I Love Dick is a novel by American artist and author Chris Kraus. Published by Semiotext(e) in 1997, I Love Dick merges fiction and memoir formats to explore the writer's psycho-sexual obsession with the eponymous "Dick", a media theorist and sociologist whose last name is never given over the course of the text, despite other art world personalities appearing as themselves. Critics heralded it as both "radical" and "gossipy" and the book continues to be an interdisciplinary point of reference for writers, artists, art historians and theorists. The book announced Kraus' particular brand of "confessional literature" that she herself described as "lonely girl phenomenology". The writer Rick Moody called it, "one of the most explosive, revealing, lacerating and unusual memoirs ever committed to the page".Later identified as Dick Hebdige, "Dick"'s sporadic presence in Chris's life changes her thinking about her marriage (to philosopher and Semiotext(e) founder Sylvère Lotringer) and to …
I Love Dick is a novel by American artist and author Chris Kraus. Published by Semiotext(e) in 1997, I Love Dick merges fiction and memoir formats to explore the writer's psycho-sexual obsession with the eponymous "Dick", a media theorist and sociologist whose last name is never given over the course of the text, despite other art world personalities appearing as themselves. Critics heralded it as both "radical" and "gossipy" and the book continues to be an interdisciplinary point of reference for writers, artists, art historians and theorists. The book announced Kraus' particular brand of "confessional literature" that she herself described as "lonely girl phenomenology". The writer Rick Moody called it, "one of the most explosive, revealing, lacerating and unusual memoirs ever committed to the page".Later identified as Dick Hebdige, "Dick"'s sporadic presence in Chris's life changes her thinking about her marriage (to philosopher and Semiotext(e) founder Sylvère Lotringer) and to her work, as well. The novel was adapted in 2017 as a television series by the same name for Amazon Studios. It was directed by Joey Soloway and stars Kathryn Hahn and Kevin Bacon.
Dear Chris,
Thank you for this experience. A beautifully crafted book that is novel, memoir, art criticism and feminist theory smashed together sublimely. It presents life in a cutting but clear portrayal of your own openness. It was an absolute joy to read.
xx
