happens when the characters arrive at their destination, but about their adventures just trying to get there, that journeys are learning and testing experiences. The article then discusses many of the forms of space travel that have been used in both science fiction novels and "proto-SF," books written before Gernsback, from Francis Bacon to Cyrano de Bergerac to Edgar Alan Poe and many others. This book also has an entry about Farmer.

Hayy ibn Yaqzam by Abu ibn Tufayl: An Arabic Mowgli

First appeared in: Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts Vol 3 No. 3, 1994
Also appeared in: Farmerphile No. 4, April 2006
Also appeared in: UP FROM THE BOTTOMLESS PIT AND OTHER STORIES, Subterranean Press, 2007 hardcover
Phil once again tackles one of his favorite topics; humans raised by animals. Here he puts forth that feral-men stories have been with us since the dawn of man. Though many of these are based on myths or legends there are literary examples, not supposed to be based on real events, that date back a thousand years. The author of this story, Abu ibn Tufayl, was a Sufi, another topic that Farmer is particularly interested in.

Robert Bloch: An Appreciation

First appeared in: Locus #406, November 1994
Phil wrote one of many remembrances of his long time close friend Robert Bloch. There is also and interesting long career restrospective.

Dede Weil: An Appreciation

First appeared in: Locus #479, December 2000
One of many remembrances of Dede Weil, wife of Gary K. Wolfe and a close personal friend of the Farmer's. There is also a picture of Bette Farmer with Dede Weil.

I Still Live!

First appeared in: Farmerphile No. 3, January 2006
Also appeared in: UP FROM THE BOTTOMLESS PIT AND OTHER STORIES, Subterranean Press, 2007 hardcover
This speech was Phil's keynote address to the "Normal Beans" at the 75th anniversary dinner of the publication of TARZAN OF THE APES.

Why Do I Write?

First appeared in: Farmerphile No. 4, April 2006
Also appeared in: UP FROM THE BOTTOMLESS PIT AND OTHER STORIES, Subterranean Press, 2007 hardcover
Phil was the Guest of Honor at the 1992 Conference for the Fantastic in the Arts where he delivered this speech. The original version of it appeared in a French magazine which asked that question of 400 authors.

A Modest Proposal

First appeared in: Farmerphile No. 10, October 2007
A letter to the editor of the local newspaper, from Phil, but signed "Kilgore Trout," where he suggests the city convert the abandoned Pabst brewery to a brothel. He then elaborates on the economic benefits of his plan.

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