Dr. Bopstein and the U.S. Dept. of Dreaming

Bebop. Kabbalah. Psychedelics. A magical contract with the Disney Studios. In Dr. Bopstein and the U.S. Dept. of Dreaming, acclaimed novelist Joseph Skibell takes us on a wonderfully weird journey through jazz history, psychedelic adventure, and Cold War espionage, investing his inimitable voice into the character of Dr. Bopstein, Dizzy Gillespie’s trumpet. Brought to life in his glass case in the instrument room at the Smithsonian Institute by – Bop presumes – an LSD flashback, Bop is determined to spend his limited time telling the never-before-told, government-suppressed story of the road trip he and Diz took in 1966 along Route 66 to confront Walt Disney, all while being pursued by agents from the U.S. Dept. of Dreaming. Like Huckleberry Finn and On the Road, Dr. Bopstein and the U.S. Dept. of Dreaming reimagines the road-trip novel, improvising a wild new variation on the American story through one of the country’s most singular art forms, bebop, and the unlikely partnership of Diz and Bop, as they wend their way through an American landscape filled with ghosts, collective dreams and a revolutionary new sound.

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Information about the Author

Photo Credit: Barbara Freer Skibell

Joseph Skibell (pronounced SKY-bell) is the author of five previous books, most notablythe critically-acclaimed novels, A Blessing on the Moon and A Curable Romantic. He has received numerous awards, including the Rosenthal Foundation Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, the Sami Rohr Prize and the Turner Prize. His work has been described as “confirmation that no subject lies beyond the grasp of a gifted, committed imagination” (New York Times); “high-energy, wild”; (New Republic); “magical” (New Yorker); “witty and profound” (Jerusalem Report); “laugh-outloud humorous” (Forward); “brave … unafraid” (New York Journal of Books); and “wholly original” (JM Coetzee). Skibell’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Commentary, LitHub, Tablet, the Utne Reader, Tikkun, Fretboard Journal, and many other publications. The Winship Distinguished Research Professor in the Humanities at Emory University, where he directs the Creative Writing program, he was also, for a decade, the director of the Richard Ellmann Lectures in Modern Literature. When not teaching, he lives in a village in northern New Mexico.

Read an Author Interview and Excerpts from Dr. Bopstein and the U.S. Dept. of Dreaming

Praise for Dr. Bopstein and the U.S. Dept. of Dreaming

“I find it fascinating to think about where original ideas come from and what inexplicable process led you to combine real life jazz legends, Walt Disney, explorations about the meaning of life and the possibilities of the afterlife, into a road trip adventure told by a anthropomorphized trumpet. To have all of that (and more) come together and actually work [is] a testament to the human mind. Also, I found the book highly cinematic and was constantly thinking about what a film adaptation might look like.” – Dennis Hauck. Director, Filmmaker, Too Late

“Like all of Joseph Skibell’s writing, Dr. Bopstein and the U.S. Dept. of Dreaming is masterfully controlled, wildly entertaining, and formally daring. It is hilarious and heartbreaking … While some novelists limit themselves to the realistic mode of storytelling, Skibell uses a wider, more expansive range of literary techniques. The distinctiveness of his writing partially arises from that interest, as he skillfully and movingly blends historical fact and imagination. He also crafts beautiful sentences. I know of no other novelist writing like him and no more than a half-dozen contemporary artists creating at his high level of accomplishment.” – David Caplan. Poet, Scholar, author of In My Garden

“In Dr. Bopstein and the U.S. Dept. of Dreaming, Joseph Skibell takes us on a wonderfully weird journey through jazz history, psychedelic adventures, and Cold War espionage. The narrative, packed with profound ‘truth bombs’ that will make you stop and think, features the sentient trumpet Dr. Bopstein and his companions, the legendary Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. As you cruise down Route 66, expect to bump into government spies, mystical symbols, and the cryogenically frozen Walt Disney. This book is a cerebral odyssey where each page invites you to pause and absorb the revelations within. It’s an unforgettable exploration of identity, reality, dreams, and the magical power of bebop jazz—a trip you won’t forget!” – Melissa Tothero. Neuroscience Coach and Psychedelic Guide

“A Lewis Carollian-combustible-riot of a faux bio. I chuckled at nearly every paragraph, a cosmic gallimaufry of brilliant vocabulary, incisive, well-timed literary references and expert, hip musical command—all rendered at light speed. Hunter Thompson trembled in his grave, no doubt.” – Spider Johnson. Musician and Marquetry Artist